In honor of what would be our 24th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY (April 23, 2002), I’d love to share a little bit about what made Glenn – my talented best friend and hubby – so remarkable, impactful and worth honoring.
It's hard to summarize a person's true essence in just a few paragraphs. as well as their impact. But knowing Glenn for over 42 years, working with him for 37, and being married to him for just shy of 22, if anyone could do it, it would be me. So I had to try.
He deserves it ... and so does his legacy.
This is a story about the power of Authenticity & Humanity, especially in tandem. And the incredible impact the combination can make, both professionally & personally.
It's a story about a man whose natural talents were amplified 100-fold because of these qualities, who changed businesses and lives with them, and who unknowingly inspired other people for decades – and hopefully still will, if I keep pressing forward with my vision...
Glenn was a “Creative Spirit” through and through since his earliest years, an artist who reached amazing professional heights as a result of his uniquely authentic skill and style.
He was super talented... but that wasn't yet his Superpower.
Painting by a 13-year-old
©Glenn W. Hoffman
One cool selfie... before selfies!
©Glenn W. Hoffman
From humble beginnings, he pushed himself to excel at the prestigious Pratt Institute (’68) and worked to the bone 24/7 to become a successful “Madison Avenue” Creative Director at the start. (Think Mad Men episodes, which Glenn did confirm were damn accurate portrayals of the life and times. Whoa!)
He learned to persevere with his own vision... but this was still not yet his Claim to Fame.
“Mad Man” Glenn W. Hoffman @ Ogilvy & Mather circa 1969
His fierce independence and intolerance for ”rules” led him to exit that rat race and build his own successful namesake marketing agency in CT in the early ‘80s, thriving for over 35 years (!) – one that I was honored to initially be a client of, then work for, then eventually co-own and run with him.
As a client and friend since those early 80's, I saw his amazing talent firsthand, how different he was from his competitors. My businesses – as well as dozens of my co-workers' – gained notoriety as a result. He was the Talk of the Town!
Glenn spearheaded marketing efforts that drove award-winning business results and changed the trajectories of some of the nation's biggest, best known and loved brands – from food to finance to pharma, coffee, candy and soft drinks to wine, entertainment to insurance, pet food to personal care, transportation to travel, and more. Business by business, he got into its DNA and emotionally felt it all.
With Authenticity & Humanity.
His ultimate client roster formed a realllly long list– one he later challenged me to remember when asked, “So, did you work on anything famous?" The answer? “Oh, Yeahhh.” HINT.
And he made a mark on every single one. Because now he WAS coming into his own...
Why?
Because he saw things the way REAL PEOPLE saw them, not in a made-up, pretend-marketing-sort-of way... and then let his creative talent loose on that. In a way no one else around him was doing.
This BIG GUY was one of the earliest ways the name GW Hoffman became known
in the halls of the great General Foods, beginning in 1981
Acknowledged & applauded by Pratt Institute President Frances Bronet
@ 50th Reunion, 2018
In his personal life, he was also a masterful painter, a sculptor, sketch artist and amazing “creator of places and spaces.” Because OMG the homes he helped design and mastermind – with Authenticity & Humanity.
But his love was photography!
He had a super observant, down-to-earth, human way of seeing the world through his camera lens – and also his own personal “life lens” – that created not only stunning, but emotionally evocative photographs. Time and time again.
With Authenticity & Humanity.
A single moment on the Canal du Midi, FR
Oct. 2013
A single moment in Death Valley, CA
Oct. 2010
A gazillion people are out there today taking really beautiful pictures with their cameras and even their phones! So, big deal, right?
But it was. And it still is – a big deal. Because Glenn’s seem not to be just great pictures of pretty places & things. They somehow let the emotion and humanity of the moments shine through.
ANOTHER HINT: He wasn't thinking about being perfect. He was trying to reflect the moment. The REAL moment. Unretouched. Unfiltered. (Just like him! LOL)
Authenticity & Humanity.
A single moment at Campo de' Fiori, Rome IT
His personal photographs are now the beautiful foundation of every card we offer ... Well, except for those that feature his gorgeous original paintings, that now hang in our home and others. (Could be in yours, too! Check some of them out here.)
Glenn succeeded because Authenticity & Humanity and the emotions that fed them, were at the very heart of his creative work.
He ENVISIONED with his heart.
He SAW with is heart.
He DESIGNED with his heart.
And he PHOTOGRAPHED his heart.
... his big ol’ generous heart.
Well, after he “changed his address to Heaven,” I had to ask, “Where else would that kind of work do more GOOD than with something created specifically FOR human emotions?”
And that’s how the idea for our cards came to be. (Mostly. But more about that another time...)
Cards created to support Authenticity & Humanity.
To help foster personal connection when it's needed most – during the happy times, but also the not-so-happy. To be beautiful, but at the same time, honest, unfiltered, sometimes raw, yet always from an AUTHENTIC HEART.
His, mine ... and yours.
Connection and authenticity are so sorely needed today. By all of us.
I'm just trying to help further this cause, and to do a little good along the way.
_______________________________________________________
I won't sugarcoat the truth. It's super hard without him. I miss him dreadfully. Every. Single. Day.
But I love seeing him come to life again in everything about Thru Glenn’s Lens... in the cards, in the travel gifts (his other passion!), in his stunning frameable prints that bring beauty to the home (his specialty!) and more...
His spirit is absolutely ALIVE in everything about this company! And his beautiful legacy lives on with every purchase. Which frankly, also keeps me living on.
And he's beaming about the fact that every single cent of our profit goes to the mission of Thru Glenn’s Lens and The Glenn W. Hoffman Innovation & Creativity Scholarship!
So, remember him...
Celebrate his creativity. Enjoy the items we offer. Share, OFTEN. And help us help a new generation of creative spirits reach for their own dreams...
If you’d like, you can read more about him here.
With sadness, admiration,
and so much love for him
and his unwitting contribution to the world...
Karen
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