Thank You Dan

I lost a friend yesterday.

He was a great man.  A leader and an inspiration.

Dan Sottile gave me hope for leadership and the business world in general.  At a time when I had lost faith in the good in leaders, Dan showed up in my life.

I met Dan 9 years ago about this time of year.  I remember him asking me in my job interview what my perfect work week would look like.  I thought it was a test:).  I hesitated, then thinking of my little boys who were 3 and just over 1 at the time I told him honestly that it would be great if I could have the occasional Friday off to be with them.  As I nervously waited to see if I passed, Dan said, how about every Friday?  He accepted me, and I accepted the job.

Dan was smart, creative, full of energy, brilliant at putting together deals but most importantly, he believed in and supported people - full stop.

When I left Long View, I was pregnant with my daughter and I wanted to be home with my kids.  Dan hugged me and told me how much he believed that this was a wonderful decision for me.  He then fought for me to be paid commission on a couple of business deals that I had just closed that we had just started to do the work on.  He didn't have to, but he did - that was Dan.

I haven't seen Dan in a few years, but when the flooding happened this past spring and my family was displaced, I received a message from an old Long View colleague and friend who said that Dan had called her and asked her to reach out to me to see what I needed.  I haven't worked for Dan since 2006, but 7 years later, he remembered where I live and cared enough to check in.

Today, I feel heartbroken that the world has lost a man like Dan.  We need more Dan's - lots more.

I am so grateful to have met and worked for Dan Sottile.

Thank you Dan for showing me the kind of leadership I longed for in the world.  I will always strive to be like you - to relentlessly honour people and the contribution that they make.  I will never forget you.