SMPS Connections

Jack: When I started a branch office, I began attending the joint SMPS Austin-San Antonio meetings, and officially joined SMPS in April 1984. The SMPS conference in 1986 was in San Francisco, and it was at the conference venue, the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill, that I met Julie Luers for the first time. I was quite impressed with her. Julie: I do remember briefly meeting Jack in San Francisco, but we each have a slightly different recollection. He recalls meeting in the elevator lobby. I remember greeting each other on the escalator, mine going down, his going up. I found him interesting. I was impressed that he was such a gentleman.

Julie: We were acquaintances for 30+ years, seeing each other several times at SMPS HQ meetings and a couple of business meetings in Minneapolis and Austin. We lived 1,200 miles apart, and both had families, so a romantic relationship was not something we had ever considered. When we did see one another, we shared a mutual respect and admiration. When Jack switched his focus to regional SMPS meetings, we rarely saw one another but did communicate via email with each other occasionally. The Society's 50th Anniversary in 2023 was the catalyst for our reunion. Because I am an SMPS Fellow, Weld Coxe MAA recipient, and a past SMPS board president, this celebration was not to be missed. When I noticed that Jack was listed as a planning committee member, I reached out to inquire if there were events scheduled for past leadership. Since we were now a widow and a widower, and because we had always been good friends, it seemed reasonable to me that Jack would be interested in attending the social events together. A few months before the anniversary celebration, Jack and I had our first date in April 2023 while I was in Texas on spring break with my family. This was the beginning of our relationship that led to our engagement at an Eiffel Tower dinner in Paris in November 2023 and marriage in Minneapolis in May 2024.

Jack: Listen to others. Keep a relaxed mental attitude. Under promise and over-deliver. Incidentally, I followed that general plan between April 2023 and May 2024.

Jack: Julie and I are both extroverts. Otherwise, Julie is very organized and a non-stop worker. She keeps very physically fit with daily walks and gym workouts. I have always been spontaneous, opportunistic, and willing to take risks. My only exercise is riding my bicycle with friends on Saturdays. Since we both had full careers that included domestic and international travel, our differences help us find and realize great experiences when we travel together. Julie: Jack is free-flowing. He's willing to try almost anything, is intelligent, kind, generous, and refreshingly opinionated. These traits are a good balance to my pragmatic, "a place for everything and everything in its place" approach to life. We both love travel, good wine, and family. We respect our differences and embrace our similarities.

Jack: My early experience and SMPS marketing education in the '80s gave me the confidence to found and operate my own consulting firm. Learn about the marketing process but focus on verbal and other communications. Listen to others and try to gain an understanding of the vast array of personalities in the business world. Julie: Be open and prepared for continuous learning. Show your interest in leading and learn what it is to be a leader. Expand your professional network as deep and wide as possible. Respect everyone, positions above and below yours. Take advantage of all SMPS has to offer, as this is the best organization to give you the tools and experience to achieve your professional goals.

We have yet to encounter significant differences but expect to discuss and resolve. Our careers gave us experience with considering and prioritizing issues. Stay tuned on that one. We both had 40+ year-long relationships with our late spouses, which gave us the experience to understand what works and what doesn't in dispute resolution.

Jack: Bicycle riding. Keeping up with politics and current events, traveling, learning about and experiencing good wines. Julie: Hiking, working out, traveling, hanging out with family. I'm getting better at cycling. Jack is reciprocating by hiking with me.

Jack: Julie is lovely, caring, and interesting. Julie: Jack is intelligent, witty, and kind.

Jack: Listen to the person that's important to you. Share your common and your disparate interests. Show up on time. Find some way, anyway, to tell the truth, and assume your mate does the same.