A bit less than three years ago, Floricane was hiring a part-time project coordinator. We were confronted with a tough choice -- three candidates that we all really loved. Two had amazing qualifications, and all three had great energy.
We chose the one with great energy and fewer qualifications. Oddly enough, we went with the Millennial because we felt like she would be excited about the entire job description -- not just the parts she knew she liked from past experiences.
Caroline Moyer was absolutely the right person for that job. She was conscientious, eager to learn, and our clients liked her. She took copious notes, and could hammer out client reports that made sense.
Six months after she started, another team member left. After three minutes of mulling, I took Caroline to lunch and offered her a full-time position that blended her project coordinator position with an ill-defined events and marketing role. She almost jumped out of her seat with excitement, and said yes.
Caroline Moyer was absolutely the right person for that job, too. In two years, she took an ill-defined role and turned it into a critical cornerstone of Floricane's work. You've experienced her magic touch if you've attended an event or workshop, received a strategic planning report, visited our collaborative space in the Times-Dispatch building, or read just about anything we've published on our blog, in our newsletter, or on social media.
To paraphrase Johnny Cash, she's been everywhere.
Except to Chicago. She hadn't been there until just recently.
This summer, our newly-engaged superstar is leaving Floricane, and headed to Chicago on an adventure of a lifetime. Her fiancé Samantha is leading the charge, as she pursues her master's in fine arts in the Windy City. They're going to have a blast.
Two years ago, we were working with Steve Rosser and the team at Gelati Celesti. Steve said that he wanted Gelati Celesti to be a place where his employees would look back in 20 years and say, "That was the best job I ever had." That's one lofty aspiration.
I'm banking on Caroline looking back one day at her first full-time job and thinking, "I can't believe I learned so much about business, about Richmond and about myself at Floricane."
I'm already looking back and thinking that I am so lucky our team made the choice we made in November of 2012. Caroline has done more to grow and strengthen Floricane than I ever could imagine, articulate or thank her for. Watching her fall deeply in love with Samantha, with Richmond and with great work has been such a treat.
And if you can help her find her a job in Chicago that's almost as great as the one she's leaving in Richmond (and pays a bit more), drop her a note.
