In Tribute to Nellie Lide (1958 – 2007)


Nellie LideIt’s with a heavy heart that I tell you that Nellie Lide passed away.  She was only 48 years old and left a husband, three children and many extended family.  Not to mention many friends and co-workers and colleagues.  She will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her.

Nellie was Senior Creative Director at the McGinn Group where her duties included analyzing cultural trends.  She also was the editor of the company’s blog, Under Currents. 

She was acknowledged by colleagues and co-workers to have a brilliant mind, in addition to her funny warm personality.  She had been a producer of CBS’s “60 Minutes” and a writer at local television news affiliates. 

And, she was one of our contributing experts here at Small Business Trends.

Nellie is one of the many people I have come to know online.  My life is richer for knowing her, albeit at a distance. 

I met Nellie in person once briefly for a minute or two at a conference.  Strangely, I had forgotten that meeting until this morning as I sat down to write this tribute — and not because Nellie was forgettable — she wasn’t.  Upon some reflection I realized it is because she looms so large in my mind from her electronic presence.  A rushed introduction at a crowded conference couldn’t possibly compare to the force of her being, that came through after many hours of reading her blog and her articles, and corresponding via email with her.

You see, her intellect lives on powerfully in her work.  Her articles include precise detail and bespeak of countless hours of work.  Nellie stretched my intellectual bounds with her perceptive insights. You may have felt the same way.

Her personality also came through in her emails, where she took a funny, self-deprecating approach as we corresponded about her articles, with her as author and me as editor. It was a self-deprecation she definitely did not deserve to bring on herself.  But she was a humble human being. That’s how she chose to present herself to the world.

And so I wanted to pay tribute to Nellie by pointing out her writings here as an expert at Small Business Trends — they will live on:

How to Turn Your Existing Business Green

The Green Umbrella: Green Business Opportunities

Green: Taking Care of Business, Ourselves and the Planet

Shopping Trends for 2007

We too will miss you, Nellie.  

3 Comments ▼

Anita Campbell Anita Campbell is the Founder, CEO and Publisher of Small Business Trends and has been following trends in small businesses since 2003. She is the owner of BizSugar, a social media site for small businesses.

3 Reactions
  1. Rest in Peace Nellie.

  2. My heart goes out to her family. She will be missed by all.

  3. What a kind and loving tribute Anita. Thank you so much and thank you to Nellie for sharing such a big part of herself with all of us. May she rest in peace. My condolences to her family during this difficult time.