Thanksgiving

The Thanks in Thanksgiving

The first National Day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed by President George Washington in 1789 as a reminder of the first harvest feast celebrated by our forefathers after surviving their first winter in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Years later, after the holiday tradition began to wane, Abraham Lincoln revived the tradition during the Civil War. Since that time, Americans all over this great land have paused to express thanks for the quality of life we enjoy and the opportunity to spend time with family and friends.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Coming from a family of seven children, it was a time for all of us to get together with our aunts, uncles and cousins. At any time on Thanksgiving, we could have up to thirty people in our house covering four generations. Our family was so big, we had to move into two separate rooms with two separate tables. The kids ate in the dining room and all the furniture was taken out of the living room and turned into one eighteen foot long table where the adults ate. I can remember my first promotion like it was yesterday…making the big move from the “kiddie table” to the adult table and how excited I was to finally be eating with the adults. Unfortunately for me, I was 27 at the time…

Well, with Thanksgiving upon us, I want to take a few minutes to share with you those things for which I’m thankful. After all, it’s the start of the holiday season and we all should take a few minutes to reflect on those things for which we give thanks.

So what am I thankful for?

I am thankful for health, happiness and being a part of a great family.

I am thankful for the opportunity to work for a company that makes a difference in people’s lives. I know you’ve heard me say it before, but I am privileged to be part of this company and share in the impact we make on people’s lives.

I am thankful for having a talented senior management team who understands that our job is to help make you successful as you can be – that we are servants of the company, here to make the best decisions possible to make your life easier and more fulfilling.

I am thankful for three-hundred and sixty eight of the best office talent in the industry who have stepped up to the challenge of being a great company and an industry leader. It’s never easy to be held to higher standards. Yet that’s what occurs every day at Supplemental Health Care. I am constantly awed by the time and effort each of you is willing to put in each day to be a giraffe in a herd of zebras.

I am thankful for working in a company that is willing to embrace I. C.A.R.E. not as a clever acronym, but for the words it represents: Integrity, Candor, Accountability, Respect and Excellence – values to guide our daily actions and decisions, avoiding the trap of doing what’s easy and always striving to do what’s right.

I am thankful for all of the field talent who put their careers in our hands and the clients who trust us to provide the nurses, therapists and rad-techs they need to care for their patients.

Finally, I am thankful for each of you. You are the lifeblood of this company. What you do is not easy. That is true of every job in this company. We demand a lot, and then we ask for more. We push, I push, for you to do more, learn more, accomplish more. And you do. You always seem to find a way to step up. It takes a special person to work here. Don’t think for a minute I don’t know that. I am thankful for all of you—probably more than you will ever know.

These are the things that I am thankful for – and I could probably add a hundred more each day. Now, it’s your turn. I want to know what you’re thankful for. Over the next few days, I’d like any of you who would like to share, to send me your thoughts on what you give thanks for – simple or profound, personal or professional; I want to hear from you.

Just hit reply (not reply all-because we don’t want Harold Entz to get mad!) and begin typing. You will get my “out of office” reply as I am supposed to be on vacation. Don’t worry; they will be a nice read as I sit in front of the TV to watch “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

Enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday. Whether you’re celebrating with family or friends or simply enjoying a day of peace and quiet, remember that we all have something to be thankful for – the key is taking the time to recognize it.

Happy Thanksgiving!