Barely 6 a.m., and day ALREADY MADE!
Check this glorious quote from former boss and off-the-charts success Darrell H. Smith:
"Jennifer is uniquely talented.
She understands the world we live in,
the technology that is changing that world,
and, most importantly, jennifer
understands, relates to, and inspires
the people that live in this changing world.
And she has terrific hair."
Darrell is one of Utah's entrepreneurial success stories, and a technology-inspired success story. Barely 30, he and two partners formed Dahlin Smith White (DSW), an advertising firm focused on servicing Utah's then-fledgling technology sector. Novell and WordPerfect both, then Aldus, InFocus, and then the unbelievable mammoth account, Intel, were landed by DSW.
The greatest day of my business life was when our landlocked agency in Salt Lake City bested the group doing Nike's advertising out of Portland and another "in vogue" tech firm out of Silicon Valley to win Intel. The partners took the entire agency to the movies, giving us treat money and a life-long memory.
In my role at DSW, I was both able to endure a steaming Andy Grove and able to tour George Lucas' studio--Industrial Light and Magic--the agency's partner for the ground-breaking (or, since depicting a "Star Wars"-like cruise through the innards of a computer, perhaps, siliconbreaking?)"Intel Inside" television advertising. DSW produced Super Bowl commercials for both Intel and Iomega... in one year!
The company was the toast of the town, the envy of the industry, and created a culture where we loved and lived to work our guts out all hours of day and night. We were on the cover of Marketing Computers, in AdWeek's list of "hottest" agencies, in Inc. and elsewhere.
We partied with Harrison Ford and supported his rainforest-saving project. We had Harley fetes and bowling parties and even a true red-carpet and Hollywood lights gala, renting out a giant computer retail store and getting a $100 coupon to buy "whatever" (me? I am sure you won't be surprised that I scored a karaoke machine!).
We had an agency band, enjoyed constant lunches with the partners, had people to take and fetch our dry-cleaning, snarfed snacks beyond measure and high-brow take-out, inhabited a Triad Center address by day (that had buzz, back then!) and "uber-bonus"-supported homes by night, scored offices with European furniture, and lived, breathed, and created with the brightest minds in the biz.
But what I like most?
Darell Smith's saying I have teriffic hair! :)
(He "knows hair"--he is gorgeously, long-time married to the original Big-Hair Queen!)
Barely 6 a.m., and day already made.
Thanks for the smiling trip back, Darrell...
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