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May 12, 2021 | Learn About Gravitate
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After the announcement, folks around here got together and arranged a few things for his departure, which included a “What Colten Has Meant to Me” presentation. Everyone made a slide to share memories and let Colten see his impact on all our lives. If you don’t work here—or know Colten personally—this all sounds sappy, we’re sure of it. But after hearing story after story, and crying a little, we all began to recognize that Colten has not only helped us become more compassionate people but a more compassionate business. See? Sounds pretty schmaltzy if we don’t explain.
How many titles (a few unofficial) do you think he’s held since he was hired in 2013? Let’s count. Account Manager, Accounts Director, Director of Creative, President, CEO, Event Planner, Bookkeeper, Community Engagement Director, HR, Recruiter, Therapist, and a few employees have even called him Dad.
Colten has had a huge impact on how we work with clients. From his variety of roles, and throughout a variety of challenges, Colten has pushed our processes and team to accomplish some amazing things over nearly the last decade. He was at the center of our ‘act-as-if’ days when huge clients would sign and expect far more than Gravitate has ever offered. The team panics but Colten would calmly gameplan, reassure both the team and client, and jump into problems alongside us to develop solutions beyond client expectations and timelines.
Fun fact: At one transition point in our history, Colten managed ALL the retainers. Pretty sure it was over two dozen accounts at the time. As we hired, he personally trained the entire team and helped grow our Ongoing department exponentially.
As we continue into Gravitate’s next phase, Colten’s model is essentially how we landed at our internal mantra around here, which is: Just give a shit. If your client and your team can see how much you care, listen, and put in the work—the results and success will always follow.
Okay, this is a touchy one since we know Colten would hate it if we highlighted all the ways he and his family give their time and money. That’s okay though, he’s leaving, let’s embarrass him. Seriously, it was a constant inspiration to see the dedication Colten has for people and the community. He’d take it upon himself to initiate donations for local families in need throughout the year, he helped develop Share House volunteer programs, he started and substantially grew our WSU/Clark internship program—the list goes on and on. Gravitate has been in Vancouver for over twenty years and we thank you, Colten, for activating our potential for good work. We’ll be sure to keep it up when you’re gone.
The term “people person” gets thrown around too much to describe schmucks who rattle off bullet points of your personality back to you like you’re being read the Cliffnotes of your interests. Colten is no schmuck—and screw “people person”—he’s just a good person. The stories when he made your day special, went out of his way for you, or just showed up to help you move across town seem to be endless and retold more this last week now that we realize what we’re losing. He treated everyone with kindness, compassion, and respect. He taught us to value each other, really listen, and take the time to elevate our relationships from colleagues who work together to friends that support each other.
As I finished writing this on a Tuesday night, Colten is still here. It’s his last day. He’s said all his goodbyes, hugged the hugs, and now he’s talking through a client issue with our AM Director.
“Seriously, I can come back for that call, it’s not a problem,” he says. “How am I setting you up for success without being there? Hey, my keys are turned in but my heart is still here.”
We love you, Colten. And no, you don’t need to come back for that call.
It’s always been about the people for me. Our Gravitate team and clients (past and present), our community partners, our vendors, and everyone else with who I have crossed paths. I owe a lot to these people. The knowledge shared and gained, the friendships forged, and the experiences over these past 8 years have meant the world to me and are all coming with me. To guide me, to teach me, and to be with me as I move forward in life. This isn’t the end to any of that, just the end of my role as CEO at Gravitate. Everything else is ours, it’s what we built together and Gravitate was a damn good facilitator. I was hired 8 years ago by Don Elliott and although he wasn’t here for the entirety of my time at Gravitate, it’s fitting I end Gravitate with him. Thank you for trusting me enough to hire me and thank you for trusting me enough to run Gravitate for you and the team this past year. It’s been a dream.