I Do (Value Relationships)
JUST MARRIED! Yep, I got married in August. We made a full weekend of it: Friday welcome party, Saturday wedding and reception, and Sunday brunch. I could write pages about how wonderful it all was, but now that the dust has settled, what I keep coming back to is the people who shared it with us.
My husband and I married later in life, which meant we both had prior individual experiences and relationships formed over many years. We’ve each lived in multiple places (seven states and one other country for me, 10 states and two other countries for Bret). So it should be no surprise that the 113 family members and friends who attended our wedding came from 16 states and 17 different North Carolina cities. But as I looked around the room, what struck me most wasn’t how far everyone had traveled; it was the genuine love and happiness I felt from each person.
When we started planning our wedding, our number one priority (besides becoming husband and wife) was our guests’ experience. We knew most folks would be traveling – which can be a real hassle – and we wanted to make the weekend fun and easy for them. We wanted our friends and family to experience our hometown of Cary, NC and all it has to offer, so we created a map of our favorite places. We developed a game for the welcome party so guests had an easy reason to meet and connect. The reception was held at the same boutique hotel where most of our guests stayed, and we provided transportation between the hotel and the church for the ceremony. And we made sure there was plenty of good food, drink and entertainment.
We didn’t do all this to impress anyone. We did it to show our guests how much we love and appreciate them. We did it to thank them for all the years of support and encouragement they have provided. Every detail was our way of saying, “You are important to us.”
I am so fortunate to have spent the last nine years with a firm that says the same thing to me, my colleagues, and our clients day after day. We are important to Armstrong McGuire, and we feel it. The firm lives out its core value of Relationships, which we define this way:
People are the center of everything we do.
People make organizations and communities strong and people are at the center of everything we do. We value each and every one of our relationships and embrace every diverse perspective and lived experience, ensuring they are not only acknowledged — but heard, amplified, valued and understood.
We know that without people, impactful work simply doesn’t happen. We also know there are times you may need help making a plan, executing it, working through a challenge or realizing an opportunity. Sometimes you may need a different perspective, a thought partner, a sounding board. And sometimes you just need a reminder that the work you are doing matters.
We’re here for all of it. Because you are important to us.
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