A Collection of Moments That Matter

There’s a tastefulness; an authenticity to it. It feels very Stanford. Which means—let’s have people and their stories be a part of this and not just a whole bunch of trophies.” —David Shaw

Advent has become known as the hall of fame company, and I’m very proud of our work.

A lot of people view a hall of fame as a collection of trophies or plaques. It’s not. A hall of fame is the story of who we are. We remember the moments that made us who we are. It projects a sense of direction onto the future of who we will become because of who we have been.  The reality is that our heritage shapes our future.

A hall of fame transcends wins and losses. It’s about the people who overcame adversity or setbacks and triumphed. It’s about story. And we see ourselves in those stories. We believe that by living through those obstacles, we are better as humans.

Over the past 25 years, we’ve had the privilege to partner with organizations like the Kansas City Chiefs and the University of Southern California to create halls of fame and to help tell the stories of thousands of men and women. I’ve been to many ribbon cuttings and attended a lot of grand openings.

People often ask me if I have a favorite project. My answer is no. But, I do have favorite moments and they are always around the looks on people’s faces or their reactions when they first experience the spaces. Fathers and mothers with children. Retired coaches with former players. Recruits and their parents imagining what could be.

One of my favorite stories is told by the Kansas City Chiefs Historian Mike Davidson about the Hall of Honor at Arrowhead Stadium

We’ve actually had lipstick on the glass where we have had fans kiss the display case glass.”

Another favorite is hearing Chris Plonsky from the University of Texas describe her emotional reaction to seeing former student-athletes visit the Hall of Fame

I get emotional about this. I see the eyes of former athletes who have their little boy with them and they see their mom’s picture and they ask, ‘Is that grandmom?’ and their moms say ‘No, that’s me.'”

Here’s to hopefully another 25 years of collecting memories and sharing them with the fans and people who have stored them in their hearts for a lifetime.