Dreaming Big
By Jim Shaffer, Partner

Those who know me best know that I’m a dyed in the wool Notre Dame fan.  On numerous occasions I’ve sat freezing in the stands watching my beloved fighting Irish battle within the confines of Notre Dame Stadium.  There have been good years and there have been a few bad seasons but regardless of the record, there I am watching, hoping and believing.

“Believing” is exactly what Reverend Edward Sorin did on a bitterly cold November afternoon in 1842.  Edward Sorin was the founder of the University of Notre Dame. 

Sorin, a French Priest and man of lively imagination named the university “L’Universite de Notre Dame du Lac” translated The University of Our Lady of the Lake.  Two years later the University would receive it’s charter from the Indiana legislature and the rest is as we say, history…or is it?

In 1879 a disastrous fire destroyed the Main Building, which housed virtually the entire University.  This proud and growing University suffered a loss that many thought would bring about the end of the school.  Surely they couldn’t survive.  Surely they couldn’t rebuild.

But the “will” of Father Sorin was something to be reckoned with.  Shortly after learning of the devastating fire Sorin was quoted as saying “I came here as a young man and dreamed of building a great university in honor of Our Lady,” he said.  “But I built it too small, and she had to burn it to the ground to make the point.  So, tomorrow, as soon as the bricks cool, we will rebuild it bigger and better than ever.”  From the moment he learned of the fire he believed in what tomorrow would look like and what tomorrow would bring.

This is the reason that we’ve spent the last 19 years investing in the talent and resources that our clients have to have to not only survive but also thrive.  With all of our dreams for Affiliated Media Group it’s the dreams and visions of our clients that have driven us to never think too small when we think about the future.  While some are concerned or even threatened about what the future will bring with changes in technology and advertising we at Affiliated Media Group embrace it because with change comes opportunity to do things that we’ve never been able to do before.

With that said I would like to close this time with you by repeating a quote from Father Sorin after Notre Dame was rebuilt, he said “With respect and gratitude for all who embraced Notre Dame’s mission in earlier times, let us rise up and embrace the mission for our time” he continued, “let no one ever again say that we dreamed too small”.