Jam-packed with events and fun holidays, autumn is our favorite season to be outside and enjoy the color inspiration, fall fashion and crisp air.

Here are a few of our favorite things to do:

“The Fall is my absolute FAVORITE season.  In addition to the usual pumpkin carving and Halloween costume party traditions, one of my absolute favorite things to do every October is visit Markoff’s Haunted Forest with my friends.  This particular Haunted Forest beats ANY Haunted house/tour/forest/etc I have ever been to.  My friends and I love to go out each year, clutching to each other as we frantically make it through the terrifying forest.  Even their website is scary!“ – Amanda Butterworth, Senior Director, Creative Services

“It would have to be our annual drive into the Colorado Rockies to view the changing aspen trees – the colors are just delicious!  This year we drove over Boreas Pass which takes the route of an old rail bed from Como to the south and drops down into Breckenridge.  Breathtaking!” – Martha Kirkpatrick, Director, Member Services

Martha's photo of some gorgeous Colorado foliage!

“My favorite fall activity is college football.  As many of you know, I am a HUGE Boise State football fan (as an Idahoan) and greatly enjoy watching them trounce the competition on our controversial blue field.  In Charlottesville, it’s nice to get out, tailgate, and watch UVA try to hold it together in the ACC.” – Alexandra Gibson, President and CEO

Alexandra (in the hat), with Katherine and Martha Jane (both GDM Advisory Board members) on each end, and Bevin (GDM fan always, new Broncos fan)

“My favorite part of fall is throwing on my favorite fleece and watching football. Go tigers! (Hampden-Sydney).” – Lolly Rush, Project Manager

“I love visiting Martha’s Vineyard on fall weekends – eating clam chowder, checking out that famous New England foliage, and bundling up to take my dog for a walk on the beach.” – Jessye Aibel, Associate, Social Media & Online PR

On January 1, 2007, the Boise State Broncos shocked the country by upsetting the powerhouse known as the Oklahoma Sooners in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.  At the same time, the Broncos showed, in a David vs. Goliath battle, that hope, faith, and preparedness can be recipe for greatness.

I was lucky enough to be at this game.  I must admit that I lost faith; it seemed that the there were so many things that had to go “right” for Boise State to win the game after losing a 17 point lead and falling behind with only 1:30 left in regulation.  Sooners fans filed out of the stadium, bound to get an early break on the traffic, to only listen to the game going into double overtime on their car radios.

There is a great article from the New York Times about how this game even inspired the numbed sportswriters in the press box to believe that great things were possible.

This is not a football blog post though.  This is a New Year’s post about the importance of hope, faith, and positive thinking in each of our businesses.  We must be prepared.  Boise State would not have succeeded if they had not been completely prepared.  However, almost more importantly, when it seems that the odds are against you, there is never an excuse to give up hope.  Hope costs you nothing.  Great things happen every day; they’re not just on the SportsCenter highlights.

When setting your company goals this year, remember the nuts and bolts, but don’t ever forget the hope and faith that must accompany every day that you run your business and face adversity.  A little team from Idaho stunned the nation; everything did go “right” for them that day.  When you are faced with adversity in your business, don’t forget the Broncos.