During a foreign animal disease mock outbreak exercise Barb helped coordinate for the National Association of Farm Broadcasters Convention last week, an eye-opening statistic was shared. One of the subject matter experts participating, Chief Veterinarian Dr. Rosemary Sifford, USDA-APHIS Veterinary Services, said 2008 foreign animal disease investigations took place in the US in 2023. While alarming, there was also a profound sense of gratitude as the audience realized none of those investigations led to confirmation of an outbreak with all the related concerns for the animals, farmers, food supply, and related industries.
Being grateful for big things in life, such as not having any foreign animal disease outbreaks in the US, is easy. Being grateful for life’s smaller blessings can be more difficult as the busyness of work, home, and family crowds out the instinct to pause and be mindful of all the good surrounding us.
In an article on gratitude posted on www.verywellmind.com, author Kendra Cherry, MSEd, wrote, “Gratitude is all about recognizing the good things in your life and the role that others play in those positive events. It can have a powerful role in your health and well-being. The good news is that practicing gratitude isn’t difficult; just set aside a few minutes each day to focus on the good things that happened and what you’re thankful for.”
When you Google the word gratitude, the results are preceded by an AI summary on the subject. (We can debate being grateful for AI another day.) One of the results it provided included this:
Practicing gratitude can have many benefits, including:
Who wouldn’t want each of these to be harvested in their own gratitude-filled life!?
At HMG, we are grateful for our customers who allow us the privilege of telling their stories. Our mission includes connecting with our clients to understand their communications goals, needs, and wishes. This process allows us to develop strong relationships that are more than transactional. We invest our time, skill, and experience for the best possible outcomes because we care not only about the mission but the people.
We work with a group of vendors who we have developed similar relationships with for the same reasons. Delivering a quality product requires we invest our time to know who we ask to execute different deliverables including print jobs, digital campaigns, as well as website hosting, coding, and troubleshooting.
Claiming author’s privilege, I will also lift up the team at HMG. We work closely and well with each other from our remote workspaces. Barb sets the tone as our leader and mentor. Katie’s design skills delight us as well as our customers and her unflappable nature keeps us all on course. Angela and Toby have become integral members of our team, offering their outstanding work product and treasured connection. Steve, our business manager, takes care of so much more than accounts receivable and payable, thank goodness!
This Thanksgiving season, our hearts are full, reflecting on all those people, events, projects, and possibilities we enjoy. The team at HMG offers our best to each of you this holiday and beyond. Join us in our effort to be grateful for everything big and small that brings us joy.
All of us at HMG wish our customers, vendors, and friends a happy and blessed Thanksgiving! We will be closed November 28 and 29 in observance of the holiday and look forward to reconnecting with you on December 2!
