A Letter From Holly K. Pilcavage, President & CEO — 2023 Recap

Transition. 

I can start this letter by telling you the total number of projects and campaigns we collaborated on this year, or talk to you about all of the important team building experiences we shared, or even touch upon the awards and accolades we were so fortunate to receive, but I don’t think I’d be doing my team justice if I didn’t take an even more authentic approach to this year’s letter. 

So, again, transition. 

According to the Oxford Dictionary, one definition of transition is “the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another.” 

I think this one word perfectly sums up our year here at Coal Creative. We had a lot going on, much of it behind the scenes throughout the year. A few highlights: 

• We moved to our new location.
• We grew our team to 14 incredible humans. 
• We welcomed and expanded new collaborations.
• We upgraded our project management system. 
• We dedicated ourselves to progressive internal changes. 
• We completed and implemented findings from a DEI roadmap experience. 

These items above, and much more, shaped the year we had together, as a collective, and have made us stronger as a company. As always, there are lessons and even some hardships along the way, but that is to be expected when you are building a company and culture that considers the diverse needs of our team and our collaborators.

I am proud to say we have been progressive in many of the things we do as a company, both internally and externally, for a few years now. We consistently invest; both monetarily and with our time, into things that may seem unconventional for a business of our size. As a human-first organization, we have found the benefits outweigh any other factor. In 2023, we rolled out a handful of additional policies to benefit our team and community. Here are a few highlights: 

• Dedicated pro bono hours to put towards causes that are important to each member of our team. 
• Paid time off related to birthdays, bereavement (inclusive of pets), and maternity and paternity leave. 
• Additional reimbursements related to car care and mental health applications.

As noted earlier, we also completed a DEI Roadmap with friend and colleague, Dan Kimbrough, that involved our entire team in the process. This experience allowed us to be open and honest with ourselves as individuals and as a company. It inspired immediate and long-term change in some of our approaches and policies. It created brand new efforts too, which we look forward to implementing in the new year. 

As we look back at 2023, we acknowledge the tremendous transition that created the space and foundation for growth in 2024. We are excited and energized by each of our existing collaborations and are open and ready for any new opportunities that may come our way.

And if you didn’t know, Coal Creative will be celebrating a milestone anniversary in 2024: 10 years in business! 

I believe there will be much to celebrate over the next 12 months, and I invite you to follow along – and hopefully partner with us in some way! 

Cheers to the year ahead. 

Stay coal,

Holly K. Pilcavage