Most people aren't aware, but the 2015 club deck almost did not come to fruition. Let me explain... Back in mid-July (2015), I received a phone call from Tom Dawson around supper time. He informed me that Jackson Robinson, who agreed to design the 2015 deck, was backing out of the project for personal reasons. To make matters worse, the deadline to turn in all the artwork for the deck was eight days away. Finding another artist would be highly unlikely, and very difficult. Tom knew this, and it was clear by his tone of voice while speaking with me. Not one to shy away from a challenge, I asked Tom if I could have the next 24hrs to make some calls. Come 'hell or high water', I was going to find us an artist that would deliver playing card …show more content…
I jumped in and opened our conversation with, "Paul, thanks for taking my call this morning. I'll cut to the chase ... are you interested in designing this year's club deck?" He quizzically asked, "Isn't Jackson designing it?" I replied, "Sadly, no. Jackson had to back out for personal reasons. That means we need someone to design this year's deck. However, before you give me an answer, I need to tell you all of the story." There was a long pause as I built up enough courage to tell Carpenter the hardest part of my not-so-exciting news. I continued, "We only have a week to get everything finished and turned into EPCC, artwork and all. This includes a couple creativity rounds with the exec. board about the design and direction of the deck. Seven days, start to finish." At this point, I figured Carpenter would hang-up the phone in disgust because I was clearly requesting 'Mission Impossible'. Even Ethan Hunt would turn this one down! Carpenter shouted, "One week? That's insane. That's crazy. That's ... that's a challenge. Let me speak with my wife about this. May I call you …show more content…
It wasn't going to be an easy week, and he'd need to clear his entire schedule to make this deadline. Three hours later, Carpenter phoned with his decision. He said, "My wife and I think that Jackson shouldn't have all the fun! I accept this challenge." I felt a wave of relief come over me because I had just found our new 2015 designer. But as that euphoric feeling set in, so did reality. I knew we were staring down the starting line of a seven day race against the clock, and time already had a huge head-start. Like a true professional though, Carpenter got right to work. To my astonishment, by the day's end, he was sending around his initial mock-up for the board's approval. The concept was gorgeous (I personally LOVED it), but the board asked Carpenter to go back and try harder to create a design that the antique and vintage collectors could appreciate as much as the modern ones. With that direction, Carpenter went back to the drawing board (no pun intended). By lunchtime of day two, a new mock-up landed in the board's inbox. It was even better than the first one he pitched. It didn't take long for the board to approve it. Carpenter was given the go-ahead to create the entire deck before dinner that