A New Year's message

2018 was a year full of change. We moved our MELLOHAWK Logistics offices to a bigger, better warehouse and changed our operating system to one that will continue to grow with us. Our Miami office overcame some challenges and we are pleased to see new progress and know that we can always count on our team there. In Canada, we had some staff changes and some wonderful new additions (thank you to our team!) as we have grown our existing partnerships to new heights and developed new relationships that show real promise. While the world has increased in unpredictability we are so happy that our company, clients and friends continue to show stable, steady growth.

Personally, this has been a year of surprises. In the spring I became the VP of the Brazil-Canada Chamber of Commerce (BCCC). In the summer I attended the CGLCC Trade Mission to Philadelphia, one of the most electric events I ever attended, and later was host (with BCCC President Paola Saad) of our Doing Business in Brazil Event that was attended by four ambassadors, three Consuls, and the Canadian Minister of Trade Diversification, the Hon. Jim Carr, and some wonderful speakers and business people.

Our wonderful team has permitted me to take on some other responsibilities and I have taken on new roles. I am now the Chair of the Professional Advisory Committee of the International Business Program at the Pilon School at Sheridan College. I had speaking engagements about entrepreneurship, women in business, internationalization of business and challenges for youth in business with the BPW (Business Professional Women) chapter in Montreal, The Business School at Centennial College, the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University, the Centre for Global Enterprise at the Schulich School of Business at York University. And I continued my mentoring seminars about the unspoken obstacles to employment for newcomers to Canada with the wonderful people at Acces Employment. I love to see the successes of their candidates. To cap it all off in November I was honored to be named Mississauga Business Person of the Year.

Two things changed this year. I am tooting my own horn way more than I used to (and I used to a lot!) and I am giving back my time and experience in a more systematic way. To be a mentor is easy. If you have experience (and we all do) then you have something to give. That’s it. Share your experience. Ignore the stuff I do. Just tell your story. And whether you've been a mentor, or benefitted from a mentorship, then pass it on. Always pass it on. Feel free to pass it on to me. I am always willing to learn something.

I wish everyone a wonderful new year and prosperous and peaceful 2019.