I took two of my kids to enjoy the NBA All-Star festivities in February at the Super Dome in New Orleans. While taking a break from the action to grab popcorn with my nine-year old daughter, we encountered Coach Dee. I felt we already knew each other, just from our eye contact. We briefly greeted one another and Coach Dee asked if I had attended the All-Star festivities in Toronto, as I looked familiar. I shared this was my first NBA All-Star event I’ve ever attended, and next thing I knew he was engaging with my nine-year old about her love of basketball. He gave me a card and told my daughter he would send her a package of Jr. Brooklyn Nets gear when he returned home after the festivities. During our conversation, Coach Dee opened up about the recent passing of his mother, and shared that in these types of connections, his mother is always with him.

A week before we launched The Magic Hour series, we were in the final stages of planning a small gathering at SoBou to celebrate the occasion. I had been thinking about a memento to leave guests, but didn’t know if we would have enough time to coordinate. Then I remembered a very unique parting gift my banker Charles Gaspard shared with me a few months earlier. He gave me a wooden thank you note to remember our conversation. He also shared the company name, Harley London, and owner and visionary of this piece, Charlotte Henry.

Michael Weintrob and I first connected at a crawfish boil during Jazz Fest in New Orleans. I overheard him talking about shooting artist portraits of musicians, not through their eyes as with traditional portraiture, but through their instruments. Needless to say, I was intrigued and curious to learn more. A few minutes later, I met Michael and heard more about his story. Right off the bat I could sense this was no ordinary project of Michael’s. This was his life passion. Michael shared that this work had taken over 17 years to complete. He had a few copies of his book, INSTRUMENTHEAD, and I had the chance to look over the portraits.

It was July of 2014, and I was enjoying the kickoff BBQ in the backyard of Matt Candler’s house for the ninth cohort of the Launch Program. Matt is the CEO of 4.0 Schools in New Orleans. I will never forget the powerful sense of community I felt in the air that afternoon as Matt spoke. “We are not worried about what it is you are building now,” Matt shared, “we are concerned about the 20-year version of who you are to become.” I was surrounded by an incredible group of people from all across the country, united by a shared passion to positively impact education.