The People

When you get to be a grey haired guy like me, sometimes you need to take time to pause and reflect. At 56 years old, with a nine year old son and a great wife (couldn’t leave that part out), it is a regular occurrence that I think back to all the twists and turns that got me to this awesome place.

In anyone’s life, there are a million microscopic personal influences that change a person’s trajectory. Even if you don’t know it at the time, one little pivot can change it all (one of mine was answering an ad in the Sunday paper for a job, but that is for another Huddle Up).

I’ve been very blessed to have a zillion great people invest in me over the years. While I know I will miss a few, below is an abbreviated list of some of those that really helped me move the needle, in somewhat of a chronological order…..

Rich Schmieder and Rebecca Rogers – My parents, one a great entrepreneur, one a world champion bridge player. Both brilliant and taught me what work ethic looked like when I was really young.

“Grandma” Lynn – Raised me like her own.

The Blackwell Family – Took me in like I belonged there. Taught me to be humble and gracious for what we had. They have been part of my journey since second grade.

The Rustand Family – We hooped under the lights at their house when we could have been out doing much worse things. Mr. Rustand is one of the great story tellers of all time. Eric is one of my favorite people I’ve ever met, and a teammate with me on the 1986 Arizona High School Golf State Championship team. That was an awesome week.

The Referee Triangle – Three lifelong friends that were all referees at the high school and college levels. Each of them helped mentor me at various points in time. One was my high school golf coach for our state championship team. One motivated me in college. One helped me fix my relationship with my father when I was too young to understand it all.

Ray Hoyt – He mentored me and set my trajectory on this awesome sports tourism journey back in 1996. He gave me my first shot and helped me get the next one after that as well. I owe Ray an awful lot that he likely won’t ever come to collect.

Steve Macy – Even though I can’t beat him at golf anymore, I’m still three days younger, taller, and better looking. Steve and I didn’t always agree on things, but we learned how to have conflict and work through things and not hold any grudges.

The Whole Tulsa “Tribe” – Larry, Dustin, Tom, Drisk, Suzanne, Rit, the Goodwins, Eggman, Coach Haney, Turnbow, man I could go on and on. I was a single guy when I got there and had never run a non-profit before. 100s of people stood with us as we built that organization up. We couldn’t have done it without everyone rowing in one direction and counseling me along the way.

Rob Cohen – He taught me what loyalty looks like. In a really meaningful way. I will never be able to pay him for all the morning breakfast conversations we had over the seven-plus years we were in Denver. Most of those chats had nothing to do with the sports commission.

David McReynolds – He showed me how to work through conflict. Multiple times. A great leadership tool to have, even if it was tough sometimes.

Sherm Miller – One of the only people that I think loved the University of Arizona more than I do. Sherm was great to us at every turn, even wiping out his busy afternoon calendar one day to coach Sharon and me through the adoption process.

Sharon Schmieder – My wife of over 13 years, after I “rushed” her to the alter after the initial 10. She has taught me what Faith and love really look like.

Pastor Frank – He has been an important part of our family for over a decade. How cool is it to have a Pastor that is also a sports fan?!?!?

Brock Schmieder – Even at nine years old, he mentors me every day, even when he doesn’t understand how.

Invest in your tribes, even when you don’t think there is enough time in the day. It will come back ten-fold when you need it down the road.

Have a Merry Christmas!