In the spring of 2022, I attended the Sphere 1 Annual Meeting in Denver. Hartman has long been a partner of Sphere 1 which is a member-distributor owned organization. In other words, it is a bunch of manufacturers and distributors who work to help each other. The net result is that we get to help our customers as well as collectively participate in events and projects. After nearly two years of not seeing vendor partners, manufacturers, and other distributors, it was fun getting together and reconnecting.
Meetings, meetings, and more meetings…
If you have never attended this type of get together, let me give you a snapshot of what goes on in this event. It’s meetings. Not just one meeting, but days of meetings. You check into the hotel, then go to a meeting. You get up in the morning and stand in the line for Starbuck’s coffee starting at 6AM, get breakfast, and then go to a meeting. You take a break to go stand in a line for Starbuck’s coffee after a meeting but then you have to get going again to go to a meeting. There’s lunch, and then a meeting. A break, and then, yes, a meeting.
“My dogs are barking.”
I am dating myself here with that expression. For those of you who are a part of later generations, “My dogs are barking” translates “My feet hurt.” That’s another thing you do at this kind of event – you walk. I mean, serious, fast-paced walking. And if you have my kind of fortune, your hotel room is on the other side of the building from the meeting venue, which is a half-mile from the elevator. Because of this, you are now a mile away from the line for Starbuck’s coffee.
“Ok, forget it, I don’t need Starbuck’s this morning, breakfast is at 7 and I want to beat the rush.”
Too late. I can’t keep up with the speed walking of the CrossFit Crowd so I get there at my own pace. Breakfast done and it’s time for the meeting. Is the meeting around the corner? Of course not. You walk a quarter mile to the escalator then go downstairs from being upstairs and then, walk a quarter mile to the meeting. Need to leave the meeting to use the facilities?:
“Excuse me, but can you tell me where the ladies room is?”
“Sure, go up the escalators (didn’t I just come down from there a quarter mile ago?) walk down the hall (another quarter mile), turn left, walk down that hall and the ladies room is right there.”
I retrace the same path back to the meeting. Now, it’s time for lunch. Is lunch nearby? Nope. You have to go back upstairs, walk down the hall, turn right, walk down that hall and lunch is “right there.” (Why isn’t there an expression of, “it’s left there”? ) By the time the meetings are over for the day, even though a vendor is supplying some great meeting/dinner somewhere (probably a mile away and the only way to get there is to walk), my ‘dogs’ have had enough and I settle for some packaged food from some place I can’t remember the name of and walk back to my room to eat and then leave again because I have to meet someone later.
What’s this have to do with heroes?
During this annual meeting, Sphere 1 and the attendees raised over $154,000 in one night for Building Homes for Heroes®. Sphere 1 has been involved with the Building Homes for Heroes® organization for over eight years and has pledged $25K annually. They are also working on a project to engage Sphere 1 members on an ongoing basis.
Yes, there are a lot of meetings and a lot of walking at these events, but associations like Sphere 1 are more than buying and selling. We all came together to honor and support real heroes – those whose lives are forever altered when facing the enemy on the battlefield – and for freedom. It puts a new perspective on all my whining and complaining about having to walk somewhere to meet somebody.
Read about one hero’s story here.
Wow, yes, people like Sergeant Ennis are the true heroes, but how does this help me as a Hartman customer?
It makes us bigger than who we are. It means our contribution in time and money gets multiplied and has a far great impact than if we did it alone. As a Hartman customer, as our strategic partner, it means your dollars contributed to the Building Homes for Heroes and was every bit a part of that $154,000 raised in one night. You had a very real and tangible representation in providing a house, a home, for those who served our country which allows them to “take another step toward being defined by their accomplishments and activities, and not their injuries or disabilities.”
Hartman is proud to be a part of this. So when you visit our website and you see this:
at the bottom of our home page, you will understand the reasons why we participate in these types of associations. It is our opportunity – and yours – to have a much greater impact together than alone.
If you want to learn more about Hartman and our business, feel free to contact me: teresa@hartmanindco.com
