JoVonn and Jerrie

Posted Monday, April 27, 2009 1:51 PM

On January 23, 2008, the CEO of my company announced that we were to attend an urgent meeting at 8 a.m. on January 24. We never have meetings that early, so everyone knew it had to be serious! I told Jerrie about this meeting and my anxiety showed. He listened and finally told me not to worry about it because I didn't know what would happen.

The morning of the 24th, a few minutes before 8, I headed to the boardroom for the meeting. My coworker Felicia saved me seat in the front of the room, the last place I wanted to be! The CEO came in and told everyone to calm down; he just wanted to acknowledge the great work we’d been doing and proceeded to show us an inspirational short film. When it ended, he went on to thank us for our hard work and said there are a couple of people he’d like to especially thank. He then called my name and asked me to go to the front of the room! I could feel my face warming up and took my time walking to where he stood. He told me he had heard great things about a contract proposal I was writing and said, "I hear there are other areas you’ve been doing great work in" and pointed to the back of the room.

I saw Jerrie in a suit and he had a dozen red roses. He walked to the front, and I immediately started crying. He got down on one knee and said, "You know today is my birthday. Would you give me the greatest birthday gift and be my wife?" I started doing the ugly cry then, but got enough strength to nod my head yes. He stood up and opened the ring box, and everyone in the room started shouting and crying. It was all a setup! The CEO, my supervisor, and Felicia were all in on it. This is definitely a story we’ll share with our kids and grandkids.

We’re getting married in Atlanta at the church we attend together.