In 2003, I had the honor to meet and work with Dr. Hank Payne, President of Woodward Academy. He was to be introduced, in a somewhat formal fashion, to the business leaders of mid-town Atlanta, by Tom Murphy, owner of Murphy’s Restaurant.

Not being very comfortable with public speaking, Tom elected to introduce Hank via a video. Hank graciously agreed to take the time to be part of this video, even though he knew he would be making fun of himself.

I do believe this video allows you to meet the man loved and admired by so many, and now truly missed.

Please watch to the very end for a brief blooper by Hank. It captures his wit, his modesty, and innocence, and for me holding the camera, I couldn’t stop laughing.

Tom Murphy contacted Chris Schroder to produce the project, and Chris contacted me to make it happen. I co-wrote the script with Chris, and then I shot and edited the project on an extremely tight schedule.

Related: I Lost a Friend

Addendum 2008, July 22

I really do not know what to make of this, nor was I sure if I should even post it. But searching Yahoo! for “hank payne” results in over two-million Web pages. I doubt those who were closest to him will ever fully heal. He was one of a kind.