As the cooler weather approaches, you may be attracted by this headline to stock up on firewood. But this blog isn’t about traditional methods to keep warm, cook, or get cozy with your lover.

No, this Wood for Sale sign is about another red flame: Greg Wood. Former VP, Partnerships, at Tennis Canada.

Shockingly, the top corporate sponsorship builder in Canada is a free agent on this chilly September morning.

Inevitably I knew the economic panic we’ve been facing was going to take out the underperformers, the pretenders, and the talkers. Never could I have imagined the market slashes would reach beyond flesh wounds and strike bone. But when Tennis Canada announced a significant restructuring last week, that included their parting ways with Greg, I was proven wrong.

When a great organization has to part with a great talent, it rattles the nerves.

But rather than sit and quake, I am going to use my pen to shake and bake. More specifically I’m going to use my pen to write a pitch.

Wood for Sale. Yes your organization should hire Greg Wood. Better put… your organization should enter the Greg Wood lottery!

We are talking a once in a lifetime opportunity here. To understand take a look at the lifetime of this 42 year old.

Fourteen years at Tennis Canada, where along with current WTA chief Stacey Allaster, he helped solidify the organization’s corporate sponsorships despite having to walk away from the easy cash of big tobacco.

Prior to joining Tennis Canada he was a stellar client relationship manager with Xerox, a passionate executive at the Canadian Diabetes Association, and along the way he was named New Brunswick’s Crime Fighter of the Year. I kid you not.

If you were to ask ten people about Greg Wood, the answers would be unwaveringly consistent:

1. Nicest guy in the world.

2. Smart without acting smart.

3. Always worried about the best interests of others.

4. Pounces on opportunities before the other guy is out of bed.

5. Charming.

6. Practically invented the word integrity.

7. Tireless.

9. Clothes horse

10. Consummate professional

Some people would say Greg could sell anything. Well I agree with them. But the reality is he doesn’t sell.

He builds trust, credibility, and solutions. Then you buy.

There are hundreds of organizations out there that have never done deals with Canada’s largest communications company. Never cut deals with a Middle East airline. Never worked with all the luxury car manufacturers. Never built television agreements with the largest networks in the country.

Woody has done all of the above and more.

Each and every one of you needs to go to your board, ask for a big bucket of cash, and start bidding for Wood. Because whoever wins, those buckets will turn into barrels. Those barrels will turn into boats. And those boats will be come boatloads of cash that will forever keep your organization comfortably afloat.

I didn’t write this because I want a cut. I didn’t write this cause I have a bromance with Greg. Which I do. No, I wrote this for you.

This is your opportunity to sign the top free agent of the year. This is your shot at LeBron, Ovechkin, Ronahldino, and Brady all rolled into one. This your shot. Not his. Not mine.

Greg is getting married this fall. (Sorry ladies.) He’s in the market for a new house. Now he has one more major choice to make it.

That choice is to decide who is the next organization that will benefit from the millions he will bring in, the staff he will cultivate, and the culture he will create.

Cha-ching.