#garversummit

Dear Gus & Magnus,

Today was a whirlwind. Click here for a more detailed explanation, but the short version is that I started the day physically and mentally exhausted, never felt rehearsed enough despite spending all day at the venue. But somehow the show went well anyway. I was shocked that Brock gave the Video Team the President's Cup this year -- something that was a total surprise to me and I was stunned by -- but I was even more caught off guard that Aunt Laura arranged for Mom and Nene to be at the show. They took this picture of Mom with me on the big screen in the background and sent it to me as the show wound down, but I didn't look at my phone until after I walked off stage and saw them in person. I legitimately thought my mind was hallucinating because their presence didn't make sense. Hallucination or not, I collapsed into Mom's arms, completely emotionally and physically spent and relieved to have my person when I needed her.

I'm grateful they came, I'm grateful Laura made it happen without my finding out -- I would've stumbled on stage had I known they were there -- and I'm grateful Yiayia kept you both so they could be there. Today was an absolutely unexpected embarrassment of riches.

Dad.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

Today was a long day of greeting Garver people coming into the hotel, revising the Summit script, and working through potential performance issues with Derek. I also went to dinner with the Water Team.

My role at the company is changing after Summit. And really it's been evolving over the last couple of years. But I'll be more focused on building and maintaining the company culture as the voice of Garver and a sort of companywide hype man. I'm excited about it.

Dad.

Kansas City, Missouri. 10.12.2022 - 11.26pm.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

You can't tell from the photo, but there are 300ish people in the room with me at Billy Bob's Texas Honky Tonk and another 600 watching Summit from a couple of venues in Little Rock and Kansas City. It was a strange year because we weren't all in one place and also because we were in a honky tonk. I feel like I spent all night trying to yell over the hum of the crowd. My voice was destroyed by the time the night was over.

Still fun, but nothing went like it was supposed to, which fills me with anxiety. I tried to watch the replay, but couldn't stomach it. So many missteps that couldn't be helped because of the venue, but also I wasn't rehearsed enough because we didn't have the time. I got a lot of positive feedback when it was all over, but I didn't feel like it was our year. I don't ever want to do a multi-city event again. I'm hoping for one city in a larger venue next year.

The after-party was solid, of course.

Dad.

Fort Worth, Texas. 10.7.2021 - 6.15pm(ish).

Dear Gus,

Garver Summit is three days of non-stop work, but I work with some talented folks, so while it’s the hardest part of my job, it’s also the most fun. Here we are at our team kick-off dinner at Packard’s.

Dad

Dear Gus,

I’m the unofficial historian at work, so for the last four annual meetings, I’ve recounted the history of Garver for all the new-hires. I’m finally getting to a point where I don’t have to read from a script.

“Neal Garver was born in Iowa. At the age of 28, he went to Iowa State University, where he earned a degree in civil engineering, which he used to get a job teaching at the University of Illinois...”

Dad

Dear Gus,

Garver Summit always brings with it long hours at work (which means Mom is putting in long hours with you), but it also brings out the best ideas.

Dad

Dear Gus,

Today we’re filming at the Devon Boathouse with Betsye, who helps design our team-building competition every year at Summit. The boathouse is on the Arkansas River and it’s home to the first permanently lit river race course in the world. My company did the lights for it, and it was one of the first projects I wrote about when I started this job in 2013. You can read the article here.

Dad

Dear Gus,

In this scene (say those first three words with sarcasm), Michael informs Mary Elizabeth that he’s not going to tell Kyle he can’t wear his celebratory Summit jorts just because he has a client meeting. (On days like this, I can’t believe I get paid to do what I do).

Dad