October 6, 2022
Wow! What a night! I am still buzzing after our first large group in-person client event since the start of the pandemic. I have so many takeaways from the event last evening I had a hard time deciding where to start. In no particular order:
First, a big thank you to everyone that was able to attend. It was so, so, so great to see all of you in person, and I wish we had more time to visit. There were so many of you that I was unable to connect with during the event—I hope we can get together soon.
Second, our apologies for the unfortunate scheduling of this years’ event—we will do our best moving forward to accommodate our entire community.
Third, we didn’t take any pictures. Note to self: take pictures next year.
Fourth, speaking of more time to visit—I think I am at a point where I am over virtual meetings. Zoom, for all of its convenience, leaves a lot to be desired in the personal department. So where do we go from here? Let’s get together! We have a great meeting space at 731 Sherman that sits mostly empty waiting for visitors. If that isn’t convenient, let us come to you. I would love to meet you on your turf or for coffee, breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert (why not?), cocktails, golf, or skiing. I don’t ski, but if it means that we can get together in person, I will try.
Fifth, this goes for out-of-Denver clients too. I mean it.
And finally, our firm owes a huge debt of gratitude to Caroline Gaynor and Avantis Investors for delivering a tremendous key note presentation. Caroline is seriously an amazing person, and we are so thankful she was able to share some of her incredible stories with us. One story of hers, in particular, will stick with me forever.
After describing the high-highs and low-lows of a grueling sixteen-and-a-half hour Ironman Triathlon—one in which she guided a visually impaired South African athlete—Caroline (that’s her with the big smile on the right below) delved into why she guides triathlons. Spoiler alert, it isn’t to secure her place in the Ironman guiding record books (she claims they don’t even exist) or even to see her name on the leaderboard at the end of a race.
Take a look at the leaderboard below—can you find the name Caroline Gaynor anywhere?
Hint: It isn’t on there. And that’s the way it’s meant to be.
So, what’s Caroline’s why? Why does she spend countless hours away from her family training for races that won’t even lead to records or her name on leaderboards? She says (and I’m paraphrasing here) it’s the pure joy that she derives from helping others accomplish their goal of crossing the finish line.
What an incredible parallel to our work as your financial advisor.
That’s why we do it folks.
It’s not the accolades or awards or bold market calls. Helping you and your family prepare for and overcome obstacles enroute to accomplishing your financial goals brings us a sense of joy that I can’t even begin to describe. It’s our why. The reason we get up every day and go to work. Even on days when futures are down big after weeks of seemingly endless declines. We know that you or someone out there might need our guidance, reassurance, or just someone to listen. We also know that the sun will come up tomorrow and we can hear the music and crowd noise from the finish line up ahead.
Thank you, as always, for reading and I hope to see you in person very soon.
Will
