I Said My Farewell and Another Door Opens.
Summer 2017: Lounging on The Rooftop of The Embassy Row Hotel with the Travelocity Gnome, before I tucked him into bed
I found myself at a loss of words for this farewell. I was the equivalent of speechless on paper. I finally found the words – on my last day with Two Roads Hospitality – which was one week ago today.
I compared it to a vacation – working extremely hard in the weeks leading up to it, organizing the details so everything flows while you are away – and it finally hits you the night before - I’m leaving.
After almost five years with the company and working empathetically through hotel renovations, resort rebrand and relaunches, real estate sales and transitions, company mergers and more, I realized I was walking away with a brain that operates a little differently (thanks to the people who always pushed me further), a ton of life lessons that I wouldn’t have otherwise learned (both personal and professional), more empathy and adaptability, and speckles of gray hair. But, I realized above all, the main reason I couldn’t find the words or the tears for an emotional, sappy post was because I gained an incredible family of friends through Two Roads. There were no tears shed because I gained true friends that I can call upon, no matter if our LinkedIn profiles don’t share the same company name.
They are genuinely good people.
Friends who leave snacks on your desk almost daily - just because.
Friends who will spend their Saturdays going on hikes with you or volunteering at a local food kitchen.
Friends who make plans to fly in a day early to a conference to spend more time together because let’s face it, four days doesn’t cut it.
Friends who will get up at 6 am after a long night to work out with you.
Friends who will fly across the country for your wedding (six of them to be exact).
This list is endless…
These friendships are everything to me. I feel so unbelievably fortunate that I’ve had the honor and pleasure of having these amazing people in my life. I am so thankful for the opportunities I was given over the past five years, including the freedom to write my own story at Two Roads.
If you’re wondering what’s next for me, I am so excited to finally share my news… I received an amazing opportunity to join GKA Advertising, a full service boutique marketing agency. I am the Vice President of Brand Strategy at GKA. In my new role, I’ll be spending my time on brand strategy for the agency and our clients; seeking speaking engagements for the agency; personally leading marketing for a few clients; and growing our collection of clients.
We work with companies large and small. Our wheel house focuses on developing award-winning marketing campaigns, building strategic media plans, designing beautiful websites, impactful graphic design and creative social media content.
Best of all, now that I’m in the agency world, I’m excited to have the opportunity to work with a collection of growing companies, entrepreneurs, and fun, talented people like you.