I love Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday. No gifts, no grand celebrations. For me, Thanksgiving is thankfulness, gratitude, grace, family, and good food.
With a pandemic loose upon the land, a 95 degree day with wildfire ash falling from the sky, and a nasty political climate in our country, I am celebrating Thanksgiving in August to put all of that out of mind for a while to focus on the good stuff.
I am very thankful for my family. My wife is a saint and together we raised a daughter who makes us very proud. And with yesterday being the 10th anniversary of my dad’s death, he and my mom have been on my mind. I’m thankful for them and for being raised by such good and decent people.
I’m grateful for the businesses in the greater Fort Collins region for all you do for your communities. If there’s anything good to come out of the pandemic, it’s the renewed awareness of how much we miss you when you’re not open.
Our health care system is a marvel. I’m thankful for the great care the front-line health care professionals provided during a once in a century event. For the dentist, doctor, and other offices that were shutdown by Covid-19, I’m thankful you’re back.
I’m thankful for all of the ‘invisible’ people in the health care system that keep it all working behind the scenes. You save lives, too.
I’m very thankful for law enforcement officers. Our community and personal sense of well-being and safety is tied directly to the professionalism of our police officers and sheriff deputies.
‘The first wealth is health,’ as Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote. So true! And for my good health, I’m immensely grateful.
Colorado State University is carefully reopening again. As a cultural and economic mainstay for the region, we should all be grateful for CSU.
Living in a beautiful place with adventure right outside your door is something I don’t take for granted.
I am always impressed with and thankful of the resilience and innovation of businesspeople. You all got whacked with a crisis not of your making, and you’re adapting and figuring it out.
I’m grateful for all of the past chamber chairs and board members I’ve had the pleasure to work with here and in the other communities over the past 40 years. They have made a difference for their communities and have added great value to my life.
I am immensely grateful for the free enterprise system. It has freed more people from crushing poverty and hopelessness than any other economic system ever devised.
Finally, I’m grateful for the people I get to be around every day – members, other chamber professionals and economic developers, and certainly, members of the chamber staff. Regarding the latter, I know how fortunate it is to get to work with people you like, respect, and admire as people and professionals.
That’s it, my rebellion from reality by staging my own Thanksgiving in August! I count my blessings.