Shaking Hands and Taking Names

I blinked and realized I had been standing in a tux for over 5 hours last night. At the last minute I was able to get tickets the Human Rights Campaign Gala. Derick and I joined 800 other penguin suits who headed uptown for a night of meet and great. Between 5:30 and 10:00 I must have met over 30 people. I am not good at small talk and enjoy actually having conversations with people I meet; therefore I was rushed at every moment of meeting someone new.

I met a senior VP from Wachovia, Senator Kay Hagan, HRC executive director Joe Solmonese, and several county commissioners among the countless interactions. I vaguely remember two bites of dinner and a very small cup of coffee and before I knew it I was up and moving around the room again. It was like being the bride at a wedding. By the time I sat down for any length of time it was 10:30 and the dinner was wrapping up.

Overall it was a great event. Many people were excited to meet me and talk about the direction they feel Charlotte is going. Many perspectives on ways it should be going. It was good to actively connect to so many people and got my name out there. I think I also may have come up with the slogan for my campaign, but we'll see.