Pete

Pete Royal, from Simsbury United Methodist Church, has been in sales since he was 18. Working with him, one can see why he would be very good at his job, as Pete has an easy-going-just-gotta-love-him attitude, even in the morning after a hard day's work.

An example of Pete's optimism: at seven this morning, Pete looked at my tired, allergy-ridden self and walked me over to a window. "Look at this beautiful morning out this beautiful window", he beamed. I had to shake my head. "Pete, I see a cloudy day, threatening rain, and that window..." The window we were looking through is cracked on the outer pane, allowing muddy streaks of Gulf water left there by Katrina to distract from the rather bleak view. Pete's outlook is rather like looking at an empty, dirty glass and calling it refreshing and inspirational. But what can you do but smile and realize that the world has so much to offer if only you'd look at it through Pete's eyes.

Pete is a native Iowan, which endears me, a native Missourian, further to him. Pete is in charge of logistics, no easy task as 22 people each day depart for four job sites in three rental and one borrowed vans, and with supplies to be gotten, people (like me) to be ferried to odd places, and who knows what else because we don't hear about the problems or issues; they are just taken care of. Many others are responsible for such seamless operational issues; people just jump in when they see a need and fulfill it.