Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Ian and the Trade Hub

Since Ian is not one to toot his own horn, I'm going to do it for him (beep-beep)! He is in Johannesburg, South Africa right now for a "trade" forum. Over 200 delegates from countries in the southern Africa region are attending (including ambassadors and other important dignitaries). Guess what? My husband and his colleagues organized the entire event! Until Thursday, I never really considered all of the logistics and behind the scenes efforts that take place in such events. Last Thursday evening (two days before Ian's departure) I came to the office to help with a few last minute preparations. I was blown away by Ian and his team. Talk about dedication! All of them pretty much worked around the clock the weeks leading up to the event. It was crunch time. I was expecting high stress levels and bitterness for the multitude of overtime hours. I was wrong! While everyone had to be stressed and tired, they did a great job of hiding it. I don't think I've witnessed this level of camaraderie since high school field hockey.

Anyhow, at one point, while I helped one of Ian's local staff members prepare the welcome packets, she said, "We are lucky to work for Ian because he doesn't take for granted his employees. And we know the event will be successfull because Ian is very organized!" Yep - that's my husband and I am proud to toot his horn!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow , That's great. I never knew what Ian did. That's pretty important stuff. The staff is right about Ian, He is a very nice person. Take care and I'm happy to hear that you two, wait a minute you three are doing great.
I don't see Yanna in any pictures. Where is she?

P.S. I sent you an email and needed your help.

Lenin

Unknown said...

Don't forget to mention Ian's ability to write very, very small yet still legible. This always impressed me and I'm sure it helped in some way with the Trade Hub.

Jed