Welcome to the first edition of my latest blog series, The Company We Keep. This series will focus on acts of kindness and selfless service I am fortunate enough to witness in my life every day. Folks contributing to others need to be showcased now more than ever. My first kudo goes out to not just an individual, but an organization. Gore’s Meats. It is a local butcher shop with the friendliest staff and the best meat ever. I frequent this establishment so much, I get the “Norm!” treatment whenever I walk through the door.

I could ramble on about how wonderful the staff is or how beautifully marbled their ribeyes are, but I want to share a quick story instead. I was in Gore’s Meats a while back and a young boy was begging his mother for some chocolate milk. And Gore’s doesn’t just carry your generic chocolate milk. This is the real deal! Thick, rich, and creamy. And sold in a refundable glass bottle. Old school, baby!

The mother finally gave in and bought her son the chocolate milk. They left the store, only to return thirty seconds later. The boy had dropped the glass bottle in the parking lot. Shards of glass everywhere and a young man literally crying over spilt milk. Upon hearing what happened, a Gore’s staff member promptly stepped out from behind the counter with broom and dustpan and (despite the mom offering to help) took care of cleaning up the mess. But this isn’t the part of the story that impressed me the most.

Another staff member immediately gave the dejected boy a brand-new ice-cold bottle of chocolate milk. No charge. The boy’s tears disappeared, and this smile instantly returned. The staff at Gore’s Meats cumulative and sole reaction was to make the best out of this situation for the customers. This is what Chick-fil-A refers to as a tweetable moment. The staff went above and beyond to change the narrative of this mother and son story. The staff could have done nothing, and let’s be honest, they didn’t have to. The infraction occurred after purchase and off location. The mother and son would have felt miserable and embarrassed. And gone home thirsty. But that is not how the Gore’s staff allowed the story to end. They put people first and that drove their decisions. What a fantastic concept. Putting people first. Think how different most outcomes in life would be if we all followed this philosophy.

Thank you to everyone at Gore’s Meats for modeling servant leadership and always putting others first. You guys rock! And in addition to all these accolades, you also have the most delicious strawberry rhubarb fried pies!