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Notice the Unnoticed

Several years ago I was asked to speak to a gathering of people who were working to increase civic engagement in their home communities. Their convention was modest, but it was held in the MGM Grand Las Vegas, the second largest hotel and conference center in the world. The purpose of my little talk was to share with the gathering my firm belief that community development is only possible when you begin to “notice the unnoticed.”

That speech was seven years ago, but I still remember the statistics I quoted that day to make my point. As we sat in an ornate conference room, nearly 9,000 employees of the MGM Grand were working behind the scenes to make our stay comfortable. These folks do their work with a level of professionalism worthy of our respect, yet they make it a point to remain largely unseen by those of us visiting the hotel. We spent our days learning at the convention and having fun in Las Vegas. Yet few of us gave a second thought to the fact that we returned to our hotel room each evening, the bed was made, floor vacuumed, bathroom cleaned, and towels refreshed. That’s simply what we have come to expect from a hotel. The MGM Grand employs over 1,800 housekeepers, but we rarely consider that the one who cleaned our room was an individual person who took pride in their work.

As I continued to speak to the gathering over dinner, I pointed out the waiters and busboys who were bringing our food, filling our glasses, and cleaning our tables. Over 1,000 people do those jobs in the hotel, but their entire goal is to move among us while remaining completely unnoticed.

The meals we enjoyed were made with care by people we’d never meet. The security guards blended into the background, but kept us safe. The retail clerks handled our transactions efficiently, but we never gave those people a second thought. There are countless folks we take for granted and never notice precisely because of the professional way they approach their work. Yet performing each of these tasks is a real person. They might be working hard to provide for their family or because they are saving toward a dream to do something more. Whatever their reason, they toil their trade in a way that asks them to remain largely unseen and unnoticed – and thus often unappreciated – by those they serve.

Obviously more employees work at the MGM Grand than in the entire visitor industry of Door County, but the principle is the same. Since I returned to Wisconsin four years ago, I have made it a point to try to notice the unnoticed. I try to appreciate the little signs of professionalism that appear around me every day.

When I sat down for lunch at John Martin’s in Sturgeon Bay the other day, they brought out my favorite glass of raspberry iced tea even before I asked. When I bought my favorite ginger cheese at Main Street Market, I casually mentioned I wasn’t going to be able to get home and put it in the fridge for a few hours, so they took the time to specially wrap it up so it would hold a little longer. We all encounter an abundance of simple stories like these, which seem small, but when taken together, are testaments to the people around us who are professionals in their own quiet way. They work hard every day and are an essential part of the remarkable quality of life we enjoy here in Door County.

All of this came to mind earlier this month when I watched the volunteers of the Women’s Fund of Door County make the deliberate decision to notice the unnoticed. They hosted a “Picnic on the Farm” whose sole purpose was simply to say thank you to the working folks of our community. This wasn’t a fundraiser or a donor relations event. Thanks to the generosity of Waseda Farms and Organic Valley, the burgers and hot dogs, chocolate milk, string cheese, ice cream, games, entertainment – and too many other things to list here – were completely free.

The ladies of the Women’s Fund literally drove all over town, putting up posters in the break rooms of grocery stores, on bulletin boards in Laundromats, in libraries and at local charities. They wanted the people who take care of us to know that they are noticed, and are deeply appreciated.

As another wonderful Door County season gets underway, take a moment to see the professionalism that exists all around you in places you’d least expect. Make the deliberate choice to notice the unnoticed. If you’re willing to open your eyes, you’ll be impressed by what you see.

Bret Bicoy is President & CEO of the Door County Community Foundation. In 2008, he and his wife Cari returned to Wisconsin to raise their six children in the community they love. Contact him at [email protected].