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It Was 25 Years Ago Today …

June 17, 1985. At about 7:10 that Monday morning, Mark Burris unlocked a door on the top floor of a High Point, North Carolina office building. Burris Creech & Tuttle was born. Mark had taken a career diversion, leaving Thomasville Furniture, where he was regarded as something of a wunderkind, to start a small advertising agency. I remember the Sunday full-page ad in the High Point Enterprise that announced our opening: “WE STARTED WITH A FEW PROBLEMS. NOW WE WANT YOURS.”

I was 30, and had been drafted by Mark to move away from Greenville and join a crackerjack team of creative problem-solvers. On June 17, twenty-five years ago today, we were officially in “the business.” If not exactly on top of the world, we were seven stories above Main Street, with a nice view of Pilot Mtn. in the distance. Man, we were fab.

Mark was, and will always be my mentor. He introduced me to Springsteen and Poco, two-handed backhands, Porsche 914s (2.0L), B&O speakers, Tar Heel basketball, voting for a Democrat, an appreciation for literature and the concept of punctuality (which I have still yet to master). Mark inspired me to think outside the box, before box-thinking became fashionable. He convinced me that I could write solid creative copy. Most of all, he gave me the confidence that I could be really good in this business.

He still does.

Years ago, I realized this was not an especially great business if your goal was to make a lot of money. I know so many fellows who live a much grander lifestyle than I. But few enjoy what they do like I do. Few feel the energy rush of a great idea or a well-crafted paragraph that has the potential to change everything. I owe so much of this contentment to Mark.

I’m one of hundreds who’s had the privilege of working for and with Mark over these 25 years. I believe most of us shine a little brighter, laugh a little longer, play a little harder and work a little smarter. In a way, probably a subconscious effort to be just a little like Mark.

Happy Anniversary, my Friend. Got you on my mind.

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