Who is Simon Benson?

Kinda dark, but you get the idea...Tay, me, Mariel, and Mike at the Simon Benson Awards.

What do a Portland polytechnic high school, a swanky hotel, and those bubbling fountains in the city all have in common?

They are named after Simon Benson, a famous Portland philanthropist.

Last night, Taylor and I accompanied Mariel and her boyfriend to the Convention Center for the Simon Benson Awards Dinner, a fundraiser for Portland State University. We sat at Mariel's dad's table, and it was such an enlightening evening.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice served as the keynote speaker and talked mostly about the importance of education. Repeatedly, she preached about how important it is to make the extraordinary ordinary and how you can come from humble beginnings and do great things. It was a real "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" kind of speech, and it was motivating and encouraging.

Lately...while I'm off the wedding circuit...I've been working on updating my book proposal, networking with various professionals, and trying to figure out just what I'm supposed to do with my life at this point. Listening to Condoleezza's speech and hearing about the great things the award recipients accomplished in their lives proved to be a perfect dose of inspiration for the week.