One of the true joys in the otherwise dismal seven-month period since the pandemic hit home has been the emergence of Kel, our superb IT director of 16 years, who has blossomed into our resident wellness guru at Peppercomm. 

Every two weeks or so, we’ll set aside 20 minutes from the usual, twice-weekly virtual staff meetings to have our “Stay Well with Kel” stretching, deep breathing and yoga training sessions. It’s a beautiful thing to be able to step back from the keyboard, stand, pick up a few light weights, roll one’s shoulders and neck and forget about, however fleetingly, our worries of the day.

So I thought now was a good time to give Kel a break from his normal routine and learn a little bit more about the man behind the machine…

How has COVID impacted your professional and personal lives?

I had to make a few adaptions to my workflow, e.g., not having a proper home office, I had to use my laptop on my lap for many endless hours, which after then affected my posture causing stiffness on my neck and shoulders. On a personal level, food shopping felt like going to the airport, not just any airport, but LaGuardia Airport.

As an IT professional, are there any unexpected ways your job has changed since the start of the pandemic?

Since video conferencing became the norm, I have only had a handful of actual voice only calls.

Which “meeting” platform do you prefer? Zoom, Teams, neither and why?

Teams is my favorite now; it does the things we need in an elegant and simple way. I like Zoom too, but the gallery view hurts my eyes.

How do you stay current with all that’s new in the ever-changing technology world?

Webinars, online keynotes. It is a never-ending process. But I would say that trying to stay current with technology can be costly and creates disruptions.

Aside from my usual ineptness with Zoom 101, what’s the most frequent request you receive from our employees?

There is no one most frequent request. This depends on what kind of client work we are doing at the time.

What’s Plan B if, god forbid, NYC goes off the grid? 

We are ready to go back to using smoke signals and African drums to replace all forms of communications with clients. I have been studying celestial navigation for years now.

Tell me about your fitness background, the classes you lead, etc? What got you started in fitness?

My fitness background from studying different martial arts throughout the years. The fitness movements I teach are not designed to help anyone get stronger or look tough or big. Instead, they are designed for functional mobility. I (virtually) teach a self-defense class, and there is nothing more challenging than that.

You lead our twice-a-month “Stay Well With Kel” sessions. Can you describe them for the reader and how do you intend to take us to the next level.

Twice a month, we take a few minutes to practice a few stretches and shoulder mobility exercises to improve our posture. This video explains it best.

What’s your secret to maintaining a positive, upbeat attitude? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you down or upset.

A long time ago, at the start of five-day hike through the Appalachian trails, my instructor had this to say: “this trip is what you make of it”. Work is what you make of it. Well I got a smile for everyone I meet.

How do you unwind? 

I love riding my bike, hiking in the outdoors, it’s a feeling that I can’t explain.

In my quest to find just the right word to pay homage to the late Virginia Dandridge “Dandy” Stevenson, I chose the word indefatigable. Webster’s Dictionary defines indefatigable as “…someone or something that cannot be tired out.” That fits her like a glove. 

Dandy, who passed away some 26 months ago, was my long-time executive assistant. But labeling her as an executive assistant is akin to describing our country as experiencing a bit of unrest at the moment.

Dandy was so much more than an executive assistant.

She was tirelessly optimistic, creative, opinionated, energizing, protective and beyond proud of everything we’d built at Peppercomm. (Note: I hired Dandy in the immediate aftermath of her being downsized as the EA to the CEO of Porter Novelli. I knew a good thing when I saw it.)😊

Everyone who came into contact with Dandy over the years has a story to tell. She loved to be deeply involved in everything from creating new business decks and critiquing the type face and color on business cards to contributing creative ideas to our legendary holiday cards and videos as well as taking notes at staff meetings.

Her note-taking is arguably the best illustration of Dandy’s indefatigable DNA. She wouldn’t just distribute a mundane report of who said what at the meetings. Instead she’d channel a combination of Lewis Carroll, ee cummings and Franz Kafka to create some of the most original (and, yes, bizarre) employee communications known to man.

And I’m intent on keeping her memory alive.

To do so, we’ve created an annual Dandy Stevenson Award in which we ask our employees to nominate the one person who most closely defined Dandy’s multiple qualities, which we listed as:

• A great sense of humor
• A never quit attitude (See: Indefatigable above)
• A heart of gold
• A passion for living life to its fullest
• A deep sense of pride in working for Peppercomm
• Unflappable resilience (Note: Were she still alive, I have no doubt Dandy would have found myriad ways to keep herself and the agency energized as the days, weeks and months of this endless pandemic dragged on).

Last year’s recipient of the Dandy Stevenson Award was Hannah Robbins, one of our superb West Coast employees. Hannah received $250 for herself and another $250 to donate to her favorite charity (www.eastbayspca.org). Dandy would have loved that. She absolutely adored her two cats. 😉

In closing, one might describe me as indefatigable in continuing to pay homage to one of the most memorable and important persons in Peppercomm’s 26-year history and my professional life.

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