The GREAT Story
Once upon a groovy time in 1970,
a 25-year-old aerospace engineer by the name of Bill Hudson married 22-year-old graduate of nursing school, Eleanor O’Brien. Soon after the honeymoon, Bill and Ellie were blessed to find they were going to have their first child, a beautiful daughter they named Kimberly. Kimberly became an older sister when her younger brother, Brian, was born 2 years after she. Kim and Brian were joined by another younger brother, Joseph, about another 2 years later. Then came Luke to add on to the boys’ team, then the second daughter of the growing Hudson clan, Valerie, came into the world making the score 2 – 3, Boys. Then….. so did William (2 – 4), Elizabeth (3 – 4), and finally, Sarah (4 – 4).
The GREAT 8, Est. 1985
So, by 1985, just 15 years after Bill and Ellie got married, they were raising 8 amazing children under the age of 15: Kim, Brian, Joe, Luke, Valerie, Will, Liz, and Sarah. The Great 8.
And, yes, the Hudson were all born and raised as Catholics. Irish-Catholics. :)
…and then it got crazy…
The Hudson house was always chaotic, but somehow Bill and Ellie worked as the ultimate team to keep everyone together. Every single one of the “Great 8″ was, at some point, signed up for a youth sport. And because Bill and Ellie were committed to building a supportive and loving family, every weekend game for every Hudson athlete was shown the support of the other siblings. Whether it was tee ball, Pony league baseball, soccer, volleyball, dance, softball, basketball, or whatever other team sport there was available, Bill and Ellie’s commitment made it possible for every one of their 8 kids to excel in their sport and more importantly, to gain full support from the rest of their family along the way.
For years, “the Hudson Clan” grew through sports, and closer together through life itself. Of course, “brotherly” and “sisterly love” saw its fair share of challenges; Schedules were completely exhausting at times. Strong, competitive personalities (and all 8 of them were!) often conflicted. And lots of other non-Brady-Bunch characteristics shined through at times. But fast-forward a few years and you’ve got all of those ups and downs rolled into one stronger, closer, committed, and HUGELY awesome family. A genuinely happy and loving family, to say the very least, and one that continues to grow in every great way.
“So what’s all this got to do with GREAT 8 CREATIVE” you ask?
As the youngest of the “original Great 8,” Sarah founded GREAT 8 CREATIVE as a way to mix business (her talent for graphic and web design) with pleasure (all things athletic)… all with the GREAT 8 in mind. Read Sarah’s perspective:
Sarah Weeger (Sarah Hudson), Founder
The reason why I decided to call it Great 8 Creative is very personal to me. I’m the youngest of 8 kids and to put it simply, I LOVE my family. And there’s an immeasurable impact my role as “the baby” of the Hudson clan has had on me, both as a person and as a business owner. My upbringing and what I’ve learned from my parents and my siblings is something I’ll be forever grateful for. And I definitely plan on using what I’ve learned from it all, as the morale of my new company.
In short, my family is honest. My family is so compassionate. It’s so unique it’s almost weird.. but definitely unique, in a good way. Every one of us is extremely driven. And it’s always just flat-out FUN to be around each other. Anyone who knows us can see that each of those qualities is obvious. The “Great 8″ has grown and will continue to grow for years and years to come, but what’s so awesome about that is I still wholeheartedly believe that all of these characteristics, all of these qualities that have become our family’s backbone, have stayed intact. And they’re exactly what I want to bring to the table with Great 8 Creative:
I want to help clients grow their business, no matter what.Creating high-quality products and great client/designer relationships the way I can is something that no other freelance web designer can truly replicate.It’s just like any other competition I’ve been in; We will steam-roll our way through until we get the results our clients wanted.None of that stiff, big-design-firm vibe here. Humor, personality, good relationships, real conversations between client/designer… it’s all more than welcomed, it’ll be expected with each GREAT client.
Further Reading
See how Sarah and the GREAT 8 team are making this happen!