Well, today was definitely a one of a kind. I began the morning with an early morning trek to Reynolds Farm Equipment in Fishers where they were celebrating their 50th anniversary. Within a couple hours, all their buildings were packed with farmers from all around the state. With everyone in Carhartt’s & work boots, I was right at home (and glad I wore green).

When I was telling Mitch about it later in the day, he asked if it took me back to my roots, and boy, did it ever. Seeing all the little kids following their dads, yearning to climb up in every piece of machinery and trying to point out some cool feature about a tractor that their dad may not have seen yet, well, it brought back a lot of memories. I was once the curious child that thought sitting up in a tractor was about the most exciting thing in the world, and seeing all the little boys in their mini-farmer gear, just reminded me of my brother at that age. He still loves farming, but not the same way he did at that age. I remember his eyes lighting up at the sight of just a toy tractor. Now, it’s become a job.

Having every single person I passed smile & say “hi” was just surreal. I had so many complete strangers ask how I was doing. And I’m sorry but old men are about as entertaining as it gets. They never failed to have a witty remark. They’re just nice people. They had mini-tractor pulls & truck races for the kids, and you could see how much all the elders truly enjoyed seeing the kids have so much fun. There were over 1000 people at this place, and you wouldn’t be able to tell a set of strangers from old friends. That way of life just bonds all these people.

I’m really glad I went. I met the first employee, the owners of the first tractor sold in ‘55 (yes, the tractor was there & running), and I met most of the reynolds family. Every person I interviewed or spoke to there always said the same thing “they are great people.” And for all the 1000s, the family knew every customer by name.

Oh and I saw the biggest combine ever. I’d never felt so small. That combine was the basis of 3 fairly lengthy convos with complete strangers, who were also gawking at its massiveness. For reference, the bean head (that long front part in the second combine photo) is 35ft long.

But anyway, Bryan, our ceo, showed up with his family, so they invited me to lunch before going to Conseco Fieldhouse, where Mitch was covering an event we were gonna check out. Bryan is awesome, as is his wife & twin 4-year old boys. So after lunch downtown, we headed to Conseco to watch some wheelchair basketball.

It was actually extremely exciting. Now, I do love basketball, but basketball on wheels was just intense. It was so much more hardcore than I had expected. If there had been a bigger crowd, it would have been even better. I was damn impressed at these guys’ abilities to maneuver and honest to god..dribble the basketball. Craziness. And if you think it’d be kinda slow, you’re wrong. It felt faster than a running game. I really enjoyed it. It really made me want to go to an NBA game…but only with near floor seats. It also furthers my ambition to get in better shape so I can join the sauce bball league when the time comes.

So after the game, we went to the Starbucks and hung out with Mitch. It was a really nice time. I honestly don’t know how Bryan & his wife keep track of those boys on their own. We all took turns rounding them up. What I like about Bryan, and Mitch for that matter, is that he really listens. He remembered that my dad uses Case equipment and other little details. Little things like that go a long way with me.

It was quite an excellent day. It was my first time inside Conseco which was exciting, too. Days like this…out in the field, so to speak, really confirm I’m where I’m supposed to be. Plus, it’s always a perk to be able to hang out with your company’s ceo and get some insight on where the company’s heading. Seems we have an Olympics-related commercial lined up…that will air on NBC. And we’re getting hooked up with some music-related events, which definitely excites me. Even if all goes to hell with my job, I’m gonna have a nice stack of experiences that I would have never had otherwise.

Some people want to work at the big firms and work with the “big names” but we’re getting to work with the big names and really meet all the people behind them, not just their little marketing team. That’s what makes it special.