Just sit right back, and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of…..service above self, and how this very motto works in business and life in general. Lakewood Rotarians Barlow Buescher and Karen were hosting several couples for the annual Rotary auction night on June 5. One of those invitees saw the $500 gift certificate from Ed Selden Carpet One and immediately bid…..$825, the Buy It Now price. Why you ask? Some months before, this guest of Barlow’s had purchased and had installed some carpeting from Ed Selden Carpet One. But somehow, the wrong item number was entered or given, and the wrong carpet was installed. Distraught, she went into the store and complained to Rick Selden, Lakewood Rotarian, for 46 years. Rick immediately assured her that it would be taken care of to her satisfaction, not to worry. It’s what good business people do, and it’s what good people do. This customer was so very impressed with Rick’s response, she felt compelled to show her appreciation by bidding $325 OVER the value of the gift certificate.
Service Above Self. It applies to all we do in Rotary but is an excellent principal for every day living, and for business.
This brings us to the June 5, 2021, auction #51 of what started as the Wild Game Dinner, got respectable as the Sportsmen’s Dinner and Auction and was forced into an online auction for the last two years. How would we top the in-person event visited by over 400 people. And yet…..less is more, in this case. $70K+ for a gross and a net: not much in the way of expenses for an online auction, especially when the auction program is already paid for. “Necessity is the mother of invention.” “If you are given lemons, make lemonade.” Etc., etc. Bottom line is, along with many others, we find a way to get it done.
(And a special shout out to Rod Ladd from Gig Harbor Rotary. A former member at Lakewood, he donated over $500 to our auction. Rotarians stick together!)
A fine upstanding Norwegian recently told me that at a recent Swedish soccer game, the beautiful blonde cheerleaders yelled out: “Gimme an ‘F’! Gimme an ‘I’! Gimme a ‘G’! Gimme an ‘H’! Gimme a ‘T’! Now, what’s that spell????”
And all they got back was heavy “thinking” and total silence…
