THE EVENT OF THE YEAR

The First Annual True Legends banquet was held on September 20th, 2025 and was well received by the VIP guests (i.e. our team of stars) but it also caught the attention of our special guest for the day, our HR VP who was quite impressed and escalated her impressions on the event all the way up the chain to the CEO. This was a massive undertaking, but from the planning and development, to the props, to the refresh of the public spaces, I was able to pull of what was called “The best employee appreciation even in the 20 plus year history of company employee appreciation events”. I was interviewed by the Corporate Communications team for both Do It Best and True Value who are planning an article due out Monday the 29th. Below are the questions asked and my responses, which provide a sort of walkthrough of the event.

What inspired your idea for the table décor? 

To complement the overall “Hollywood Style Red Carpet” theme, I thought it would be fun to create thematic table centerpieces inspired by iconic food and drink brands linked to certain films. Having grown up in the eighties, a couple came to mind immediately — like E.T. with Reese’s Pieces and The Goonies with Baby Ruth. The remaining tables came together after a little research. Honestly, this ended up being the most intensive part of the project. I wanted the centerpieces to be both memorable and cost-effective, while also tying into the appreciation theme by allowing associates to take them home. I handcrafted many of the pieces, which ultimately became a highlight of the evening. Since everything disappeared into the hands of our associates by the end of the night, I’ll take that as a sign they were well-received!

Can you walk me through your creative process from idea to finished piece? 

Given the difficult year we had — going from the brink of shutting our doors to being in a position to say thank you to our people and even give them a bonus — I felt this was the perfect opportunity to show genuine appreciation in a special way.  The early concept was to host a “Hollywood-style movie premiere” where our associates were the stars. We had a red carpet, a step-and-repeat banner for photo ops, and guests were greeted with a drink and appetizer at the door. Our General Operations Manager, Omar Rosales, reminded me of a local event we attended the year before that had a 360-degree photo booth, so we added one to ours, which people loved.  Since our associates were the VIPs, we also opened the executive entrance — a space many had never even seen before. Hosting the banquet onsite rather than at an external venue meant we needed to renovate.  So between myself, some associates, and a huge amount of help from our maintenance team, we upgraded lighting, repainted the foyer and the Red Room, and chose colors based on the current company branding guidelines to refresh the space.  This gave me a blank slate to incorporate the concurrent timelines and other creative touches. What impressed associates most, I think, were all the small details that made them feel noticed — seeing themselves on a movie poster, their names on Hollywood stars, their favorite films represented, and being able to take something unique home. All of those details added up to a memorable night.

How did you choose the theme, materials, and overall style?  

I wanted it to feel like a genuine celebration of our people and all of their contributions.  What better way than treating them like celebrities?  Drawing from my background with graphic design projects, my limited on-set experience working on set of commercials and televised productions, and projects behind the camera, as well as theatrical performances, I was familiar with many of the production style elements that I knew I wanted to incorporate into the event. The theme and style came quickly, and designing the graphics and print pieces was genuinely enjoyable.  For specialty items like the lit movie poster frames and a flux capacitor replica, I researched how to create them or partnered with local creatives. For example, Kelly Brogdon, our HR Admin, took over one table and created amazing pieces with materials I’d never worked with.

What challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them? 

Our first challenge was securing a venue. External options were unavailable given the short timeframe, so we had no choice but to host the banquet in-house. We had the capacity for it, but that added a renovation workload to the mix.  The bright side was by giving us the chance to freshen up our space it would be something that would benefit us long after the event.  The second challenge was time. Alongside planning the banquet, I was managing the office, handling the IT elements on site as Systems Admin, and it was during this timeframe we faced a major network upgrade. Much of the banquet work had to be done in my off-hours. Fortunately, I had incredible support. Associates pitched in with painting and prep work, and the maintenance team went above and beyond, often handling extra requests before I even asked. My office team also kept day-to-day operations running smoothly, giving me the bandwidth to focus on the banquet. Without them, it wouldn’t have been possible.

Did the final result match your original vision, or did it evolve along the way?  

The final result actually exceeded my original vision. While a few ideas didn’t translate well from concept to reality, they were minimal. I also welcomed feedback throughout the process and incorporated suggestions where I could. The slight evolution, fueled by different perspectives, made the event even better than I imagined.

As for the combined history wall:

What was your vision behind combining the two histories into one timeline? 

In past roles, I’ve worked on renovation projects that showcased company history in public spaces. I’ve always found this valuable for helping people understand where the company has been, instilling pride, and creating a sense of connection.  A few years back, I created the New Hire Orientation Video for Corsicana, which required a lot of company research to find out the True Value historical facts.  More recently, I worked with the team on the New Hire Orientation Deck for which I shared several videos I put together as well as some of my research from company history of True Value.  I realized that the two companies really had similar paths they took through the years.  Representing the two histories side by side highlights how much strength we now have together and paints a bright picture for our shared future. 

How did you decide what events or milestones to include—and what to leave out? 

On the True Value side, there are a few public but less-than-positive chapters that I chose to leave out, as they didn’t add value to the overall story. I focused instead on milestones like record sales years, expansions, new CEOs, and other meaningful growth.  Since this timeline is displayed in Corsicana, I also included a few local highlights — such as facility expansions and awards — while keeping most of the content corporate-focused.

What guided your choices in layout, style, and visuals so the story felt cohesive?  

For Corsicana’s 40th anniversary in 2023, I created a colorful timeline that was printed on acrylic that still hangs in our main hallway.  That timeline uses a lot of different colors and visual elements.  With this new piece, however, I wanted a cleaner look to fit the large wall space. I designed it with True Value on one side and Do it Best on the other, showing points of alignment throughout the years. A single red line through the center connects the two and leads to the present, where they merge into one strong company. Because this was a large vinyl print project adhered directly to the wall, I carefully planned aspect ratios and alignments. Some parts had to be reprinted to achieve the result I wanted. The tedious “weeding” process — removing excess vinyl from letters and graphics — was another challenge, where I leaned heavily on my staff to help prep materials.

How did you ensure both True Value and Do it Best were represented fairly and clearly?   

Since I’m newer to Do it Best, I mostly relied on the history published on the corporate website, which fortunately aligned well with True Value’s historical milestones. The True Value side included a few more details thanks to my prior research, but overall, both companies were represented clearly and fairly.

What challenges did you face in pulling the content together?  

The biggest challenge, back when I first started researching True Value’s history, was the surprising lack of accessible company history records. That difficulty actually inspired me to dig deeper and curate content for future use.  Over time, I realized it may not have been a lack of records, but rather limited access to them at the time. Either way, the process pushed me to uncover and preserve important historical details.  That process was helpful and I learned quite a bit through that exercise.

Looking back, what part of the wall are you most proud of, and is there anything you’d approach differently next time?  

I’m most proud of the concept itself — creating a permanent visual reminder of our combined histories for all to see. I believe it’s vital to know where you’ve come from to truly understand where you’re headed. This wall is a tool for educating and inspiring both new and long-tenured team members.  Interestingly enough, the gentleman who was our DJ for the event asked me about the bankruptcy last year, which he had heard news about at the time but nothing beyond that.  This led me to the brief overview and retelling of events of the past year and his astonishment was a refreshing reminder to me of how far we’ve come in so short a time.  From almost shutting the doors forever to being able to join and celebrate our wins and our people in such a way reminded me how humbling and exciting this journey has been — and how much we have to look forward to.