Employee Spotlight | Lee Malone

Lee Malone lives in Louisville, KY with his wife and three kids. He has twin sons who turn 21 in early April and are juniors at the University of Kentucky.  His daughter just turned 19 and is a freshman at Western Kentucky University.  Lee finds it painful to write those checks, as he is a University of Louisville graduate and fan.

Q&A WITH LEE

How did you learn about CSS?

I first learned about CSS through LinkedIn. I’m not one to change companies a lot, having worked for PNC Bank for over ten years. When I read the job description at CSS, it really stuck out to me as it matched my experience really well, and it gave me the opportunity to get back into sales. CSS has been great. Its been different not being face to face due to the pandemic, but I have met some wonderful people through our video meetings and learning about everyone through Wednesday’s team calls. One thing that really stuck out to me was the company’s philosophy. I think it is important to feel valued and empowered as an employee and know that your work is appreciated. This clearly shines through at CSS. I am eager to learn from this role, and I hope to be able to share some great experiences and moments with everyone at CSS as well.

Tell us three things most people don’t know about you.

1. I was a semi-finalist for ABC’s Shark Tank. One of my sons played travel baseball all through HS. One of the tournaments was in late summer in the high heat. I took his cooling towel and cut it up into a pattern to fit inside his hat (I had never sewn anything before in my life). By the end of the weekend, every kid wanted one; we named them the Hot Head Cooler. There was a parent on the team who happened to be a patent attorney. She said I should patent the idea, so I pursued it. I met with a local hat manufacturer to produce them and worked with a local business that works with physically challenged adults to help package them. I literally picked up my first prototypes and took them to the MLB winter league meetings that were held that year in Nashville, TN. It was featured as one of the top 12 new products that year and the Cleveland Indians were my first order.
   
   
   
2. I found a 2016 Game 7 World Series Ticket on the ground right before the first pitch between the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs. I was in Akron traveling for work, so I thought I would visit my offices in downtown Cleveland that day just to be close to the game. I grew up a Cubs fan because in the summers during my school years, all that was on in the afternoons were Chicago Cubs baseball games on WGN. I had no intentions of buying a ticket, as the prices were in the thousands of dollars. I had $26 in my pocket, lol. Just after the National Anthem was played, I was at the large pavilion area between the baseball stadium and basketball arena. I looked around and thought a guy by himself with a Cubs hat on might be in a bad spot if the game got out of hand early in either direction, so I decided to head to the car and go find a restaurant or bar to watch the game.
   
   As I was leaving, I happened to see a folded-up piece of paper on the ground. I picked it up, and it was a ticket. I called my family as I entered the ballpark, thinking the copy wouldn’t work or it had already been scanned. We were all in shock. Once I entered, I went to see where my seats were, and I was five rows up in right center field. It ended up being one of the best baseball games ever played and truly an unbelievable moment for me. Sorry Indians fans…
   
   
3. I was part owner of a Breeder’s Cup horse. Growing up in Louisville, horse racing holds a special place for me. The Breeder’s Cup is like the Super Bowl of horse racing. Churchill Downs opened up 200 spots for people to buy into a racehorse to learn more about the sport for $500 each. I jumped at the chance; it was the first Churchill Downs Racing Club. Our horse was Warrior’s Club, and our trainer was HOF’er D. Wayne Lucas. It was supposed to be a short, fun session as $100k doesn’t go far in horse racing, but our horse kept winning. He was on the KY Derby trial for a short time but came up short. He didn’t win his Breeder’s Cup race, but it was an exciting time. I joke that I owned the last inch of his tail. Churchill Downs has now completed several more racing clubs, but no other horse has done as well as Warrior’s Club.

If you could have dinner with one person (dead or alive) who would it be and why?

If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

It would have to be pizza. In fact, Kyle asked me during my interview what my biggest weakness was, and I answered pizza.  (Just kidding, I made that up, but I do love pizza)

What are the three words that best describe you