A couple weeks ago I wrote about preparing a great elevator speech. In Hollywood, million dollar movies are pitched while riding in elevators. So, I spent a few minutes this week coming up with my Hollywood blockbuster pitch in the event that I ever find myself in the elevator with a big-name producer. Stranger things have happened. Seriously, they have.
So here’s how it plays out in my head…
(Two people enter an elevator, a screenwriter and a well-known producer.)
Screenwriter: Got a great pitch for blockbuster involving secret laboratories, explosives, terrorists, and a team that uses crazy science to foil terrorists’ diabolical plots.
Producer: You’ve got my attention. You’ve got 45 seconds.
Screenwriter: There’s a guy. Super smart guy. Great personality. Everybody loves him. To the rest the world he looks like a regular guy who goes to the grocery store and picks up supplies at Home Depot that he never actually uses to do home improvements. In reality, he runs a super-secret government lab where they analyze things, test things, and blow stuff up.
Producer: What kind of things?
Screenwriter: Sciency things.
Producer: Keep going.
Screenwriter: This guy’s a super genius when it comes to explosives. He’s figured out how all the different bombs work. He’s helped save thousands of lives all over the world. But here’s the twist. He doesn’t just solve the crimes. He gets inside the heads of the terrorists. He thinks like they think. He predicts what bomb is coming next and builds it. Then he helps the FBI come up with a plan to foil the terrorist plot before the terrorist even think of it.
Producer: Who’s the star?
Screenwriter: The guy from House of Cards, Michael Kelly.
Producer: The guy who played Meechum?
Screenwriter: No the other one. The guy who played Stamper.
Producer: Isn’t he usually a bad guy?
Screenwriter: Yes, but this time he’s a good guy.
Producer: (hands the screenwriter a card) Call me.
(both characters exit the elevator)
Oh wait… This is a true story. This is federal government employee Kirk Yeager who won a SAMMIE this week.
If you’ve never taken the time to check out the SAMMIEs website, take two minutes to do that right now. The stories of federal government employees and what they accomplish will amaze and inspire you. Every story could be its own miniseries.
Whenever the going gets rough, I think about these amazing people. They have weathered the same trials and tribulations that all federal government employees have weathered and they have accomplished amazing things that benefit people around the globe. I take great pride in knowing that I worked with such amazing people. Over the years, I have known several of them personally. I am so proud of them. It’s a feeling I want to share with everyone.
Jeri Buchholz is part of the GovLoop Featured Blogger program, where we feature blog posts by government voices from all across the country (and world!). To see more Featured Blogger posts, click here.
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