President Kevin, Mary, Cheryl and myself, want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.
The ECA and its wonderful, involved, supportive, and generous members have become my extended family. I personally am thankful that the Argonaut workers are back home after spending 7-8 months up in Paradise. I am thankful that most of our employees are working full time in our industry and making good wages. I am thankful that our family and friends will sit down Thursday and consider what blessings we have in our lives. I have many things I am thankful for.
I recently hired an electrician who was an immigrant (legal!!) from Syria. His positive thankfulness was shared in an hour long conversation with me. He does not just celebrate Thanksgiving one day per year. He reflects on his family huddling in a basement with bombs going off all around him for months. He reflects on living in a refugee tent camp in Jordan for 2 years. He reflects on his good fortune to come to the United States with his family a little more than a year ago. Every day he counts his blessings of safety, opportunity, and family health that he has here. It really put things in perspective for me. We all tend to overlook our family and friends and our blessings at times. We should not take those blessings for granted. Like my new friend from Syria, blessings can be taken away through circumstance so we should celebrate what we are thankful for each and every day of the year.
I hope you have many things in your lives to be thankful for. And I hope you share the blessings with friends and family tomorrow and have a very safe and wonderful Thanksgiving!
That’s All Folks
John
