Shepherding an Analog Connection in a Digital World: Garth Callaghan at TEDxRVA

Beginning when his daughter was in kindergarten, Garth Callaghan would write an inspirational note on a napkin and tuck it away in her lunch box every school day. When he was diagnosed with cancer for a third time, Garth worried that he may not live to see his daughter graduate high school and wanted to continue the tradition of including a napkin note with her lunch. So just in case, he set to writing out all of the notes, in advance, that would be needed for 826 days that were left until the day of her graduation.

His education began in the US Air Force Academy with aspirations of becoming a fighter pilot and ended with his study at SUNY Oswego with a focus in German. Garth then pursued a career in all things technology from retail sales to establishing a start-up company, which specialized in IT technology solutions and data center relocation services.

Garth's current life mission is the antithesis of his technology background. He is trying to teach the world to connect through the lost art of handwritten notes—ink on napkin. While he is a big proponent of social media and maintains an active blog, he believes that a note on a napkin can make a lasting impression with a more meaningful impact on those we truly care about.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)