My "Goodbye, Momentum" Email

“I’m not going on a mercy interview.”

In 2000, my then-husband Ross had met a guy at driving school who worked at Momentum. I had a few freelance clients, but I’d really put my writing career on hold to raise our two young daughters Madeline and Julia. I thought, “Work can wait.” But Ross could not. So eventually, I acquiesced and called Brent Wilson.

That mercy interview led to freelance work, part-time work and full-time work. I was hired as a copywriter, but quickly updated that to senior writer. (New hires, stick up for yourselves. The squeaky wheel and all that.) And today, I’m a VP Creative Director.

But not for long.

This afternoon, I’ll pull out of my parking space and drive away from Momentum for the last time. I’ll have a box of books, some posters and a Pennzoil cooler shaped like an engine bouncing about in the back seat. And so many wonderful memories rattling around my brain.

Things that could only have happened to me at Momentum:

·      Brett Seher and I created a graphic novel series called Oil Masters for Pennzoil. The first issue was penciled and everything. Dammit, Pennzoil. You should have trusted us on that one.

·      I sang in brainstorms.

·      I invented a game called Crapshot. Every day, my team would spin the wheel and face the consequences. Which usually included a shot created by me. Some of my concoctions were delicious. Others? Not so much. (Quote: “It tastes like someone farted in my mouth.”)

·      I went to pizza school. NASCAR drivers don’t like it when you’re faster at making pizza then they are.

·      I talked Chris Weil into fronting the money to finally win AdStock, the St. Louis battle of the ad agency bands. God, that trophy was ugly. I adored it.

·      I rode roller coasters. For work. Teenage Rebecca would be impressed.

·      I had awesome meals and many drinks with coworkers and clients.

·      I wrote and sang a jingle to help Carolyn Beilsmith’s daughter win a free wedding.

·      I wrote a song about SmartStax for Brad Stamulis to sing for Monsanto.

·      I helped Brent Wilson’s team win a lot of new business. Pennzoil/Quaker State, Enterprise, Hostess, Domino’s, The U.S. Mint, Genuity, a second stint with the U.S. Army, Genuity again, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Florida Power & Light.

·      I ran a half-marathon, thanks to Bill Schmidt.

·      I sang at client presentations.

·      I cooked up a story about a deranged rocker named Sylvie who took out her aggression on unsuspecting fans and kept a finger from each victim as a souvenir. The folks at Busch Gardens bought it. Then changed their minds. Then bought it again. I wrote three songs for the campaign, including the eponymous My X. My own band recorded that one too. I could blah-dee-blah about that experience forever. If you’re curious, hit me up.

·      I wrote and produced Energy House Calls, a reality series for P&E. I lived in California for 6 weeks, which was grueling for everyone. But I think it turned out pretty neat.

I guess what I’m trying to say is, Anything Is Possible Here. If you’re not doing what you love, you’re not doing it right. Thank you all, for everything you have taught and shared with me at Momentum. I am the Connected Protagonist and you are all characters in My Story!

If it feels good, do it.

How I got into the spirit of giving back.

I’ve walked for the cure. I’ve dined out for life. I’ve written checks, signed petitions and donated food and clothing. But I’m not what I’d consider as highly altruistic. Do I care? Yes. Do I make time in my everyday life to care? Not really. I’m a Gen X single mom balancing life with two teenagers who want to go to top-notch schools with a demanding career in marketing. Sometimes it’s hard to care about clean laundry, much less giving back.

So perhaps you’ll forgive me for the little zing of glee I felt when I read the article “Millennials might not be so special after all, study finds” on usatoday.com. Check this out: “Published online in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the study finds Millennials (born 1982-2000) more civically and politically disengaged, more focused on materialistic values, and less concerned about helping the larger community than were GenX (born 1962-1981) and Baby Boomers (born 1946 to about 1961) at the same ages.”

Yes! I mean, whoah, that’s too bad.

It seems those Millennials are volunteering because their schools require it. I can attest to this motivator as my eldest daughter is worrying herself sick about her lack of volunteering and how it will impact her college applications. If only she’d turn off “Nashville” and go collect canned food.

