A Personal Thank You

By Doug Smith

Have you ever had that one person you wish you had said “Thank You” to more often when you look back over your career?

Remembering back just over two years, standing in the lot of an Acura dealership in Alpharetta, GA, waiting on that “Up Bus” to roll in when my phone rang with a number I was not familiar with. Of course, being the car salesman I was, and viewing the opportunity to make some money, I answered. How was I to know that it was opportunity knocking in the form of Tony Pate, and that this phone call would change the course of my life forever.

Fast forward a couple of months. I began working with Woople under Tony’s leadership and guidance. Over the next 22 months, for the first time in my professional career, I had someone in a leadership role investing time and effort in me and my development. Not just as an employee and team member, but as a person. Tony laid out a plan and showed me the pathway that would lead me to success. He guided me, coached me, and kept me on that pathway in the best ways he knew how. He genuinely took my development personal and it showed. As with any teacher and coach, we did not always see eye to eye, nor did we always agree with how to keep me on the path – that is until I had the ability to look back and recognize that one ever-present trait that Tony had with me. Tony always had my best interests at the center of his coaching me.

With Tony recently retiring from Paul Cummings Enterprises and Woople, I have realized that I did not tell my teacher and coach “Thank You” enough. Now that I do not get to see him on a daily basis, I wish that I had. Tony has, and always will have, a legacy within the walls of our company, whether it is in the Community Collaborative Education Centers in Chattanooga or Liberty, within the name written walls at the Level 10 Retreat and Conference Center in Wildwood, or beyond.

I would like to take this small space in this article and give a very large “THANK YOU” to my teacher, coach, mentor, and friend, Tony Pate. I am the man I am today because you took a chance on me two years ago and provided your guidance along my journey. I appreciate all you have done for my family, and for the wisdom you shared. May your “Energy, Excitement, and Enthusiasm” for the things you love never fade.