Black & Veatch 100 Year Anniversary Celebration

9:00AM on the first day of May,

I sat in a modern type chair in the new Rodman Innovation Pavilion at Black & Veatch. I was wearing a new outfit from Express and black heels from Target that easily made me feel fabulous.

I was nervous.

I checked my phone again. I was anxiously waiting for my new boss to come get me from the lobby and whisk me away to my new floor and my first cubicle ever.

An email notification appeared on my phone's screen. And then another popped up right after. I had my first meeting at 10AM and another at 11AM.

I still hadn't even seen my desk yet.

I didn't get to dip a toe in or ease my body into the waters of corporate life. I was shoved in. 

I needed to learn how to swim fast. 

The 9 o'clock hour was a blurred rush of office supplies and computer setup before my first meeting in which I sat at a large table in a conference room with a few glass walls. I immediately felt like I was sitting in an episode of Mad Men as our client walked in bearing cupcakes and a formal presentation on what they had to offer us.

They were going to be helping us with the planning, set up, logistics, contracts, and so much more in between for the 100 year anniversary celebration at Black & Veatch World Headquarters.

More times than I can count, I struggled to wrap my head around the idea that my job at the moment was solely focused on this one event and that I was communicating with close to 100 offices across the globe to ensure they held their own celebration as well.

Emails were sent to Australia, to South Africa, to Russia, to Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and more. 

A little over 3 months later, the event came to life. The maps and the diagrams and the layouts were no longer on just paper and sent in emails and discussed in meetings. I watched a man on stilts entertain kids, ate from one of the 28 food trucks, danced to the live band, and wondered among 6,000 guests in attendance.

I couldn't have been more thankful for the shove and learning how to swim and keep going in my first corporate job. I got to be part of a team and meet new people. The Excel sheets, stress, last minute changes, meetings, details were all right before my eyes. I learned what my 23-year-old-self could be capable of.

I sat at a picnic table and listened to the CEO tell the crowd, "The sun never sets on Black & Veatch today"as he explained that celebrations would start in Melbourne and end in San Francisco.

A highlight from the event was having Ed Eilert, Johnson County chair, in attendance. He is an Emporia State alum and was part of the Blue Key charter class back in the 60's and inducted into the Hall of Fame. He was at ESU when I was inducted at the re-charter ceremony in 2012. We were able to connect and chat quite a bit about my role at Black & Veatch, the event, and Emporia State. 

Ed Eilert and I at the B&V 100 Anniversary event

The weather was perfect and a classic Kansas sunset made an appearance as the event was winding down. By the time I was about to leave, it was already dark and I grabbed my things from the front desk of the Rodman Innovation Pavilion. Where I once was nervous, I was now relieved, tired, and a huge event for a global corporation was now under my belt. 

You can also read about the event here and here. Want to know more about Black & Veatch? Watch this really cool video!