A Thanksgiving Message to Lineage

Happy Thanksgiving, Team Lineage –

To be sure, I never need an excuse to share my deepest gratitude for this remarkable team. But there is no greater time than Thanksgiving to pause and say THANK YOU to our 26,000 team members around the world for delivering a hard fought and truly epic year – even by Lineage standards, which is saying something!

Many of you will soon take part in your own personal Thanksgiving traditions – from family, to friends, to food, and, for we loyal and ever patient Detroit Lions fans, football. In the middle of what can be a busy (and sometimes chaotic) holiday, I encourage you to take time for yourself and reflect on how much you’ve accomplished this year, how hard you’ve worked, and how meaningful a role you’ve played in shaping Lineage into the company it is today. On behalf the entire Executive Leadership Team, I want to congratulate you and wish you a happy and healthy Thanksgiving holiday. You deserve it!

I know it isn’t always easy to sit back and savor the holidays. While each of us show up to Lineage every day bringing our best selves, many of our fellow team members are enduring significant challenges and dealing with unspeakable pain behind the scenes – which may understandably affect how fully we can enjoy a holiday that is steeped in comfort.

As many of you know, I very recently lost my extraordinary wife, Leslie Lehmkuhl, after a fiercely and gracefully fought battle with cancer. Leslie was dazzling in every sense of the word – someone who cared deeply for everyone she came across, the life of every party, and undoubtedly one of Lineage’s greatest cheerleaders. While my holiday will shine less bright without Leslie’s unmistakable light, this Thanksgiving I am choosing to honor her by being grateful for our beautiful marriage and the countless memories we shared that I will treasure for the rest of my life.?

I share this with you only to impart my hopes for all of you this Thanksgiving, especially if you are in the thick of your own battle. I hope you can find moments, even if they are small, to have a grateful heart for the blessings in your life you can count. I hope you can feel proud of your achievements and the progress you have made this year, either personal or professional. And finally, I hope you can find the support you may need in your Lineage family.

No doubt about it, I have turned to my work and the incredible people at Lineage, even in my darkest hours. In my visits to facilities across the globe this year, I have been uplifted by the determination and sheer good of the teams I was fortunate to spend time with. The work you do – shepherding the world’s food, donating time to volunteer in your communities, and looking out for one another through our value of safe as well as the team member hardship fund – is both noble and important, and I am proud to serve you every day.

So, please take comfort in knowing that you’ve impacted the lives of countless people you don’t even know. You’ve made it possible for families far and wide to create memories around their own dinner tables this Thanksgiving that will last a lifetime. And what a gift that is.

I know I speak for Leslie in saying “thank you” for being an inspiration and the purest form of joy for the both of us. I am truly grateful, as she was, to be a small part of our amazing Lineage family.

Happy Thanksgiving, Team Lineage.

All the best,

Greg