An Amazing Opportunity... & many more to come

There’s something about Boston that breeds incredible young women. Every day I’m surrounded by them: In the office I see young women who are brilliant and strategic and capable of anything. In my friends I witness a never-ending devotion to life and fun. And at events, I watch women change the world.

One such brilliant woman is Lindsay Hyde, for whom I’m a “communications consultant”. Working with her is going to be a lot of fun. For example: Tonight she’s receiving one of four national Jefferson Awards, which is a prestigious national recognition system honoring community and public service in America.

In 1972, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, U.S. Senator Robert Taft, Jr. and Sam Beard founded the American Institute for Public Service to establish a Nobel Prize for public and community service — The Jefferson Awards. Over the past 35 years, the organization has honored a "Who's Who" of outstanding Americans and changemakers including Barbara Bush, Rosalynn Carter, Colin Powell, Bob Hope and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Lindsay is winning the national award for Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 Years or Under. Previous winners include Peyton Manning, Lance Armstrong, Faith Hill, Steve Jobs (seriously — in 1987), and the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team.

The other national recipients? Geoffrey Canada, Jeff Sachs, and Richard Daley. OMG. (And yes, Lindsay even has a wiki entry…)

So this organization, which boasts 150 Media Partners in 90 communities across the country and a board of 75 prestigious Americans (including Senator Tom Daschle, Senator Bill Frist, Laura Bush, Hank Aaron, Lesley Stahl and Michael Douglas), presents these amazing awards to this years winner each June in D.C.

While in D.C., she'll also have dinner with the head of the Coca-Cola Foundation, meet with people in Ashoka (one of the most fascinating organizations I can think of), and meet all sorts of incredible people.

And she asked me to join her.


Unfortunately, the timing won't work. But I can't give up hope! If these are the relationships she's seeding, and she's inviting me along for the ride, what will the future hold?

(the sky's the limit)