Michael's Gratitude Project

Sometimes one act of kindness in a moment of dire need can have a long and lasting impact.  This is a story about one of those acts. Not long after starting my job at the Utah Hotel & Lodging Association I started a blog of sorts doing reviews of hotels around the state.  It was a way for me to highlight and bring attention to hotels that supported the association.  It also gave me a chance to get around the state and to visit a lot of hotels.  I would usually try to connect these reviews with meetings that I needed to attend in order to get more bang for my buck. On one such occasion my plan did not work very well.  I had planned a meeting in Cedar City to help the hotels there organize a local lodging association.  It was a lunch meeting that would only last a few hours.  However, since it was a three hour drive each way I figured I would use it as a chance to visit a local property. I had been talking with Patrice Arent who was doi...

Many of the people that have influenced me are your average Joe’s and Jane’s.  They have been neighbors and friends, classmates and coworkers but occasionally they have been more public citizens or high profile individuals.  Some of the high profile folks on the list have come across as kind of “high and mighty.”  They know that they are a big deal in town and they let everybody know it.  This is a story about a man that was a big deal in town, but that was as down to earth as any neighbor and friend that you could hope for. Jim Wall was the president and publisher of the Deseret Morning news when I first met him.  He had been in that position for many years when we first crossed paths.  As the publisher of a major newspaper he had enormous influence in Salt Lake City and throughout Utah.  We met while we were both serving on the board of directors for the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau, later called Visit Salt Lake. The board is a ...

I think some people are expected to shape lives in important ways.  Teachers, church leaders, managers, family members and even community leaders are in positions to shape lives and we often expect that from them.  Sometimes, however, there are people that you would not expect to have a major impact but who shape a life without knowing it.  Craig Christensen is one of those people for me.  One simple act nearly 20 years ago has had a huge impact on my life and I’ll bet that he does not even remember it happening. Craig was one of the kids in my neighborhood growing up.  I met him when I was about nine and we were friends until my family moved away when I was fifteen.  During this time we were your average neighborhood buddies.  We played sports together, jumped on trampolines, I jumped off of his roof a few times, we went on camping trips with the scouts and hung out at the Jr. High.  I remember going to his house to play Mortal Kombat on the...