Jon once skipped a weekly production planning meeting to respond to a request from a Finance work team to help us understand the production planning process. When I commented on this, he said that the people in this meeting were excellent, and he compared his participation in these meetings to a sea gull — he came in, made a lot of noise, made a big mess, and then left.

Unlike a sea gull, Jon made an impact on me. I am thankful that I met him, and began missing him Monday morning when I, yet again, needed his assistance with something.

I smile when I think of him, and know that he’s off making an impact somewhere else.

Written Dec. 2002