I’ve written this post over and over again trying to make for sure that it conveys my level of gratitude for the individual I’m spotlighting today. Hopefully the following text achieves that goal.

The NAT launched in May of 2012 with a small staff. It consisted of myself, my cousin, and a friend who had been helping at NEST leading up to the new store’s grand opening. I was completely blown away by the public’s response to this new endeavor and quickly began scrambling to hire more employees so that we could adequately serve our 120 vendors and constant flow of customers. That August, I brought on 3 more employees. One of them has become what some may refer to as my work wife. My ride or die. The woman behind the scenes who never tells me we can’t achieve something, but also tells me when I’m completely out of line (where was she when I was buying that 17′ wooden boat a couple years back?).

She was a vendor from day 1 and had decided to apply when we made the We’re Hiring announcement. It took a while for her to open up. She had just recently returned to Amarillo and was a bit reserved. Our manager at the time wasn’t sure I should keep her on because he thought she was too shy for a customer service based job. However, I saw something else. I saw someone with a “get shit done” attitude and an insane amount of creativity that just needed to platform in order to flourish. Needless to stay, she stayed while the others didn’t.

Over the years, our relationship has grown into one that is hard to find in the work world these days. We encourage one another in all aspects of life, but also know when to reign in our thoughts and emotions due to the unfair burden they might pose on each other. Due to this unique friendship, I knew that she would be one of the few that could envision the new From 6th Collective like I could. She has been crucial in helping set up our digital platform and planning out the creative side of things. I’m excited to see what new roles she grows into as we embark on a new business and am insanely proud that I’ll get to be a part of her personal life as she has a big year ahead (planning a wedding is one of them)!

Today makes S E V E N years working together so if you see her on Sixth, be sure to introduce yourself and thank her for being such a critical part in developing and maintaining one of Amarillo’s most unique businesses.