Turns out I didn’t know as much about these people as I thought- what an interesting, strange, funny, intriguing, off-beat crew!

Can you figure out which fact belongs to our HR Director? Director of Online Marketing? One of our graphic designers? One of our managers? Our special events coordinator?

“I applied to work for the CIA. Was offered a position and turned the job down.”

“I got lost in the woods for 3.5 days when I was 9 years old.”

“I was on the junior olympic figure skating team in England as a child.”

“”I once won a Spice Girls costume contest.”

“On the spur of the moment, decided to tag along on a last minute motorcycle trip up the coast from LA to San Fran with a group of non English speaking acquaintances whom I just met 2 days prior through a mutual friend. Had less than 12 hours to pack and find a helmet and camping gear. Neither individual spoke English and I didn’t speak a word of German. Camped under the stars for 3 nights and rode on the back of a motorcycle for 4 days.”

With that set of talent and spontaneity, we’re destined to achieve great things….

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My TOMS Family,

Please read the first three words of this letter again. Yes, i truly feel as if TOMS is a family, and from day one, i have done everything possible to treat each person with the same love and respect that i would my immediate family members. I have also watched as each of you has shown incredible compassion, patience, and support to one another with the same pride i expect a proud parent experiences seeing their kids get along. This environment we have fostered together is called “culture” in most business management books…”

An office full of young, like-minded, intelligent, funny, passionate, and creative individuals, all working toward a greater goal of making a positive impact on the world is formula for something really special.  We can’t deny that the TOMS culture is one of the best reasons we each work here. And just like strong families spend quality time together, the TOMS family does too- an annual company retreat to the snowy mountains outside of L.A. provides time for us to relax together, laugh together, learn way too much about each other, and create lasting memories.

As I was riding a lift mid-day Friday with a co-worker, we started chatting about how appropriate a ski trip is for TOMS. When you see a colleague charging down a mountain- fearless, fast, aggressive- you know that same dedication is translated in to their work. When you hear of someone who insisted they weren’t getting on any sort of ski or board… and then later tells you about how much fun they had cross-country skiing, you know that same willingness to go out on a limb translates to how they embrace new challenges back at HQ. These people are go-getters, not only at TOMS, but in so many aspects of their life… and each of us are inspiring each other to push just a little further.

We return to the office today, with the rain pouring hard, the in-boxes full, our bodies exhausted, with a few more inside jokes, a ton of great new photos, boxes of left over hot chocolate in the kitchen, an even greater sense of family.

Now if only we can convince Blake to make this a SEMI-annual company retreat….

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