At the suggestion of some of my colleagues, I hired Jody many years ago at Fortune Magazine. Our NY senior management had great doubts of his qualifications, and advised me against hiring him simply because he had no prior media experience. I strongly disagreed with them saying that he was smart, articulate, a good writer, had a good work ethic and maybe most importantly, he easily passed our local rule of "no A-holes allowed." Over twenty years later, this wonderful gentleman and friend was still thriving in media when he left us all way too early.
After Fortune, Jody and I briefly worked at Rodale together. Utilizing his love and knowledge of wine, we hosted a terrific industry wine tasting event, which proved to be the best party of the year for the company. A bit of a renaissance man, Jody knew his wine, his music, his tech gadgets, his Cubs and so much more.
Most of all, he knew his wife and kids. He loved them with all his heart. We can only hope it was enough love to sustain them through a tough time, and in the long run, leave them with only loving memories. We all miss him, but are so much better off for knowing him.
Your friend,
Randy Holloway
love this story and love the thoughtfulness of that last paragraph.