50 Years, 50 Stories - Kim Holman

Today’s installment of “50 Years, 50 Stories” comes from Kim Holman, who shares a very personal story about her battle with cancer and the support she received from her friends and colleagues at Imagine!. It is quite a testament to our organization and the people who work here.

Thanks for sharing, Kim!

Imagine!: The Right Place to Be

By Kim Holman
 

Kim while going through chemotherapy, with her two
children, Eli and Bethany.

My fifteenth anniversary with Imagine! was just around the corner when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in the fall of 2009. I couldn’t have picked a better place to be during this difficult time.

There’s a magical quality about this company. It attracts employees who are genuine and kind, people who really care about each other. It’s a place where we can be candidly human with all of our strengths and our weaknesses.

I have attended conferences and heard about the environments in which other people work—cultures of competition where feelings and disease, the messy stuff of life, are marginalized along with the people who experience them. Not at Imagine!.

We’re not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. As with any company, there’s a fair amount of internal strife. That’s just the natural flow of things. But we find ways to get along. We talk, we joke, we laugh, we cry, we discuss, we feel, and we grow together. I think it’s because we hold each other up to a high measure of personal integrity that we’re fifty years strong today.

So when I faced the greatest challenge of my life, I was wonderfully supported in that pool of integrity and trust, and my colleagues surrounded me within the same framework of care and commitment that drives Imagine!.

Sick time was donated, food was delivered to my door, cards were left in my mailbox, friends stopped by, co-workers took up my slack, and most importantly, I wasn’t dismissed. Rather, I was told in no uncertain terms that the most important thing was to rest and heal and get through my treatments so I could return to work when it was all over.

And here I am today—fifty years old—just like the company that has supported my growth as both a professional and an individual for so many years. No words can ever express the gratitude I feel.

Today, I’m healthy and strong and cancer-free, thanks in great part to the wonderful people who work at Imagine!. They are this company, its mission, and the root of its great success. I’m so delighted to be a part of the magic that keeps this company like its employees—vital and resilient.

Happy 50th Anniversary, Imagine!, and thank you for all your support.

Kim today, healthy and strong and
cancer-free.

Are you interested in sharing your story for “50 Years, 50 Stories?” If so, contact Caroline Siegfried at caroline@imaginecolorado.org or 303-926-6405. We’d love to hear from you!