24 hours in a day.
24 cans of beer in a case.
24 carats in 100 percent pure gold.
24 hours of LeMans.
24 years of SiteCrafting.
Whew, that’s a lot, but in so many ways, it feels like we’re just getting started. After all, pretty much every day is different. Every day we have to adapt to the changes we see in a world and industry that is in constant flux. It is in this chaos that we have been able to find some order. The order that would inspire us to welcome uncertainty, finding comfort in the discomfort that life sometimes sends our way.
In 2008, I was recognized by the University of Washington Milgard School of Business as Small Business Leader of the Year. At the time, SiteCrafting had just turned 10 years old. In my comments after receiving the award, I said something that was true then and remains true now:
“Our strength is in our resilience. It has been in our ability to have bedrock principles (our values) that do not change. These values inform our response to the challenges and changes that life sends our way. It is in holding to these values that we are able to see opportunities.”
Fast Forward to 2020
Twelve years later, we were faced with change on a global scale: the Covid-19 pandemic. Businesses were closing, people were losing their jobs, family and friends were getting sick from Covid. This has easily been the most disruptive thing our company and society as a whole have dealt with in the past 24 years.
We had a choice at SiteCrafting, just as all of us did individually and socially, about how to respond to the pandemic. We chose to face it and embrace the uncertainty. We knew as a group that our values and commitment to each other would get us through. It has not been easy, and there have been very difficult days and choices. In those challenges, we found strength. In them, we found the courage to fully embrace our values. I am confident that we are better prepared for whatever lies ahead.
Resilience and the Next 24
So as we celebrate the distance we have traveled — one small step at a time and sometimes one or two steps forward and a couple back — we know we are stronger together. We know our shared commitment to excellent action and building things that matter to our clients and our communities is the correct path. Staying firm to what matters most allows us to thrive in an ever-changing world. Thank you for 24 years. Thank you for taking the time to celebrate with us.
