Gratitude Is More Than A Buzzword

Gratitude is a term that gets thrown around a lot lately. It is the latest buzzword, and almost to the point, it's lost some of its true meaning. It's one thing to write it down in a journal but an entirely different thing to live with gratitude. It's something I have been working on. I have always been good at saying I am grateful, but there's room for improvement in living it.

It's almost surreal to sit and reflect as I write this, but 2024 will mark our 50th year in business. Contrary to what my kids may tell you, I am not that old, so I have not been around for all 50.

I am old enough, though, that I remember many of the struggles Mom & Dad went through. They were working multiple jobs, raising a family, and doing whatever was necessary to pay the bills. It was when I got older that I realized how scarce things were. They never showed it to us kids, but I imagine there was more than once they had to question if the hours were worth it.

I am forever grateful they stuck with it. Our business has evolved since Mom & Dad stepped away, but the foundation it was built on is unwavering. In many ways, we are still that same family business they envisioned, but now it's just a little bigger family.

I can confidently speak for Mom & Dad and our entire family that we appreciate you more than you would ever know. It doesn't take a business guru to know that you need customers to remain in business, but it takes a special kind of customer, ones that are more than a number or transaction but ones that we can call friends to still be in business 50 years later.

I have been doing this for nearly 30 years, and it still gives me goosebumps when I hear stories from our customers. It might be somebody that Dad built something for from his basement of a rented house, somebody else that Mom befriended on the phone to the point they would come from Florida to Iowa to serve us dinner (yes, that really happened), or a customer who is a 3rd generation owner of one of our products.

I could go on and on about how incredible our customers are, but the point I want to drive home is how grateful we are to every one of you.