Growing up in the Tampa area, Dolly Rairigh Glass was constantly around sports. Her dad was a huge sports fan, a number of her relatives coached sports, and naturally Dolly found herself involved. While she got involved in softball, bowling, tennis, and eventually cheerleading, her favorite place in all of it was being a fan.

Dolly attended the University of Florida where she got to experience Florida’s first appearance in the Final 4 when Lon Kruger coached the team. She was in Miami when they played UConn and Donyell Marshall missed two free throws at the end of the game giving Florida the opportunity to make the go ahead winning basket.

Dolly is the Vice President at Capital Communications and Consulting and an avid volunteer in just about everything that interests her. Her position at Capital Communications and Consulting also involves Team Orlando News, an independent news source around the collaboration of military services, industry and academia coming together for the war fighter.

Dolly didn’t have ties to the military so working with or in support of the military wasn’t something she ever considered. She originally thought she wanted to pursue a career in sports PR but there were limited opportunities for that in Gainesville.

Becoming a Storyteller

She graduated with a degree in Public Relations, and while in school, she worked at the UF Athletic Association. These connections led to her first job, an opportunity working at Shands Hospital, where she found great mentors that showed her the importance of knowing your story – the hospital's story. It was here that she honed her skills as a storyteller and found it to be a powerful tool to reach the goals of the hospital.

Moving to Orlando

After a move to Orlando, Dolly had the chance to focus on being a stay-at-home mom, but took the opportunity to also get involved in a number of volunteer positions.

Dolly lives her life with a drive towards purpose, passion and curiosity. In her journey through a variety of volunteering opportunities and working in positions that didn’t necessarily align with her plan, she has consistently found success through her ability to incorporate her soft skills and drive.

It was these character traits that eventually led to her joining the Capital Communications team and supporting the MS&T (Modeling, Simulation and Training) industry. Terri, a neighbor and fellow PTA member, said her company was looking for another writer and introduced her to Mary Trier, the company’s founder. While Dolly was ready to jump in and write, she had no knowledge of the military, but decided she would give it a shot.

For those that are unaware, the military is known for using acronyms but also known for sounding them out as if they are actual words.

e.g., NAWCTSD is an acronym for Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division. The military enunciates it as “Knock-T-S-D”

Dolly was determined to do an exceptional job. She attended a breakfast where the military was giving a recap. She recorded the speeches, and later went home to write her first article.

Bravo Zulu

8 hours after googling the meaning of acronyms and other details, Dolly produced a 750 word article. The article was passed along to people in Team Orlando and their response was Bravo Zulu.

“Bravo Zulu” is a Naval signal, conveyed by flag-hoist or voice radio, meaning “well done”.

When Dolly moved to Orlando, she never planned to work with the military. She didn’t even know there was a military base in Orlando. Her journey has landed her in a number of roles that all have a common theme if you look at them carefully.

Dolly says her mission in life is to help people feel valued and appreciated in whatever they’re doing. She looks for ways to give back somewhere, somehow and she’s done that in everything she does. While she may have never landed that job in Sports PR, she continues to do the one thing that sports opened her mind to: Being a fan. She’s a fan of the people she works with and a fan of the community she lives in and serves.

How do you define the Orlando Life?