About 29 years ago this summer, I was inducted into the Boy Scouts’ Order of the Arrow, which is essentially Scouting’s National Honor Society. One of the hallmark traits of OA Scouters is providing cheerful service to others.

My dad was a pretty incredible man whose simple acts of devotion affected my induction celebration into the OA all those summers ago, and his example impacts the value I provide to my clients each and every day.

Let me explain.

My dad wanted me to have a particularly special Scouting experience.  So he became the founding Scoutmaster of a troop at our synagogue in Long Grove, IL.  The troop was open to fellow Jews and gentiles, but one agreement all Scouts would adhere to is to maintain the Kosher dietary laws.  When we went camping, my dad would plan out all our meals, shop for all our provisions, and we all learned Kosher preparations using our Coleman stoves, and cooking on open campfires.  That was so much fun.  Writing about this brings back such great memories and makes me feel very connected to my dad’s energy.

Our summers were always punctuated by two-week stints in Northern Wisconsin at Camp Ma-Ka-Ja-Wan, where all Boy Scouts from the Northeast Illinois Council would assemble for camp and all kinds of fun.  Since my troop kept Kosher, we had to claim a special portion of the mess hall’s kitchen for our provisions and cooking, all of which required a lot of logistics planning and negotiating on the part of my dad, just so all of us in the troop could have the kind of experience he had envisioned.

The summer at camp when I was inducted into this special Order of the Arrow, I remember being assigned challenging service tasks on the campgrounds with fellow inductees, and being sworn to silence [which was really tough for me even back then!].  The whole process, and the induction ceremony was very secretive, and I remember the whole event being a bit overwhelming.  When it was over and my dad and I found each other, I remember us embracing one another, him being so proud of me, and me telling him how hungry I was!

I’ll never forget what my dad did to ensure that my experience in the celebration party with everyone else was totally inclusive for me.  He found out that the food to be served at the post induction party was going to be pizza.  He also found out that all the pizzas – in the north woods of Wisconsin – were cheese and pepperoni or cheese and sausage.  There were no plain cheese pizzas.  The pizzas with meat would not be Kosher, and he needed to find just cheese pizza for me because not one pizza out of probably 100 was going to be plain cheese!

So what I found out was that while I was working on my assigned OA tasks in silence, my dad was out on a task to find plain cheese pizzas for him and me to enjoy that night.  After driving around to every mom-and-pop-shop in a large radius and putting about 70 miles onto the car, he found these elusive pizzas.  We enjoyed eating them, knowing they represented both of our special efforts.

All these years later, I recall this story because it’s a lifelong example of what it takes to make a difference in someone’s life.  There is nothing I won’t do to make my clients’ experiences the best they can be, and to make them comprehensive and complete.  I’m definitely not your dad, but the work I do is still a labor of love, and if you come to experience the transformative benefits of image consulting, just know that I’ll treat you at least as well as my dad did me.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps high-profile individuals revitalize, manage, and be secure in their personal visual brand. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.