It's personal

A mutual friend recommended that we get together for coffee and so we did. And immediately there was a connection. We talked like old friends. We exchanged stories and contacts. We dreamed together and we schemed together and we left with a hug.

That was before LORE. And so when I was looking for someone who could help with social media, I reached out to Te’Jal and she said yes. The first thing that she did was teach me a whole new language: impressions and clicks and insights and reach. And then, she encouraged me to post videos and pictures. Oh, she definitely pushed me outside of my comfort zone! And in the beginning, every time I posted a video she sent me a “That’s awesome!” message because she knew that I was nervous. And every week when we met and I had changed my mind about the name or the wording about the posts or about the events, so rolled with it. And she gently told me how this picture might be better than another picture or this message might be better said in this way and how posting on Sunday evenings was better than Monday mornings.

But, in all honesty, Te’Jal’s value to me has been so much more than what to post and when. It has been the encouragement and support. Her knowledge on social media is valuable but her personal support is priceless. Te’Jal’s encouragement has pushed me to be out there when I would rather hide behind quotes and still frames.

Te’Jal believes in me. And that belief has brought me to tears in more than one of our meetings which feel more like coffee dates with a friend than business meetings.

Some people say “It’s business. It isn’t personal.” But with Te’Jal, it’s always personal. She gives herself to what she does. She is passionate about her work and her world. She shares and she listens. And that makes all the difference.

Bridget and Te'Jal

On the Bright Side

I met Carli Dixon shortly after my birthday, in March of 2018. She and Hamilton were finishing up the Brightside bar and a mutual friend connected us because we needed a place to hold the first storytelling event, a #metoo event in partnership with Story Slam Dayton and Dayton Most Metro. I had never produced, hosted, coordinated or created anything like this before and Carli was supportive and helpful.

And more than that, Carli welcomed me into her circle. I am not sure what I did to earn that honor, but I can honestly say that I am honored to be here. Since March of 2018, I have hosted at least half a dozen events at the Brightside with Empower Her and LORE and I have attended private and public events hosted by other organizations seeking a beautiful event place in downtown. And during that time I have shared, witnessed, laughed, cried and been truly blessed by this friendship with Carli.

Carli is one of those rare people that is both a visionary and gets her hands dirty. She saw the absolutely filthy, abandoned building on Third and Keowee as the gem it is today when everyone else saw a dump. And in order to bring her and Hamilton’s vision to fruition, they put in the hard work. For example, one evening, while an event was happening inside the building, Carli was scraping paint on the outside of the building, getting ready for paint the next day. She does what needs to be done.

She will admit that it isn’t always easy, but Carli almost always has something positive to say and that is why people want to be around her. People want to work with her. People want to be her.

So come to the LORE Mainstage: Hunger event at the Brightside Music and Event Venue and witness the masterpiece that Carli and Hamilton created.

Carli and Hamilton Dixon

Paperreka

I met Reka at a Start Up Grind event where she was on the panel. She spoke about finding balance as an entrepreneur and her passion about how the grind can actually stifle creativity rather than enhance it was compelling. I had to meet her. And so I waited around after the discussion and I introduced myself. And Reka already knew who I was. We laughed. That’s Dayton! We set up a time for lunch and so began our journey.

Reka knows that she is good at what she does. She doesn’t compromise. She chooses carefully who she works with and why. She takes her craft seriously and the results speak for themselves. When I started looking for partners for LORE branding, the match between Reka’s energy and mine made the decision easy. Paperreka began developing a design strategy for LORE.

There is a lot of design work that goes into an event like LORE Mainstage: Hunger. More than I realized, actually. There are logos to add to pictures, there are words and fonts and posters and playbills and t-shirts. It takes time and time is money. And Reka, in sponsorship of both LORE and the Foodbank, has offered to donate her time.

Witness Reka’s talents: look for the posters around town, like the facebook page, buy a ticket and hold the playbill in your hands.

Reka