A recent online browse through Barnes & Noble introduced me to a short book entitled, “How to be Resilient. “In it, author Anna Barnes writes, “Your support network is the solid ground from which you can propel yourself upwards.” That rings true for me.
Few can successfully go it alone. We need each other. For strength! For support! And that’s my topic today, ‘support,’ your support and how important your assistance has been – and is – to the HMA, not only during the current challenging times, but always!
As I see it, support comes in various ways: financial, emotional, public, personal, professional. It’s a ‘complement’ of sorts that is both received and given – kind of like a two-way street. HMA finds itself on both the receiving and the giving end. And so to begin …I would like to thank the HMA membership for your loyalty, commitment and perseverance! Through thick and thin, you continue to recognize the importance of working together and sharing information, for the benefit to fall.
Thank you to the many companies and industry stakeholders which have provided financial support to HMA’s Education/Promotion Campaign. Even in the throes of a pandemic, your support continued. (The Christmas issue of this fine publication will include a complete listing of our generous contributors.)
Thank you, industry suppliers, for helping HMA maintain financial stability through the pandemic. How so, exactly? Well, 90 percent of you, rather than have your 2020 National Conference and Expo Registrations, Booth Fees and Sponsorships refunded, asked HMA to apply those funds toward your participation in our 2021 event. (Awesome!)
Thank you, Hardwood Federation and all industry associations who have advocated for government assistance, financial aid, tax relief, etc. (A huge help to the industry, including trade associations!)
And finally, thank you to my association counterparts and all industry colleagues. Your encouragement, moral support and friendship have gotten me through many frantic days and countless sleepless nights. (My family thanks you, too!)
In like manner, on the giving end, HMA is proud of the financial and professional support our Association provides our “support network”–the American Hardwood Export Council, the Hardwood Federation, the National Association of Manufacturers, as well as the Real American Hardwood Promotion Coalition. We are in this together, for the long haul.
A colleague shared this Spanish saying with me. “Tellme who your friends are, and I’ll tell you who you are. “From my perspective, our “friends” are of that support network that is tirelessly working to establish solid grounds owe all can propel ourselves upward!
I thank you! And I wish you, and all those you hold near and dear, good health, success and length of days as we bring 2020 to a close and look to a brighter New Year. Happy Holidays-
