Welcome Caroline Winegeart to IWearYourShirt.com

It is with great excitement that I announce a new hire for IWearYourShirt.com. As we grow from 365 yearly sponsors to a potential 1,825 sponsors in 2012, things behind the scenes have to be able to keep up. Enter Caroline Winegeart (@ckelso).

Logistically, 2011 has run smoothly due to the hard work of Heather Macdonald (@hmacdonald) behind the scenes. Many of you may not know that Heather has been working with IWYS this entire year because she handles all the client relations and helping me keep the shirt wearers on track. One of Heather’s best qualities is her passion for IWearYourShirt.com. Yes, she works hard and works extra hours, but she also cares. To me, finding people that genuinely care about your company are the people you need for continued growth.

I met Caroline Winegeart via Twitter in April of 2010. She contacted me to speak in front of the Advertising Society of University of Florida where she was the president. From the first few messages we exchanged I knew she was passionate about marketing, advertising and intrigued by IWearYourShirt.com. As time moved on she grew more interested in IWYS and we started a personal relationship. She’s been extremely helpful in making decisions, lending brainpower, day-to-day operations and tons of other things she hasn’t been paid for… until today.

I had planned on posting Caroline’s position on craigslist, job boards and various social media sites, but why? There’s no chance I’d find someone who knows IWearYourShirt.com as well as she does. It’s doubtful I’d find someone who would do whatever it takes with no questions asked to get the job done. She knows the ins and outs of IWYS and has seen the ups and downs. She cares about my business almost as much as I do and that’s what’s important to me.

Caroline’s role will be a mix of client relations, marketing planning, shirt wearer management and a bunch of other stuff. I think it’s incredibly rare that you find a person who has the passion for your company and also has a fantastic knowledge of your industry. I know some people might think this is a risky business (and life) decision because we live together and have a personal relationship, but we’re both up for the challenge. Someone much smarter and more experienced than me once said without risk, there is no reward.

So join me in welcoming Caroline to the IWYS team!