Today I have the extraordinary opportunity to recognize Becky Samons, who tomorrow celebrates 30 years at The Blum Firm. In doing so, I want to reflect on the rare occurrence of a 30-year work anniversary, and the path that got us to this day. We can all learn from Becky’s example.
Let’s wind the clock back to August 26, 1996. My assistant Barbara Littlefield had the bright idea to post an index card on the bulletin board at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary announcing a job opening for an office assistant. As fate would have it, a student there named Kris Samons saw it and told his wife Becky she should apply. Becky resisted. She had never been in a law office, knew nothing about our work, and didn’t even know how to type. But Barbara saw potential. What did she see? Becky was respectful, sincere, and willing to learn. There was a sparkle in her eyes that said she was genuine and caring. I saw it too, and we took the leap of faith. When hiring someone, we have discovered that potential outweighs experience. We prefer a rising star like Becky over someone who has work experience but is unlikely to reach great heights.
Becky still looks as young today as on the day we hired her. We teased that she was just a kid when she started with us. Becky played along and thanked us for “having the confidence to hire a 12-year-old who’d never worked in a law firm.”
Looking back, Becky says that what amazes her most about her first 30 years is how much she has learned and keeps learning every day. Along with her superb positive attitude and work ethic, Becky’s willingness to learn was essential to her success. That’s another lesson we can all learn from Becky’s career. Always come to work with a willingness to learn. Becky credits us with providing her a safe environment in which to learn. She describes The Blum Firm as “a place where failures can happen safely and you can learn from them,” though in truth her failures were few and far between. But she is right that it’s our goal at The Blum Firm to mentor employees, teach them new skills, and help them grow in a safe environment.
And indeed, has Becky grown in her skills! She is now our head paralegal who trains all those on our paralegal team. She’s come a long way from knowing nothing about estate planning. “I love the mentoring aspect of my job,” says Becky. She is a natural mentor, not only at our law firm, but off hours in her ministry working with teenagers. It’s her lifelong passion and mission to work with students and help them in their faith journey. Becky appreciates that “this isn’t a place that completely drains me, so I can leave work and still have the energy to nurture young people to help them flourish.” Among the kids she’s mentored into adulthood are their own two outstanding children, Hudson and Cy. At The Blum Firm, we celebrate having interests and life balance outside of the office. We find that people with outside passions bring more energy to their work.
Becky’s passion for inspiring young people was even a gift to my own family, as Becky and Kris became favorite babysitters when Adam and Lizzy were young. They even drove Adam and his first date to and from a dance, which was much cooler than having your parents serve as chauffeurs. Another night, Laurie and I came home to discover Lizzy and her best friend Sari learning from Becky how to wear make-up and pretend to be professional models. So cute!
Another memory of Becky’s caring ways was a visit to my mom in the hospital, where Becky asked if my mom had lost any family members in the Holocaust. I expected my mom to answer “no.” To my shock, she responded, “Yes, my Uncle Enoch and Aunt Elke,” siblings of her mother who didn’t make it out in time and were killed by Hitler. How did I never know that? Only because of Becky’s heartfelt inquiry did I discover an important part of my heritage, previously unspoken (as is typical of Jews who suppressed the horrors of the Holocaust in an effort to build a new life).
Bottom line, there aren’t enough superlatives in the English language to express our gratitude for Becky Samons. She is a role model for so many life lessons—chief among them to bring your best to work every day and be willing to get outside your comfort zone and stretch to constantly learn new skills. Becky, here’s to 30 (or more!) additional years as a superstar member of The Blum Firm family!
With deepest appreciation and congratulations to Becky Samons!
Marvin E. Blum
Marvin Blum presents Becky Samons with a certificate recognizing her extraordinary 30 years of service to The Blum Firm and expresses his heartfelt appreciation for her dedication, commitment, and valued contributions.
A glimpse into Becky’s life with her beautiful family—her husband, Kris, and their two children, Hudson and Cy.
A certificate to mark this special milestone. Thank you, Becky, for 30 extraordinary years of service to The Blum Firm!