Images courtesy of Never Forget Legacies & Tributes

After 15 years of public relations consulting, Linda Abbott was looking for a change, as long as what she was doing gave meaningful and lasting value to others. That philosophy led to the idea for Never Forget Legacies & Tributes, which launched recently to help individuals and businesses share their stories and commemorate milestone events.

“Throughout my career in journalism and public relations, I’ve interviewed scores of people and business leaders, always finding their stories interesting and inspiring,” Abbott said. “I did some research, and the more I found out about legacy writing, the more I knew it was a perfect fit.”

Abbott knows first-hand the value of preserving memories, as her dad’s stories were gone forever when he died of a sudden heart attack a few years ago.

Never Forget creates life story books, CEO memoirs, business histories and tributes for special occasions such as retirements and anniversaries. According to Abbott, the first step to creating a life story book is a series of recorded interviews, followed by a transcript, writing and editing, photos, research to provide historical perspective and production of a final manuscript.

The finished product is an elegant custom book illustrated with photos and other memorabilia such as birth certificates, diplomas, military citations and family trees.

Abbott, who interviews clients in their home or office, hopes her previous experience running a company will help her build Never Forget.

“It gives me the confidence to launch a new venture because I’ve already done it,” Abbott said. “(T)he work I did on behalf of clients greatly expanded my knowledge of the best practices that drive business growth and success.”