The title of this month’s column is meant as a short way to say “this year has been a helluva ride for most of us, good riddance to 2009, and bring on some peace and rest during the holidays!”
In a year that most experts called the worst since the Great Depression, not only did we make it, we continued to work on improving our Equipment World products. We began 2009 with a totally redesigned logo and look for our magazine and are ending it with the same type of investment in our EquipmentWorld.com website. When you return from the holidays and click on our site, I hope you’ll take a minute to check it out.
This year also marks the 20th anniversary that we have been publishing Equipment World magazine, a labor of love for those who have worked on our team in the past and present. Today, we have still have three on staff who were here when we launched Equipment World including Marcia Gruver, one of our original editors. Without her dedication and leadership in guiding our editorial product over the years, we would not be in the position we are today as your leading source for information on how to run your business. We congratulate Marcia for her promotion to editorial director of our entire Construction Division, where she will continue to lead Equipment World’s editorial direction along with overseeing our other construction titles, Better Roads, Aggregates Manager and Total Landscape Care.
This year has been tough and 2010 may bring more of the same challenges, but one thing is certain: hard work and focus on your customer will always be winning strategies. You may recall some of the topics of this column in 2009: “Don’t be a jerk” (April), “Take time to train” (May), “Watch out for chipmunks” (July) and “Sharpen the iron” (October). Those are my marching orders for 2010!
Merry Christmas to you and yours … Bring on 2010!
