You know Beyoncé, Springsteen and the Obamas.
And maybe you’re a devoted Swiftie.
If everyone seems to know you by one word — either first or last name — you’ve arrived. You’re T-shirt brand worthy.
And that’s the essence of Carl, the always-ready-with-a-quip waiter at Tia Sophia’s on the Plaza. Last name doesn’t matter — he’s Carl to everyone.
I’m leading with Carl in today’s column because: A) He’s a likable guy; and B) he reminded me of the importance of recognition.
I recently came across a Harvard Business Review article titled “A Better Way to Recognize Your Employees†that touched on the importance of getting others to reflect on their accomplishments. Author Christopher Littlefield offered this: “We can only recognize what we see, observe, or learn about from others and our recognition focuses on what we appreciate, which is not always what others want to be appreciated for.â€
Reflective recognition is tricky in the news-gathering world. Not every source — especially elected officials — wants to be transparently reflective. Other times, we might miss a story because there are more byline opportunities than available reporters on any day in any newsroom.
Plus, the front page of the print edition has room for four or five story slots. A lot of interesting and inspiring stories move by default to inside pages (with no intended slight).
Carl got me thinking: What storylines did we miss — even unintentionally — that deserve recognition?
There’s Robert Martin.
He is an accomplished, well-known leader as president of a ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe treasure, the Institute of American Indian Arts. Dr. Martin has been in the pages of The New Mexican often, including a recent My View column, “Shaping futures changes lives and makes history.â€
What you may not know is that he was recognized Monday at the White House. President Joe Biden awarded the ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe educator with a National Humanities Medal for leadership in Indigenous higher education. Martin was a 2022 medalist, but the ceremony for the past two years of honorees took place Monday.
There’s Erik H. Gellert.
Mr. Gellert doesn’t make as many headlines, but the artist and ceramics technician at ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe Community College deserves recognition in many ways. Such as going out of his way to guide lost editors through the halls of the community college.
That’s how we met him. A turn here, a turn there, and Pasatiempo editor Carolyn Graham and I had that serendipitous moment of walking past a pop-up gallery show featuring the work of our lost-and-found savior.
A bit of online searching shows there is much more to appreciate and recognize about Gellert. He works closely with his wife, Esther, who is a ceramic artist. His work can be seen at the Nine Muses Art gallery in ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe. And his show There Is No Opening at ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe Community College’s Dean’s Gallery continues through Nov. 1.
And there’s Carl.
Watch how he deals with customers. Carl makes everyone feel special during the often-frenetic-but-ever-friendly pace at Tia Sophia’s.
On Wednesday, I grabbed an early lunch and snagged my favorite spot — the four-stool counter.
Carl was juggling between tables, but he stopped to say he saw something about me in the ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe New Mexican. (This was a first since Carl usually mentions columnist Milan Simonich or Editorial Page Editor Inez Russell Gomez.)
We bantered a bit, I ordered the tostadas, and then the business of lunch happened. Took a bite, checked my phone. Repeat.
As I prepared to leave, Carl quipped: “See you in the news! Get it? See you in the news!â€
You, too, Carl. You’re in the news.
You make people feel good about themselves.
That, too, is worthy recognition.