On the following Monday, Charlene told me that the “Big Boss,” P&R’s director, Mr. Fuller, had an urgent project that needed to be designed and finished by Wednesday afternoon. It had to be printed and ready by Thursday evening for him to take to his organization’s budget meeting on Saturday.

I nervously thought to myself—this was a sink or swim moment. I grabbed the yellow note papers and went upstairs to the director’s spacious and impressive office overlooking the Potomac River, the Mall, and the Washington Monument.

He asked me to come in and sit at the front of his large, polished wooden desk. Handing me the transcript, he walked me through the overall project plan and instructed me to create a quick design and layout. Then, he told me to call him when it was ready for review.

As I walked back to my office a few floors below, my mind was already racing. The design idea was taking shape in my thoughts. I handed the transcript to Charlene with instructions for the font and galley specifications, then sat down in my office and started creating a dummy layout. I remember it was about membership numbers. I designed the cover to resemble a car license plate, with a large number across it—the small booklet measured 4 by 8 inches, about 10 pages.

Within a few hours, the mock-up booklet was finished. I went upstairs and showed it to Mr. Fuller. He loved it and approved it right away. I sighed with relief and headed back to my office to prepare the camera-ready art.

By early the next morning, everything was prepared. I returned it to Mr. Fuller for final review and approval. He made a few text edits and provided the final number for the cover. He was very pleased, congratulated me on the quick and excellent work, shook my hand, and handed the artwork back to me.

I went back to my office, where Charlene typed the text corrections and updated the number on the cover. By noon, I had made all the necessary changes and adjustments and went upstairs for Mr. Fuller’s final review. He approved it with a smile and thanked me again.

I rushed downstairs to the print shop and handed it to the print department’s boss. He examined it and gave me a thumbs-up. Five thousand copies were printed, bound, and stitched overnight, then delivered to Mr. Fuller’s office before noon—ready for his conference.

I thanked Charlene and the printers for their cooperation and the excellent job they did. I felt both happy and relieved that everything went smoothly. The rest of the week, while Lester was away, also went well; I happily created the few small cover designs requested by other staff members to their praise and satisfaction.
 

— The Launch Pad

That Monday, when Lester returned, he asked how everything had gone in his absence.

I told him everything went smoothly, and we finished all the work successfully. He looked happy.

Later that afternoon, he called me into his office with a big smile. "I just came back from Mr. Fuller’s office,” he said. “He was thrilled with your work. The conference went off without a hitch. He even suggested you be given a raise—so, I’m bumping your pay to four dollars an hour.”

Thank you so much, boss! I’m really glad we pulled it off, though I have to admit, I was nervous flying solo.

He chuckled. “I had confidence you'd fly solo just fine.”

When I told Kathy about the raise, she wasn’t exactly pleased. She was still earning $2.45 an hour.

Here’s the thing. Looking back, I realized I was lucky in more ways than one. My car broke down near my apartment, not on the way to the job interviews that day—otherwise, I would have missed my shot entirely.