Judy and I were at Creekwood Golf Course giving it our best shot at filming a Public Service Announcement (PSA) for Youth4Youth and Tickets Fore CharityTM promotion for television. This pair of wanna be producers discovered the realities of filming as wind, too much sun, jets landing every 60 seconds and golfers coming through the 14th green made for a frustrating attempt at filming for a second day. So we jumped in the golf cart and headed for the clubhouse stopping to watch a group of four gentlemen on the 18th tee. One of the men, Bill Bowers, asked what we were filming and I told him about the PSA for Tickets Fore CharityTMand we were trying to do it ourselves because we didn’t have a budget for it. Bill said, “Hold on a minute I want to talk with you.” He walked over and placed his ball on the tee, looked back at his friends and said, “This is a shot you will tell your grandkids about.” And it was. If only I could have one drive off a tee that perfect it would probably satisfy me for a lifetime. He walks back and gives me his card and says, “I can help you.” Later, when we looked at the video footage, Judy and I looked at each other, smiled and said, “We need help.” Four days later I was visiting six area TV stations dropping off professional PSA tapes formatted for television thanks to Bill Bowers.
Lesson One - Timing
For Judy and I to have that conversation on the 18th tee at Creekwood Golf Course, failure had to take place, in that the previous day, wind and too much sun gave us unusable video. The next day provided much of the same; wind, sun, jets and golfers passing through causing poor taping conditions. When Bill handed me his card, I immediately knew why we came back to film at the time of day we did and why we continued to try despite the conditions. It was a matter of timing. Had we never pulled up to the 18th tee at that moment in time we would have never met and had that conversation with Bill Bowers. I have become accustom to things happening this way if - I remain open to them and we each have this same opportunity each day.
So I have to ask myself, how often am I in such a hurry that I miss an opportunity?
Let’s blow this out a bit bigger. How often are you in a hurry and so you rush right on by opportunity? How often do we become impatient, frustrated and then become closed off to the many opportunities that present themselves? Slowing down, remaining open and looking for opportunity in the midst of what we perceive as failure will pay big benefits.
Lesson Two - Integrity
I learned Bill Bowers is a person of integrity. He said he could help and he did. I am finding this a rare quality in people today. When you say what you will do, then do what you say…that’s integrity! No contracts, no fine print, just Bill’s word. Thank you Bill!
Special Thanks:
Bob Kasarda and the team at Gemini Video Productions whose studio recorded, edited and produced the PSA for Youth4Youth. If you need video or advertising work done I suggest you contact them. If you need a voiceover - Bill Bowers is the guy.
Dale Sandvick owner of Creekwood Golf Course in Columbia Station, Ohio, whose hospitality and full course access for filming was over the top.
TICKETS Fore CHARITYTM program for the Bridgestone Invitational, at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, ends August 3. You MUST purchase your Good Any One Day Gallery Ticket online at the TICKETS Fore CHARITYTM weblink. When you do, the PGA will donate 100% of your net ticket purchase price to charity. For information and to order go to: http://www.youth4youth.org/ticketsforecharity
