This Rooster Got Roasted!

Ruler of the Roost is transitioning into a new job and when I got the invitation to attend his send off/roast party I didn't hesitate to say "yes!"

Would I miss an evening where everything I have ever felt or observed of him was going to be completely validated by the people he works with? Are you kidding me, uh no. Plus, I got to change out of my uniform (sweats) and put mascara on.

The evening began with The Story Of Mark

Once upon a time, in a land far away, there was a precocious boy named Mark. He wished for a world where the fun meter was always high; he was surrounded by an abundance of A Team players, and what he wished for most of all... what that he could DANCE!

One day in an effort to bring his dream to life, he took his adoring subjects to Churchill Downs... a place where dreams come true. He asked his faithful subjects what he would need to do to bring his dream to life... Hmmm, they all thought. It will all take a lot of work and just a bit of magic. But remember, it all starts with YOU!

First, you'll need your magical gown. Next you'll need your special crown and magic wand. You'll also need a step by step guide to make all your Dreams Come True!

Behind him, a giant screen is projecting Disney's Bella Dancerella dance along studio. It starts and he is made to follow along with the dance steps.




So after he was Bella dancerella, more people got up and took turns paying "tribute" to all of the experiences and stories they had to share.

One person stood up and shared that she suspected his career had progressed so quickly because of his vocabulary. She suggested we all take notes and start incorporting the following into our everyday conversation. It would surely get us promoted like it did him:

"We have to have a tough conversation." "I appreciate that, but how do we get to the facts." "We're in the muddy middle." "We need to play bigger." "How are we demonstrating this, because we must execute flawlessly." "We have to be intrusive and elevate that discussion." "We need your best thinking around this because we just need to go fix it." "I'm getting some coaching right now, but I know we gotta love em." "You know I'm feeling zesty today." "Are we having fun yet?" "You are stressing me out." "You know that at the end of the day, we own that and we need to find and create some space..."

He says all of that stuff! They were completely accurate.

I told him that if they didn't like him, they wouldn't tease him so mercilessly. They talked on and on about how much they appreciated him and his impact in their lives and how much they knew that he genuinely cared about them. One of the funniest moments of the night was when they were teasing him about how cheap he is and that they are worried that it's not going to be good for them as he goes to head up compensation and benefits. He got a piggy bank with money in it along with books about giving people money.

I don't do the night justice, We laughed a lot and I was so proud of him! (and very happy for some validation!)