Summer, our Wedding & Event Specialist
There is so much to say about Summer, our extraordinarily talented Event & Wedding Specialist at Second & Main, and Manager of Moonbow Mercantile. Summer came into our lives almost exactly a year ago. At that time, we had an event space but nobody to clean it, so Geoff and I were spending every free moment trying to turn the space around (while each working full-time jobs, trying to grow Second & Main, and also renovate the Buttermore Building in Harlan). Then, one Saturday afternoon Geoff went to You & Me Coffee and Tea to get us an afternoon coffee, when he ended up having a long conversation with Summer and her husband, Jared. He came home with her phone number, eager to tell me that not only had he found the perfect person to clean the event space, but how impressed he was with this young couple. Among the many challenges they faced in their early 20’s was a diagnosis of a type of brain cancer for Jared. They had stared it down, and all the treatments, together.
We were already big fans of Summer at the time, as was anybody who went to You & Me. Summer was always excellence in customer service personified, greeting customers warmly and whipping up terrific drinks. But until that fateful day, we had no idea that Summer and Jared had worked for a professional cleaning service company prior to moving to Corbin and had plenty of experience with commercial spaces like ours. And we certainly had no idea how strong and independent they were.
Summer was an absolute Godsend for 2nd & Main from the beginning. She created a list of needed cleaning supplies and got to work, bringing a tidiness and order to the space that made me feel so good about the special events we hosted. One day she and I were having a planning meeting in my customary fashion – I asked her to follow me on a walk as we talked, so I could hand out posters for an upcoming event. During this walk she heard me talking to another business owner about how I was looking for a new employee, and not just someone to run a cash register. I wanted someone to really take ownership of 2nd & Main and Moonbow, to nurture it and grow the business.
Long story short, Summer became that person. In particular, she absolutely bloomed at event planning. The list of improvements she made to 2nd & Main is hard to overstate. She created an Instagram page and grew our social media following. She set up appointments for brides and created pricing guides. She made sure all of the details were set for weddings and parties, from clean linens to all the drink needs. On more than one occasion, she stepped in as wedding planner, directing guests and announcing wedding parties. She cared, and it showed.
Over the same time span, the store and bar grew dramatically. Summer was my endless trusted collaborator, and I called or talked to her almost every day that she worked. Then, as we sought to grow, Summer helped us figure out a plan for a coffee shop, from the syrups and sauces to the uniforms. She helped think through the plan for Moonbow Mercantile Williamsburg and how we could serve homemade, small-batch ice cream. She put in endless hours and took worries off my plate. She even helped train our new baristas in Harlan.
It says it all that Summer’s first day was TedXCorbin. Can you imagine that as the first day on the job? We were open from early in the morning until late into the night, serving drinks at the after-party. But she was fantastic and charmed everyone who stopped through that day. No matter the event, I have always been proud to be represented by Summer.
And now, Summer is moving to a new adventure, and her time at Moonbow as our physical representative has come to an end. You can imagine how difficult it is to see her go, but I am also very excited for her. She and Jared are still young, and they are off to a new place. I pray that it is absolutely wonderful for them, and that they find all the joy they deserve. All the same, I am pretty sure I will still be calling on her from time to time. She has been absolutely instrumental in growing Moonbow to what it is today, and I am sure I will want her opinion on a few things. She will always be an important part of our story, and we send her off with all the love and best wishes.