Hello McKesson

Facebook post, "I started the next professional chapter today as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at McKesson. Their vision of improving care one patient at a time resonates more than ever. I am very excited to be a part of the McKesson Team!"

I was not looking for a change, but a change found me. My friend Dianne Armstrong got a great new opportunity and she called and asked if there was any chance I would consider being her backfill. After lots of prayer and conversations with Grant and my parents, I decided to give it a chance. I wasn't sure about the outcome, but in a year of so much uncertainty, it felt like I at least needed to be open and explore the possibilities. I was impressed with the quality of the people I met during the interview process, the scope of the role, and the good things happening at McKesson.

Off to the next adventure!

****** Official McKesson Announcement ********

Announcement: Erin Walsh, VP, Strategic Initiatives HR Colleagues, I am pleased to announce that Erin Walsh has joined McKesson as VP, Strategic Initiatives, reporting to me. In this role, she will support and drive key strategic initiatives from a people and change perspective using best in practice change management, organization design and program management methods. Erin and the Strategic Initiatives team will also analyze the effectiveness of current change management and organizational design processes, approaches and recommend innovative solutions to support McKesson transformation initiatives, including workforce transformation, transition management, integration with communications, engagement activities and adoption. Megan Henderson, Director, Strategic Initiatives; Hilary Hickey, Director, Strategic Initiatives; Rachel Petty, Director, Strategic Initiatives; Sharon Tehrani, Sr. Manager, Strategic Initiatives; and Paige Whitmire, Sr. Manager, Strategic Initiatives, will report to Erin.  Erin is a seasoned Change Management and Communications professional with 20 years of experience working as a strategic partner, program leader, and change driver. Prior to McKesson, she led Southwest Airlines’ Change Leadership Team. She also held Change Management, Communications and Organizational and Management Development (OMD) positions of increasing responsibility at PepsiCo, and she had a ten-year career with Accenture in management consulting, specializing in system implementations, business process outsourcing, and talent development. She holds Journalism and Business Administration degrees from Baylor University. Erin and her family live in Dallas-Fort Worth, and she will be based in our Las Colinas offices. Erin and her husband, Grant, enjoy traveling, home remodeling, and cheering on their three children in sports and activities. Please join me in welcoming Erin to McKesson and congratulating her on this new role. Emily

JR is double digits!

We celebrated on Jack Ranger's birthday with two football games and a cookie cake with his teammates. The next weekend we had an Epic party at Epic Waters. A few days before his birthday, we asked Ranger if there was anything special he wanted for his birthday and in typical boy fashion, he said, "toilets!" Nice. So... we gave him what he wanted and we decorated the house in a toilet theme! Avery and Shauna had come over for a spend-the-night and Avery was awesome helping us decorate. Ranger agreed it was pretty funny.

We had lunch at DDs and then off to the football game! Big John continues to be an awesome coach. Grant is team manager. Conner, Everest, Hudson, Luke and Maxwell came to Epic Waters and Ranger enjoyed the Dipping Dots ice cream and having his name on the big screen - perks of having an official Epic Waters birthday party. I had purchased the party back in February at the Cowboys & Cowboys Sky Ranch fundraiser and was so glad we got to use it.

Ranger is silly, active, a super fast runner, loves to play with his buddies around the neighborhood, still loves new dog, and likes math better than writing. He got a minky sheet for his bed for his birthday because he still loves soft things. He is so sweet to me and let's me snuggle him every night and scratch his back. He is currently reading all the Diary of a Wimpy Kids books and I have to make him stop reading at night. I can't believe he is 10!

Goodbye Southwest

Facebook post from my last day, "This is my last day at Southwest Airlines. This year has been full of so many unexpected twists and turns. I am excited for my next adventure (stay tuned...), but I am sad today as I say good-bye and leave our wonderful campus. Southwest Airlines has been a harbor for me and I walked into work every day blessed to work with an amazing Team I care about deeply. Thank you to Lori Paschal Winters for taking a chance and hiring me and to the Team who has felt like family for the last four year. I will carry all the things you taught me in my heart - celebrating each other, holding true to your values, how to lead with compassion, and the importance of laughing together. Southwest Airlines, you are truly one-of-a-kind and I will remain a loyal Customer and fan. All my LUV!"

