As I’ve mentioned several times before, this blog is all about people. When I first launched Social Butterfly Guy, the intention was to highlight stories about people – sometimes good (Mike Schneider) and sometimes not so good (Delta).
When Eva was born, I blogged about her entrance into this crazy world. Today, it brings great sadness to my heart to write about the opposite end of the spectrum. A good friend, colleague, and overall awesome human being, Stefan Pollard, passed away recently. I’ve thought a lot about what I want to say about Stefan. I’ve sat on this blog post for several days now, struggling to find the “perfect” words – reminding myself there is no such thing as perfection.
Remembering Stefan
I think the best memory of Stefan was illustrated in this week’s ClickZ article titled, “In Memoriam: Stefan Pollard” in which “friends, colleagues, and peers celebrated his life in tributes.” Don’t forget to read the comments too for more heart-felt Stefan stories. This article was inspired by Stefan’s good friend and fellow email marketing legend, Loren McDonald. Loren called me shortly after learning the terrible, shocking news. We shared a few happy memories of Stefan (all memories of Stefan are happy). Loren send an email around the next day to several others who were close to Stefan. Through a series of “reply alls” we remembered Stefan. What jumped out at me the most was the similar themes that everyone shared. The stories were unique, yet what made Stefan so totally kick ass awesome was the same.
Stefan was one of the smartest, kindest, most knowledgeable email marketing industry folks I’ve ever met. I can honestly say that I would not be where I am personally and professionally if it were not for Stefan. He was always able to put a smile on my face – on everyone’s face. He was a family man. While he loved the email marketing industry, his family was always #1. I will always remember sharing beers with Stefan at industry events (go figure, right?). Stefan was kinda like an uncle to me. Man. I really miss him.
I realize that I’m rambling. Part of the reason is that I have so many great memories of Stefan that are swirling around in my head. It’s odd – I’m crying and smiling while writing this.
Keeping the Legend of Stefan Alive
There are a few ways you can help keep the memory of Stefan alive. His employer, Responsys, has set up a fund to benefit Stefan’s children. According to the ClickZ article,
“…those interested can make contributions to the Pollard Memorial Fund by logging in to their personal Paypal account and clicking on the “Send Money” tab. Donations should be sent to [email protected] email address.”
Additionally, the Email Experience Council announced today in their email newsletter that they are,
“establishing the “Stefan Pollard eec Member of the Year Award for Excellence in Creativity and Contribution” to be awarded annually at the Email Evolution Conference, an event Stefan loved. More information will follow in the coming months.”
Finally, for those that knew Stefan and/or were influenced by him in some way – take a few minutes share your memories in the comments below. Better yet, write a blog post like this one dedicated to Stefan or film a tribute video. Whatever will help to keep the memory of Stefan alive.
I’ll miss everything about you, my friend. I already do.
DJ Waldow
@djwaldow
