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I Started a Club...

Dear Members and Constituents,
It may surprise you to know that if I were sentenced to a donut-free lifestyle, I’d likely take it in stride. You may think it ironic that the founder and cheerleader-in-chief of our Friday Donut Club did not grow-up consuming these delicacies (weird!) and, if push came to shove, would be perfectly content to do without (gasp!). When we were getting started many years ago, I was lukewarm as to the choice of pastry (heresy?). Granted, my persona is that of a donut aficionado and, yes, the FDC is all about the donuts… but the e-mails that accompany it are not (even though the word “donut” is imprinted in all of them). In-fact, I enjoy writing these e-mails and having conversations with you far more than the donuts themselves (don’t get me wrong, I DO like the donuts).

Over the years, my donut e-mails have gone from being a call to action (come get your donuts) to a humble attempt at brightening your Fridays with a curious fact, random association or provocative thought. I’ve fancied my role, in some small part, as that of a “corporate morale builder”. I was even so bold as to use my experiences in the club as the fodder for my presentation to the “admissions board” for our company’s Executive Leadership Program (yes, I do have closet executive ambitions ;-). In hindsight, you might say this presentation topic may have been a misguided attempt at being memorable, as it failed to gain me admission (you won’t see me as part of the class of 2011 ELP inductees). At the time, though, it felt like I was delivering a rather powerful message. Word to the wise: safe day-job experiences are preferable to creative analogies (in this context anyways). Disappointed as I was, I think it’s healthy to be brought back down to earth from time-to-time so as not to loose touch with reality. I may have been taking the FDC and the mystique built around it a bit too seriously as of late (it is, after all, a DONUT club… it should be light, airy and sweet).

Next week, I may try to write a funny top 10 list (I have, after all, been on somewhat of a “top 10 roll” with my downsides and upsides of UC series on Beyond Bandwidth). This week, I think I’ve already exceeded my word quota, so, without further preamble, I present to you Glenn Calfee’s debut as donut boy. He brings three dozen LaMar’s donuts (I hear another dozen is on it’s way). Come and get ‘em!



Happy Friday!

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