I like to work. There, I said it. From the time I got my first job in radio until today, I’ve always enjoyed working hard. It gave me a sense of purpose, and while I couldn’t always control the outcome, I was fully in control of my effort. Granted, there were times when I took it too far. There was a period during my radio career when I didn’t take a single day off for several years–not holidays, not weekends, nothing. Heck, I used to keep a mattress and a sleeping bag in my radio studio. And, I wore it like a badge of courage.
Turns out, I was an idiot. I ended up in this endless cycle of working myself like crazy, getting sick, crashing, then doing it all over again. A heart attack, multiple bouts with pneumonia and a world-wide pandemic later, I finally matured enough (relative term) to know that I needed to find other ways to spend my time.
As COVID fully took hold, my frequent business travel ceased and most work became virtual, I found myself resorting to the things that brought me peace. First and foremost, I began actively listening to music again (I always have music on, but active listening is a whole different thing). Every day during teleworking, I played a different vinyl album from my 10,000+ album collection. That led me to grabbing my guitar and practicing for the first time in decades. (Status update, I’m still much better at playing records than I am at playing guitar). And finally, I began spending time around, in and on the water. I have always enjoyed the ocean, being around water calms me like nothing else can.
Now, I realize I’m far from the first person to take up boating during the pandemic. Data from the National Marine Manufacturers Association show 415,000 first-time boat buyers entered the market in 2020, and that number included several of my friends and co-workers. And, with good reason, it’s the perfect socially distanced activity. Of course, what I knew about boating would not fill a Heineken bottle, but I didn’t let that stop me! With a little help from my friends, I picked up a 24-foot powerboat that I called the “Good Bay Sunshine” after the Beatles song.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Buddy Rizer is an experienced strategic leader, manager, communicator and sales professional. In his current role, he leads the agency responsible for encouraging growth and developing relationships with Loudoun’s business community in both the commercial and agricultural-based business sectors. During his tenure, Rizer and his team have attracted more than 50 billion USD in new commercial investment and more than 50 thousand new jobs. Rizer joined Loudoun County in 2007 and helped build “Data Center Alley” into the largest concentration of data centers in the world. He also has extensive international business development experience in China, France, Germany, Russia, Ireland, United Kingdom, Finland, Taiwan, Japan, India, Korea, Ghana, Uruguay, and the United Arab Emirates.
Rizer also serves as Chair of the Northern Virginia Economic Development Alliance and is a member of the Board of Trustees for Northern Virginia Community College, Past-Chair of the Northern Virginia Community College Foundation Board, and Secretary of the Go Virginia Region 7 Council. He is on the Board of Directors for the Northern Virginia Technology Council, the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce, and the Washington Airports Task Force. He is also Chair of the Rivana at Innovation Station Community Development Authority.