Or, she could follow her mother’s example. That’s right, I have found a way to give back that reflects my personal values, plays to my strengths and gives me untold satisfaction. I’ve become a mentor for ready+willing, a St. Louis nonprofit that pairs other local nonprofits with professional marketing mentors (that’s me). I recently attended a recruiting event where I interviewed writers, art directors and designers to assemble my team. Frankly, the event did not live up to my expectations. I was unaware that many of the volunteers were looking to break into the creative field or build their portfolios. That’s where Momentum stepped in. Or rather, my friends and colleagues did. Momentum is not officially sponsoring our endeavors, but we are holding meetings in the St. Louis office. And I’ve assembled a first-rate team.

Business Leadership Manager Amy George volunteered to be my co-captain. Account Executive Lauren Durand took on research. Art Director Josh Rogier and Junior Copywriter Nicole Conoyer will be art directing and writing. Broadcast Business Advisor Mary Mitchell will help us find editing resources. And Associate Creative Director Jonathan Reed will shoot.

Which brings me to our project. We’re going to write and produce a promotional video for Magdalene St. Louis, an offshoot of a successful two-year program founded in Nashville, Tennessee by The Reverend Becca Stevens to help victims of human trafficking and addiction rebuild their lives. Magdalene St. Louis has a board of directors and a goal to open a house in 2014. The video we’ll produce will help create local advocacy, starting with the realization that human trafficking is a problem in St. Louis. I had no idea that I live in one of the top 20 U.S. cities for human trafficking. We can thank our robust highway system that branches out to both coasts for that. According to the agreement Magdalene St. Louis has with ready+willing, we only have to provide a script. But I am determined to deliver what they actually need, a video that will inspire St. Louisans to learn more, tell their friends, get involved and donate.

I had the opportunity to attend an open house for Magdalene St. Louis called “Opening the Door” on Wednesday, May 8 at Christ Church Cathedral. Over the course of the evening we heard success stories from former prostitutes and victims of abuse and drug addiction who turned their lives around with the help of the Magdalene program and community support. Their tales were shocking. Yet the statistics are worse. Did you know the preferred age for prostitutes is now 14? My youngest daughter is 14. The women who will live in Magdalene House in St. Louis will be considerably older. But imagine what it must feel like, to be an adult caught in a cycle of abuse, prostitution, addiction and life on the street. Magdalene House will help give these women a new life. And in a small but significant way, my team will help give these women a new life too.

Becca Stevens closed the open house on that warm May evening with this thought. On Monday, May 6, three Cleveland women were trapped in a nightmare of abuse and victimization. When Amanda Berry screamed out, Charles Ramsey helped her kick out the bottom of the door that opened to freedom. Now we have the opportunity to open doors for women who desperately need our help. I am humbled and inspired by this project and the chance to use my skills to do something meaningful.

I’m giving back. And it feels amazing.

I was an intern once

The summer between my junior and senior years at the University of Missouri-Columbia, I was an intern at LIDA Advertising. An agency in Des Peres, mere minutes from my parents' home. How convenient! How terrific for my future resume!

Let's just say I was in college before the days of Google. If I had done a search, I would have done declined the offer.

Turns out, LIDA was a yellow pages agency, owned my LInda and DAvid. How adorable.

On my first day, I got someone fired. Because when DAvid shared my 3.9 GPA with one of the ladies in the office, she bragged that she had graduated with a 4.0 from La-De-Da University. So like a true yellow pages advertising specialist, DAvid looked up her alma mater to verify. She had never attended that school. Good bye, Liar Pants.

The other LIDA intern that summer was also from Mizzou. Her name was Kimmer. I'm so thankful that Kimmer was there. Because LIDA was dreadfully boring.

You see, we weren't creating ads. We were verifying listings! DAvid was big on verification. All day every day, we'd call doctors to see if their numbers were still correct. The highlight of my first month interning was getting my request played on a radio station that Kimmer and I listened to during lunch. "Brand New Lover" by Dead or Alive. Good times.

Then, quite magically, DAvid found out that I could draw. I sketched a one-panel comic of people walking on their fingers. (For you youngsters, the yellow pages used to have a jingle that suggested, "Let your fingers do the walking, it's a snap.") 

Boom. I was in charge of creating comics for a newsletter. In addition to my daily verification calls, of course.

Did I get anything out of the experience? Nothing I could put in a portfolio. But my internship did introduce me to office life. And what giving up on being a Real Copywriter might look like.

Today, I'm a VP Creative Director At Momentum Worldwide. And on July 8, I will be a Group Creative Director at Group360.

Boom.