December 20, 2022

This will be my last opportunity to address you this year, as we are closing our office following Christmas until the New Year. Therefore, don’t expect to see or hear anything from me in this space next week. I suspect you’ll have better things to do anyway other than reading your emails. You’d better, anyway.?

Judging from the amount of times I’ve overheard the following, ‘I can’t believe it’s December already; where has the year gone?’ I know I’m not the only one who’s having a hard time with the realization that 2022 is almost all but a memory.?

And it’s not just this year… where have the ‘20s gone? You’ve likely heard people say to add two years when you’re trying to recall something in the past. For example, remember that fishing trip that we went on a couple of years ago? Well, it was more than likely four years ago, because we lost two years to COVID. It’s funny how that reference to time has just become so… so… so out of touch with reality.?

So here we are, in a blink of an eye, looking at Christmas and New Year’s in the next week or two. And sorry if any of you are offended that I speak of this time of year as Christmas, as opposed to The Holidays. I know my friends of other faiths don’t speak for their entire religion, but those that I hang with, wish people Merry Christmas all the time. They say it’s no big deal to do that, so I’m respectfully treating it that way also.?

But for the sake of inclusion, Happy Hannukah to my Jewish friends and readers, Happy (Joyous? Merry??)?Kwanzaa to my African friends and so on. You get the idea. I mean no harm, just the opposite, I’m trying to spread and share the warmth. It’s all about the good-will-toward-men thing that appeals to me the most. By that I mean good will toward everyone, OK?? (I’m pretty sure that’s what the Bible meant too.)?

I must admit, for quite some time Christmas wasn’t all that celebratory for me and my original/nuclear family. We lost both of our parents during the holiday season in two successive seasons (and yet within the same calendar year – eleven and a half months apart).?

It’s been several years since then and although I can’t speak for my siblings, the circle of life has been a blessing, with little ones now part of the mix. Their excitement for the season is doing miracles to bring the joy of Christmas back for me.?It’s a Christmas Miracle!!?(OK Timmy, relax…)?

But back to the work side of things here, after a pretty hectic year (aren’t they all??) we’re looking forward to a nice little break. We’ll be back in the office on January 3.?

In the meantime though, we’ll be sending out communication about our upcoming events because we’re also looking forward to kicking off the new year with two Network Series events – a luncheon and a breakfast – on January 11 and January 27 respectively. Just as much, however, we’ll be looking forward to celebrating our 50th?next year, beginning with a bang at our Business Builder Awards on March 23.?

But back to this well-deserved break. This one’s my favourite, because the rest of the world seems to have gotten the memo in that they too are deserving of a break. The end result is that it doesn’t seem like you’re two weeks behind when you get back because the world seems to have stopped too.?

I’m grateful for many things, and right there among them is that little bit I just shared with you. There are few things more disappointing than going away for holidays and within two weeks you feel like you need another holiday.?

But this is a First World problem, as they say. My wife and I, being empty nesters, took in a Ukrainian refugee from this last humanitarian flight. When you hear of the troubles and horrors she, her family and her compatriots are going through, it puts things in perspective in terms of what we have to be grateful for.?

So with that in mind, please keep things in perspective and enjoy the time you have with your family this holiday season (even the ones you don’t like). I’ll do the same and we can compare notes when we’re back at ‘er in the new year.?

Merry Christmas from me to you. I wish you a safe, happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.?

Until next time, be safe, be smart, be considerate, be well, but most of all, be kind.?

Keith Moen?

Executive Director?