John Speaking, Can I Help You?

Hey John,

I’m here in Ogden, Utah, at base camp the day before I attempt to hike 29,000-ish vertical feet on Snowbasin in under 36 hours.

We’ve known each other now for about 13 years, and this is probably not something you’d ever think I would do, right? I’m doing it for you and with you. Your wife Sylvia sent me some of your favorite things to carry with me up the mountain. I’m hoping you can help me when I’m exhausted, maybe give me a little push, tell me a joke, or share one of your many beer industry stories. I don’t think I’ve properly grieved your passing. I still feel like you’re here with us.

I’ll catch you up quickly on what's been going on in my life because I need to sleep just a little before tomorrow's 6 am start. Julia is still with me—yes, I know I’ve overshot my coverage, but don’t tell her. She will meet us at the peak on our final ascent when we are done. Oh, and we’re now engaged. Mazel tov!

Work? Well, that’s going to make you laugh a bunch of times. I’ve been tagged to help build a distribution network for, drum roll for suspense, a NON-ALCOHOLIC beverage company called Best Day Brewing. Ha, I know, right? No, I’m not kidding. I’m dead serious. No, I don’t need money from you; we are doing just fine. Non-alcoholic craft beer is a thing now, John. Get used to it.

Remember when we met and you asked me at the interview if I had any beer-selling experience? I said no, but I am the biggest people person you will ever meet. I left that interview thinking there was no way I got the job without experience, but you saw me before I saw me. You hired me despite knowing almost nothing about the beer industry. You could tell I was one of the good ones. And now I know you saw yourself in me.

Are you ready for some more news? I hold the same position you held when you first hired me; I am a regional director. I hear you in my thoughts guiding me through and out of situations in this role.?

"Remember, you are great but not greater than anyone. Difficulty is a sign of good things, not bad things. Everything outside of the objective is just noise, don't stop."

And when I don’t have the answer, I use my greatest weapon, creativity, to solve it. I remember that one late night after our marathon of drinking IPAs, you told the team that you considered yourself the luckiest guy on earth, that you were living your dream, and that in your case, reality was better than any dream itself. At that moment, each of us aspired to feel a fraction of what you felt. I told you that I had a similar idea, but mine came to me as a dream. I had died in my dream, and when I approached the gates, I was told I needed to answer one question before entering heaven. The question was, "God gave you a gift; did you use it?" I answered no, then woke up from my dream. Since then, I've been living a life full of purpose and sharing my gifts with the world.

I’ve been traveling around the Southeast, getting to know tons of beer wholesalers. Sometimes I walk into a beer distributor and think you’ve been here before and how proud I want to make you and them. I talk about you like you did about your favorite beer legend, Houston Ball of Palm Distributing, now J.J. Taylor Distributing, Fort Myers.

Well, I need to get some sleep but wanted to catch you up. Oh, and before I go, I want to thank you for believing in me. On my first week on the job, you called asking me to visit 50 Publix & Winn Dixie stores before the big holiday rush, and I know you were really asking for 100 store calls, so when I was done, I had serviced 120 stores. To this day, that intensity in my work has remained constant. Remind me about this on the mountain. I need all the help I can get, especially during the night hike when the temperature drops. I’ll be wearing a white sweatshirt just like in your photo to help keep this Miami iguana warm. Your memory will guide me to the finish line and tackle the next big challenge, whatever it may be.

Let's go, John. Let's live on!