Mission: As a marketer and business professional, I consistently strive to meet new challenges, thirst for knowledge, improve upon and learn new skills, and expand my educational tool box.
This past weekend, I took a long overdue mini sabbatical to visit beautiful Fish Creek, located in Door County Wisconsin. On the two and half hour drive, I had the opportunity to embrace the amazing fall colors, appreciate the beautiful waterways, view commercial ships, and feel absolute serenity.
While navigating to Fish Creek, there was a delay on highway in Door County, due to the drawbridge waiting upon a commercial ship. As thirty plus minutes swiftly passed, the 1000+ foot commercial liner eloquently moved through the waters proudly boasting "American Spirit". As I gazed beyond the drawbridge in absolute awe as the American Spirit maneuvered with several ship hands watching every side of the massive commercial liner, I mulled over the meaning of the American Spirit.
As an active social media marketer, I quickly searched "American Spirit" in the search bar of my Blackberry phone. As I toiled through the first page of responses, I found the "real" American Spirit. This lengthy vessel lay over 1,000 feet and began as an original of thirteen self-unloading commercial vessels in November of '77: the George A. Stinson. This is the only vessel of the thirteen which was put into action, iconically dedicated to the steel industry, and National Steel Great Lakes Steel Division. In 2004 the George A. Stinson arrived at Bay Shipbuilding (now owned by Fincantieri Marine Group) in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. As the vessel had a long history on the waters, she needed to rebuilt and manicured. After much thought, the George A. Stinson was renamed "American Spirit". The naming of a craft is much like naming a child, one in which great care is taken, as those are sweetest words one may ever hear. The new name was created to honor the workers, their craft and trade, and the true Spirit of America. The American Spirit has returned to the seemingly endless waters and is owned and operated by the American Steamship Company, Williamsville of New York.
As the weekend quickly came to an end, like an intense film, I thought about the American Spirit, while hiking, swimming, and navigating. I view the American Spirit as an exemplary piece of history, which was established, worked hard, and revitalized into new beginnings. The Great Recession has taught many lessons to scores of America's own. I may have an MBA and overly-passionate about marketing and volunteer work, but I will never lose faith in our country. I believe in education, hard work, and passion for our work. I am hopeful for a rejuvenated economy, optimistic for the underemployed and unemployed, and believe in the scholars and students of today!
