In August 2009, I was asked to do a very special project for a very special company in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Stan Clark Companies was coming up on it’s 35th anniversary of Eskimo Joe’s, and Stan wanted to do something very special for six employees who had been with him in during the earliest days of Eskimo Joe’s. Stan wanted to create a commemorative, documentary-style video for each employee that would highlight the employee’s 20+ year career in the company and include personal stories and reflections from the employee’s co-workers. The final videos would be shown at a special after-hours celebration for all employees at Stan Clark Companies. The project involved interviewing over 30 people for at least half an hour each; but the real trick was keeping the true meaning of the project top-secret. We didn’t want anyone knowing what was really going on so that the videos and the service awards would be a complete surprise. More than 200 work hours later, the result was an evening and experience I’ll never forget.
Since then, four more individuals have celebrated 20 years of service with the company. With ten of these videos now under my belt, it easily constitutes the largest project I’ve done so far in my career, and certainly one of the most enjoyable.