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Thursday, February 10, 2011

Playing in the AT&T National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach

A few years ago, there was a movie starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman (two of my all-time favorite actors) called The Bucket List that really resonated with me. The concept of the movie is that two men meet in a hospital room and decide that, before they die, they're going to put together a list of all the things they’ve always wanted to do in life (i.e., their bucket list) and check off as many items as possible.

I really like the idea of having a bucket list… but I don't think that you should wait until you're older, or at the end of your life, to start checking things off. Sure, some things may require you to have lots of money, or be a certain age, but many items on your list can and should be simple pleasures or inexpensive road trips (like seeing the Grand Canyon at sunrise), and my life philosophy has always been to get started now, because you never know when your last day might come.

Today, I crossed an item off my list, and yesterday I did so as well.

Today was the first day of the AT&T National Pro-Am which I was graciously invited to play in by Randall Stephenson, the Chairman of AT&T. This is one of the biggest honors that an amateur golfer can receive, and it was really special to be invited by AT&T since our commercial with them premiered during the Masters just two years ago. A lot has happened since that commercial introduced millions of people to the One for One movement... and I, and every one who works every day to put more shoes on children's feet, will forever be grateful.

Yesterday, I got to play Pebble Beach (practice round) with my dad caddying, and many of my dear friends, co-workers, and family walking the course with us. It was a glorious day, one that I will never forget. Some great photos were taken and here they are… hopefully you’ll be seeing more on CBS this weekend as me and my partner, Vaughn Taylor, attempt to earn a place in golf history.

Carpe Diem.















Monday, February 7, 2011

Introducing KC Brown (the third time around)













One of my favorite things about being in the office is getting to introduce new staff members. With everyone gathered around, I call each new employee and intern to the front of the room and have them tell the group who they are, where they're from, and how they first heard about TOMS.

Of all the introductions that I've made, KC Brown's might be the most memorable that we've ever had. It was also a first in TOMS history...

Most employees get introduced once.

Some employees get introduced twice - first as an intern, and then again when they're hired full-time.


This was KC's THIRD introduction.


The backstory here is worth telling...

After a long trip away from the office, I jumped on the TOMS Shuttle one morning and discovered KC behind the wheel. As we got to chatting, something strangely familiar caught my eye... and I couldn't help but ask: Are those my shorts you're wearing?

Oddly enough, the answer was "yes."

KC explained that he's an old friend of our Office Manager, Travis, and that Travis had given him the shorts as a wedding present in Australia. This seemed even more puzzling until KC explained that Travis got the shorts at one of my "office garage sales" (from time-to-time, I open up my closet and allow TOMS staffers to pick through my extra stuff. Because I live on a sailboat, my closet is conveniently located in the office).

A few months later, though, KC told us that his true passion is film and that he wanted to give up his full-time job at TOMS Shuttle Driver to become an intern in the Film Department. This request was a tad out of the ordinary, but we decided to take KC up on his offer... and KC was again introduced to the TOMS team - only this time as a member of the Fall Intern Program.

KC did such a great job as an intern that we decided to hire him on full-time in the Film Department. Here's the speech that he gave at our most recent all-staff meeting... I think that you'll really get a kick out of it.





From employee... to intern... back to full-time employee. KC, you're truly one of a kind :)