The client wanted a video.

I didn’t think the event needed one.

The client wanted a video.

The rundown for the event we were coordinating was already way too long.

The client wanted a video.

I told the account executive to explain that the event was going to be powerful and emotional and spectacular, therefore, it didn’t need the visual aid.

The client wanted a video.

Look, I’m not going to lie. I hated this project from the start and I didn’t want to do it.

I’m a better human being because I did.

Here’s what happened:

US HUD recently notified our longtime client, The Homeless Trust, that we have effectively ended veteran street homelessness throughout the county. What this means is that every homeless veteran has been identified, and housing is available to him or her. Additionally there is a system in place that ensures that any veteran experiencing homelessness in the future will have housing available to them as well. There is no reason a vet will sleep on the streets (unless, of course, he or she wants to).

This is a very big deal.

HUD Secretary Ben Carson was coming to town. It needed to be complete with color guard and military dignitaries, Congressmen and Mayors speaking, Dr. Carson taking the stage, the rockets red glare, AND the bombs bursting in air… it all had to be included… and we had one week to pull it off. ONE…. WEEK.

This was a drop everything, all hands on deck moment.

SO…  while everyone else was rockin’ and rollin’, creating a spectacular event in a week, my role at The M was, basically, to do everything else. And that’s what I was doing when I was told that the client wanted a video.

The only problem is that everyone else – all the people who would normally write, produce, edit, etc. were either already deployed on this — or on vacation (because… it was summer and that’s what people do during summer).

I looked at the production calendar. I looked at my calendar. I looked at the work that needed to be delivered that week to all of our other clients.

And then I flipped completely out.

Yup – a total meltdown.

In fact, I did everything in my power to not do this.

And then I saw the first part of an interview with Ashley and knew that we had to do a video. Not only that, we had to do THIS video.

And so we did: