I wanted to be like him

I wanted to be like him

From the time I was a baby, I wanted to be like him

In more ways than one, I consider myself a very lucky young man…for many reasons.  God has and continues to bless me with wonderful family, friends, education, and career opportunities.   

The longer I live, the more people I meet, and the more places I go…I realize how lucky I am to have a loving father like my dad, Mr. W. Jeffrey Scott.

From the time I was a little redheaded fella running around the house, playgrounds, basketball courts, and Sunday School classrooms, I’ve wanted to be like my dad.

OneMoreStep topic for this week, in the spirit of Father’s Day – why I’ve always wanted to be like him…my dad.

He works hard…

Pops...dapper even as a little fella

My dad grew up on Malone Lane, in Grayson, KY, a small town of a few thousand people.  He loved the game of basketball (the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree), baseball, and American History. 

Sports

Growing up I heard countless stories of how hard my dad worked at the game of basketball.  He practiced hard every single day.  He played hard in practice every single day in high school, but his Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior year he never saw much playing time.   

He didn’t quit. He didn’t give up.  He kept on keeping on, working on his shooting, passing, ball handling, and he even kept a basketball in the backseat of his car his Junior and Senior year…just in case he ran into somebody that wanted to play. 

Though he saw very little Varsity action the first three years of his high school career, by the time his Senior year rolled around, he was one of the best shooters in eastern Kentucky High School Basketball, averaging nearly 20 points and 10 rebounds per game.  He even hit a game winning shot his Senior year against rival West Carter High School to propel the East Carter Raiders to victory in the District Tournament in 1973.  I never got tired of hearing about these stories.  They inspired me to work hard on my game growing up…I wanted to be like him.

Career

My dad knew he wanted to be a lawyer at a relatively young age.  So his college years, he admits, were just “in the way”, as he couldn’t wait to get to law school.  My dad, the son of a math teacher and a local barber, had so much passion for American History, world events, government, and for defending and protecting the American Dream…he worked hard to complete college in three years, to reach his goal of making it to law school.  

W. Jeffrey Scott, Attorney at Law - Headquarters

My dad not only made it to and graduated from Northern Kentucky University’s Salmon P. Chase School of Law, he began his career as an attorney at the age of 23 with a law firm, a few years later became a partner in that firm, a few years after that he branched out on his own, creating a legal brand, if you will – W. Jeffrey Scott, Attorney at Law, P.S.C. 

He now has his own office, with his own logos, and staff (some of which have been with him for over 20 years and are as much a part of our family as my sister and I are).  The name W. Jeffrey Scott, in the legal community in the Commonwealth of Kentucky is synonymous with words like quality, class-act, professional, caring, service-oriented, and the best. 

Logo + Palm Trees...says it all

He has created his brand, his service, and his gift to thousands of folks in need of legal advice and services through old fashioned hard work.  Growing up, my dad would always be at the dinner table with us, eating as a family everyday after school.  On weekends he was on the sidelines of every soccer game and little league baseball game.   

As my sister and I grew older, he was at every…single…literally…every…single basketball game (and trust me there were plenty).  Yet he would always go to the office late at night, after dinner was over…after the ball games were over…he would go back down to the office and put in extra hours researching, preparing, writing, and working.  Hard work.  No shortcuts.  I wanted to be like him.

He plays harder…

Last summer...little hot tub time with dad

As hard as my dad has worked, and as many hours as he still puts into making legal services magic for thousands of people in eastern Kentucky, he finds time to play.  Nobody loves vacation, summertime, baseball games, basketball games, concerts, pool parties, and a nice cocktail more than my dad.  Growing up he found the money and time (I’m pretty sure that many times he didn’t have either, but he did it anyway) to take all of us to Walt Disney World every year. 

He found the time to take us to Cincinnati for long weekends, where we took in Cincinnati Reds baseball games, staying in what used to be my favorite, the “corner room at the Westin”, in downtown Cincinnati.  

CaliFlorida...in the heart of eastern Kentucky

He found time and money to not only build a pool in our backyard, but to make it into what felt like…and still feels like a tropical paradise – I call it CaliFlorida, as the motif is literally a cross between California and Florida.  In the summer, most evenings, my dad can be found out by his pool, reading the paper with a cold beverage in an adirondack chair.   

On the weekends, when he’s not visiting me in Las Vegas, in Orlando at Walt Disney World, or taking my mom to see a show and to a nice dinner, he is usually out by the pool entertaining Guests; making them concoctions, grilling steaks, and being the life of the party.  He plays hard.  He always has.  I’d watch him growing up…listen to his stories…take notes of all of the things he gave us – from vacations, to bikes, to cars, to our own basketball court, to learning opportunities, to just old fashioned great times which make for magical memories to this day.  I wanted to be like him.

Passions...at arms length from my couch

This past week, I found myself coming home from a long…very long…day’s work at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.  I sat on my bed and looked around my apartment.  I had a little moment to myself.  With a bookshelf full of leadership books, a coffee table with more leadership books on it as well as Conde Nast magazines, Hotelie magazines, and a hotel school degree on the wall…

I thought about my passions – hotels, leadership, and making a positive impact on people’s lives.  I thought about not only how hard I’m working, but also all of the fun and exciting things I get to do in Las Vegas when my buddies and family come into town. 

I tried to be like him

I thought about my dad…his passion is to make a positive impact in the lives of people who need it, and he does that every single day as their lawyer.  He also loves Las Vegas, a nice dinner, a great live band, and/or a fun night out on the town.  Here I am, blessed to be able to work in a world class hotel, in a city with the greatest hotels in the world, with a platform to inspire, lead, motivate, and create magic for people as my job…while squeezing in a few hours this week to enjoy Las Vegas with some of my best friends that will be visiting. 

I’m working hard…I’m playing hard…I strive to make a positive impact in people’s lives everyday.  I’M JUST LIKE MY DAD.

Great day at the 137th running of the Kentucky Derby with Dad

I love you, Dad.  Happy Father’s Day.

See you real soon…

Have a great day.

Taylor






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