This past week the flu absolutely clotheslined me. Now that I’m feeling better I’m taking a moment several times a day to be grateful for my health. An experience last night, however, reminded me to be thankful for more than just my health, specifically for my job at Crossroads, a place where, among many other positives, the leadership invests in its people. 

Last night, the entire Crossroads team attended TEDxKC. For those of you who are unfamiliar, TED is a nonprofit forum of “Ideas Worth Spreading.” Artists, intellectuals, athletes, social change agents, professionals and all kinds of people with an idea worth spreading deliver short lectures, aka TEDTalks, at annual TED conferences in Long Beach, Palm Springs and Edinburgh. Often these lectures are filmed and broadcast online so people around the world have the chance to hear the ideas as well.

TEDx events such as TEDxKC are independently-organized forums where communities around the world gather to view and discuss TEDTalks videos and/or live presenters.

Kansas City held its fourth TEDxKC event on Tuesday, Aug. 28, at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Our Crossroads team was treated to two live music acts and several inspiring and thought-provoking talks.

But it was during the event’s intermission that I got my wake-up call. During the 20-minute break, I ran into two former colleagues of mine from the place where I worked before coming to Crossroads. Both were amazed that our entire Crossroads team was at the event and that our company had paid for our tickets. When I told them how members of our senior leadership team had even walked from our office to the Kauffman Performing Arts Center in 100-degree heat to buy tickets when the online ticket site crashed, my former colleagues mouths were on the floor.

I felt proud to say I worked at Crossroads and so profoundly grateful to go back into the second half of the show, sit down in a long row of my colleagues, chat with them about the event afterwards then come into work here again this morning.

I think I speak for everyone at Crossroads when I say thank you to our leadership team for making last night happen, thanks for everything you do for us every day and thanks in advance for the best that is yet to come.

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