When Bozell’s social media director Will Flavell started the long drive from his grandfather’s fishing cabin west of Lincoln to Omaha in the fall of 2008, little did he know that what he thought was just a stomach flu was about to become a life-altering, near-death experience.

As he drove through Wahoo, his appendix burst.

An ambulance took him from the gas station where he collapsed in toxic shock to the Wahoo hospital. He was then was transported back to Omaha to get to the needed medical technology to test and treat him.

It was almost too late to save him. Even following surgery.

“You’re in a hospital bed all day. It gives you a lot of time to think,” Flavell said. “I thought, ‘if I live, what’s the coolest thing I could do?’” Fly the F/A18 Hornet, of course.

Before he’d even recovered enough to leave the hospital, Flavell was doing pushups to start the grueling training he knew was ahead of him if he were to successfully join the Air Force to pursue his new dream.

Flavell talked to a recruiter and found that pursuing his new dream would be a long trek up a very steep hill. He was at a disadvantage to begin with, having no military experience – they told Flavell not to get his hopes up. But Flavell quickly got to work, signing up for Officer Training School, working out every day after work and studying on the weekends. And this September, Flavell will report for duty.

Along the way he also went skydiving and returned to his old hobby of longboarding.

“That’s the meat of living, the ‘wahoo,’” Flavell said, explaining his new passion for living life on the edge. “Once I’d faced the real possibility of death, it just didn’t seem that big of a deal anymore.”

As Bozell’s first social media director, Flavell helped to develop the firm’s social media marketing services from the ground up, keeping Bozell ahead of the curve as new technologies developed.

“Will has a lot of spirit and tenacity. He goes for everything 100 percent. We are sure that these traits will serve him well wherever life takes him. We feel fortunate to be able to count him as part of the Bozell family,” said Kim Mickelsen, managing partner.

About Bozell
Bozell is a creative marketing communications company with offices in Omaha, Nebraska and Overland Park, Kansas. Bozell combines qualitative and quantitative methodology to get close to its clients’ customers. Bozell then uses advertising, digital marketing, dialogue relations, technology and innovative creative to provide targeted solutions for local, regional and national clients. For more information, visit www.bozell.com.