An 11 Year Legacy

I had the privilege of attending a farewell party this morning. The health insurance broker that's helped Grace Church with our health insurance needs, since before I joined the Grace team, recently left the firm he worked with for 11 years.

The farewell breakfast was a surprise and at least some of the clients were invited, at least I was. Held at Lancaster Country Club, the setting was very nice, fitting for how much he meant to the firm and to his clients. Of course, my relationship was with the broker, so I didn't know anyone else in the room. In such situations, I like to head for a corner to observe before diving in, which is what I did. In the end an acquaintance showed up which made the morning much more comfortable. But all of that's not the point of this.

When I received the notice of his pending departure about a month ago, it was a shock. This man was our health insurance guru. I trusted him implicitly to give us good advice in picking the best plans for our employees. In a matter of minutes during our first meeting, he had listened so well that he had a firm grasp on my heart for our staff and what we were trying to accomplish. The news of him leaving the firm caught me off guard, but having worked together for the last ten years, I knew he had adequately prepared us for navigating the paths on our own. Those who spoke at the breakfast, his partners, his staff and even the person succeeding him at the firm conveyed similar sentiments. It was their way of closing a chapter on his life.

You'd think he'd been with the company for an entire career, something like Pastor Young's 33 years at Grace. No, this was the conclusion of 11 years with the firm. I was stunned by how much impact he'd made in 11 years, by how much fanfare had been generated by a decade's worth of partnership.

After only 11 years, he had already left a legacy.