Hey You! Thanks for Being Excellent.

The people making a meaningful impression and inspiring excellence across the country.

I’m back on the road, and back to finding reasonably healthy food on the road. A well-reviewed Culver’s caught my eye and I swung by for a salad to take back to the hotel room.

The girl taking my order was friendly and articulate, and when I shared my name for the order, she, with enthusiasm responded, “How pretty!” Now, if my name were something unique and flowery like Sophronia Grace Isabella and pronounced with an exotic accent, I’d understand. But when you happen to have a name which has been exceedingly popular for decades, very rarely do people tell me it’s beautiful. They usually just tell me who they know who is named Emily—their daughter, niece, sister, etc. Certainly no one taking orders at a drive-thru has ever sincerely complimented me on my beautiful name.

She wasn’t the only dazzler there though. Her colleague—given their level of professionalism I choose this title over “co-worker”—who took my money was well-groomed and polite and organized. And then the third Culverian…