It was an emotional day saying good-bye. I cried driving to campus to pack up the last of my things and again when I said a brief good-bye to my Team on our weekly Teams call. I was so glad that we had planned a happy hour at Terry Blacks. About 15 folks came and it felt like a bit of closure since it is such a strange time to say good-bye. Southwest has been so good to me and our family. Grant says he feels like his wings have been clipped. I do too. There is no place like Southwest.

Napa

We were on a mission to make the most of every last moment of flight privileges. With COVID, a hurricane brewing, and fires on the west coast, we were not sure if Grant and I were going to be able to pull off a weekend away. I arranged childcare and crossed my fingers! On Friday morning, we braved the fires and headed to California. We landed early afternoon, rented a car, and headed to Napa. We stopped at an awesome crepe place for lunch, and then hoped for the best as we drove into wine country. No one was answering the phone and we could smell a hint of smoke in the air. We managed to find a winery, Clos Pegase, that was open and it ended up being beautiful! It was their first day open and we were able to watch the sunset over the vineyards. Afterwards, we made our way back to the hotel and stopped at a roadside place for burgers. We checked into the hotel and then go a couples massages at a local place. Ahhh. 

On Saturday, we did an organized tour. Gary with Platypus Tours was a great guide. There were 6 of us on the tour and we went to 3 wineries. 1) Auburn James, 2) Hans Fahden, and 3) Varazzo. All three were nice stops, but Hans Fahden was my favorite because of the amazing scenery. They had a pond, gardens, and a gorgeous property. We bought wine at each stop and shipped a box of 12 bottles home. After the tour, we had an 8:30 reservation at Bottega. Stuffed ravioli, spa water, burrata cheese - Delicious! I would definitely go there again.

Sunday we had a wine tasting scheduled at Prisoners and then ventured over to Sonoma and ate lunch at Girl and the Fig and then wandered around the square. We had dinner at Mustard's Grill and the meatloaf was amazing. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed seeing an area we hadn't been to before. We made the full driving loop back through Napa. On Monday, we did a 10 mile bike ride with bikes from the hotel and then headed home. What a wonderful weekend!

Back at the ranch, we were attacked! Never a dull moment for Papa :)

Cadie is 12

 I was so glad to get back in town from Washington on Sunday evening so that we could celebrate Cadie's 12th birthday on Monday. Cadie had some fairly simple requests this year. A glue gun of her own and dinner at Rise. I called ahead to Rise and they saved the fancy table for us! It was beautiful and I think Cadie felt special. Cadie is responsible, an avid reader, likes to be early to school, thinks she may want to be a teacher or an interior designer, is in advanced math (so proud of her!), adventurous, opinionated, skeptical, prefers 1:1 or small groups, artistic, and reliable. I love her dearly and it has been a privilege to get to take her to school every day and go on walks with her in the evenings. I still get to snuggle her and scratch her back every night. She also loves to emphasize how much taller than me that she is. She will reach over my head for things in the kitchen. Show off! Cadie is a lovely young lady and being her Mom is something I am grateful for every day.

Colton and Erin in Cashmere

Monday, Sept. 21 I began sharing the news about my departure from Southwest. It was extremely difficult, but I had told my boss, Whitney, the Wed before we left for Disney and I was anxious to share the news. I wanted to get it out and also begin planning for transition. With the news, it also meant we had a very limited window for travel privileges! We all tried to make the most of it before our wings were clicked on Oct. 16. Dad took a trip to KC and Dallas, Jerry and Susan used buddy passes go to Charlotte, Grant took Ranger to San Antonio, and I took Colton to Washington to visit Eric and Anna.

Colton and I were the last two on an AA flight on Thursday evening. I was so nervous that we wouldn't make it! We rented a car and drove to Cashmere and go there really late. The moon was really bright which helped with the drive. We left on Sunday afternoon on a Southwest flight that wasn't very full which was nice.

We explored Ridge 2 River property, "helped" Eric with the concrete for the new barn, went mini-golfing, spent an afternoon at the river, and even got to go to dinner with Tara. We had an amazing time and Eric and Anna were wonderful hosts. I also loved getting to spend some special time with my little dude. He was super easy to travel with and he loved the adventure as much as I did.

Meanwhile back in Texas, Grant took Ranger to San Antonio and Cadie hung out with DD and Big John.