07/19/2021
Hey everyone, Jon here. Long post expressing my gratitude coming.
It's Monday morning and I'm exhausted, sore, and hungover from three straight days of partying. As I reflect on this weekend's events, I'm overwhelmed with gratitude, joy, relief, and fulfillment.
My company, Deft Communications https://www.deftcom.us/, does outreach campaigns professionally usually in issues-based PR. I treated this reunion weekend as another outreach campaign, which I think helped contribute to its success. Booking and vetting venues, keeping a steady stream of content flowing to our attendees, creating sponsorship packages and then procuring sponsors... all of that is right in my wheelhouse professionally. If you or a company you work for needs those services, hit me up. I work with companies of all sizes, and getting to work with any of you again would be a privilege.
One of the first things you learn doing campaigns is that no one can do it alone. It's why I'm infinitely grateful for Shahara Jagrati Mattingly and James Jay for being equal team members here. None of the three of us could pull this off alone. We all bring complementary skillsets and different points of view to these events, and I treasure their tireless work ethic, their creativity, and their unbridled enthusiasm to making this weekend the best that it possibly could be.
I'd also like to give a shout to Brett Zahrte and Karla Zahrte and their team at Old 121 Brewhouse for brewing a great beer for our event and being such phenomenal hosts Friday night. Another shout goes to Kent who made the majority of those exquisite decorations! Also to my wife Kristin Crites - Ekstrom for stepping up and just checking people in without being asked when we needed the help the most. And finally to the Wynkoop, who, even though it was hot as balls up there, were an absolute pleasure to work with every step of the way and provided great food and beverages.
Most of all, I want to thank all of you. It was your enthusiasm, your excitement, and your eagerness that motivated us to give these events our full effort and work our asses off to give you the events you deserved. And it was admittedly a sh*tload of work. Watching everyone get together, reconnect, share hugs (some of which were 21 years overdue), laugh, smile, and share stories overwhelms me with such joy and fulfillment I can't seem to stop crying. My cheeks are streaked with tears of joy, and I suspect this is going to happen off and on for a few days. Man, what a gift.
Seeing your posts and photos, hearing your appreciation, and reflecting on a collection of so many wonderful tiny moments, conversations, and interactions over the course of three days of activity makes my heart full, and I hope you all carry this with you for a long time, as well. This is a remarkable group of people. We are incredibly fortunate to be in each other's pasts, to share in each other's present, and to look forward to whatever the future holds.
Thank you all for being you. Thank you for trusting us to put these events on. And thank you for your overwhelming expressions of gratitude to us. I cannot wait until our paths cross again, and know that until they do, I will carry you in my heart forever.
What a weekend. What a time to be alive! I adore you all. Take care, and see you soon!
- Jon (with Shahara and James)
