A Day To Be Thankful (Pandemic or Not!)

                Well, Thanksgiving Day 2020 is less than a week away, and you know what that means!  Huge traffic jams on the interstates, extended flight delays at the airports...wait a minute!  No, it's highly unlikely that the perennially infamous experiences of Thanksgiving Day in America will happen this year, and that's something to be thankful for - isn't it?  

               However, the reason in 2020 that we will not have what is usually the biggest travel day of the year in the U.S. is the very same reason that we will not have as many of the massive gatherings of family and friends that we've grown accustomed to every fourth Thursday in November.  We will not have the Macy's parade in Manhattan.  There will not be as many gigantic spreads of everything under the sun (at least not as much as in previous years).  It's actually pretty mind-blowing to consider the almost infinite number of ways that an untamed virus effects a society.  But we are continuously learning about that first-hand every day.  

               Nonetheless, on the upside (and there always is one), we can also consider the fact that every generation has faced overwhelming difficulties of some sort - and all these things have compelled us to find a way to overcome them.  We eventually do overcome these things, sooner or later - through dedication, hard work, sacrifice and the ever present grace of God.  It is indeed those aforementioned attributes that have coalesced (despite the accompanying political chaos of the day) that have helped us look forward to the very near future when the Covid-19 vaccine becomes available to the public.  

               On that point, we can be thankful for having the greatest biologists, geneticists, virologists and pharmaceutical researchers in the world.  We can be thankful for having the bravest, most dedicated and highly trained front line workers in the world.  We can be thankful for the family and friends that have lent us helping hand when we needed it the most this year.  We can be thankful for the various forms of technology (both low-tech and high-tech) that have made it possible for us to work, teach and learn from home.  We can be thankful for those same forms of technology that make it possible for us to still spend quality time with loved ones even though they're not all physically at the same address with us - especially on November 26th.  We can be thankful that there's no food shortage in America today(!!!)  Hello?

               Now, before I forget that I'm writing a post for my family's business, please indulge the fact that our family business is in the business of providing many creative ways to say 'Thank You' to those who deserve the thanks these days.  Among the more timely awards that we provide are those that are appropriate to the vocations I listed in the previous paragraph, as we offer specific recognition awards for nurses, doctors and many other service professions, such as firefighters, police officers and military service members.

               We also have an extensive line of tastefully designed awards that can be adapted, via engraving, for any occasion that calls for a genuine 'Thank You'.  Perhaps this time of year calls for it more than any other time of year.  But no matter what time of year it is, there's always someone needing to be thanked, for something, at some time.  You can view our safe & secure e-commerce website or visit our showroom in Yonkers, New York for more information on ordering these items of recognition and more, as well as our extensive selection of traditional recreation for the home.

               Now hopefully, with all the challenges that lay ahead (both expected and unexpected), we can still find a way to counterbalance the frustrations of coping with these challenges - whether it's global pandemic or not.  The only way we can begin to do this counterbalancing is by genuinely acknowledging all the many things that we can be thankful for - not only on Thanksgiving Day, but the whole year round!  So to those who think the glass is always half empty, remember that it means it's also always half full - and that's big picture when it comes to being thankful.

                                                                                                           ~Roger V. Loria, Jr.

We're Baaack!!! (Actually We've Been Back For A While.) So THANK YOU!

               Well, it's been one of those years - and it's not over yet, is it?  A global pandemic, social distancing, political unrest - I wonder what these waning weeks of 2020 still have in store for us(!).  Hopefully, this "new normal" that many are prone to talk about is anything but.  Though wearing a sanitary mask and social distancing is probably a good idea anyway in safeguarding against airborne viruses (whether there's a pandemic or not), I think I speak for many when I say that a vaccine can't arrive soon enough so we can have the same bulwark against Covid 19 that we already have against influenza, tuberculosis, typhoid, malaria, diphtheria (well, you get the idea!) and then we can get back to social closeness, large family gatherings, indoor restaurants, music concerts, sold-out sporting events, etc.  

               With all the major upheaval throughout the world caused by the pandemic, and the absolute tailspin effect it's had on so many industries and national economies, it's good to know (and to be grateful for the fact) that we're still here, still working and still serving the people that make it possible for us to work in the first place...our customers.  

               Although we had to temporarily close our doors during the initial lockdown, we gradually (and cautiously) got back to business with our customers, at first via website sales and e-mail sales.  Eventually, we were able to physically open the doors of our store to the general public with, of course, the requirement of wearing masks and socially distancing.

               There have been so many companies in the world that have been effected in such a profoundly negative way, I am amazed at the fact that even though we had every risk of being pulled by that same negative undertow, our customers remained loyal and resourceful, and showed us that 'recognition' and 'recreation' (specifically for the home) are two things that are, in many ways, right up there with food and water.  Although being cooped up in quarantine for several months can do a number on our personalities and not being able to gather in mass numbers puts the kibosh on any formal presentation ceremonies, our customers have refused to give up.  

               Our pool-table customers have taken advantage of being home more often than ever before that they have kept us busy beyond our wildest expectations.  Perhaps in some small way, we have contributed to keeping families "sane at home":)  Meanwhile, our awards customers have rightfully decided that, even though in-person presentations and award banquets are just not going to happen this year, the people that have earned their 'recognition of excellence' still deserve to receive that 'recognition of excellence' - in whatever it is at which they excelled.  It made perfect sense to us, and thank goodness it made perfect sense to our customers!

               So even though we have been temporarily slowed by a worldwide catastrophe, we can now say with full confidence that "we're baaack"!  But actually we've been back for a while now, and that was only made possible by the kind of loyalty from customers that, in effect, said to us that they want us back.  And for that, we say to all of our customers who have kept us going this year a massive and heartfelt, "THANK YOU!!!".