
Wow. We made it. I think that best sums up surviving until February 2021. And what a wild ride it has been. This article is just a big thank you to our amazing staff.
I don’t want to belabor this letter by recounting all the highs and lows we experienced individually and as a team in the last year. At this point, we all know the list by heart. I do, however, want to take a moment to say thank you to our amazing staff and our customers for your commitment over the last year.
To sum it all up, in March and April of last year, I was nervous. I was nervous about keeping the doors open, nervous about retaining customers, nervous about paying each of you. In 17 years of owning this business, no event like the sudden onset of the COVID-world shook me this deeply.
And through it all, each of you displayed loyalty to our team and our customers. It wasn’t easy but that makes our resilience and survival all the more meaningful. I once read that pain is inevitable, the choice that we have is to make it meaningful.
After a year when it seemed like senseless pain from politics, economics, social unrest, and the sheer madness of being trapped at home, I find peace in knowing that we made the pain meaningful. When it was hard, we stayed the course. We looked out for each other and our customers.
A Thank You to Our Staff for Your Perseverance
As some of you know, we applied for a PPP loan that was part of the original government stimulus back in late March. The small business loan we received helped us pay bills and keep serving our customers. A few weeks back, I officially heard that we do not have to repay the PPP loan. Our loan was forgiven! On top of that, because of some of the cost-saving measures we put in place and the money we saved from the loan, I wanted to pass it on to you.
Each of you will receive a bonus on your paycheck this week. Take this as a thank you for your perseverance, positive attitudes, and willingness to offer compassion to each other and our customers when the world seemed to fall apart last Spring.
I don’t know if we’ve reached the worst of the pandemic yet. I hope so, but even if our world seems to shake and collapse beneath us further from COVID-19 challenges or other unpredictable situations, I know that with people like our team, our world will come out the other end with meaning, purpose, and resolve.
Thankful for each of you,
Greg