I want to wish every member of the Flashpoint community a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you get a chance to spend some time over the upcoming Holiday weekend with people you love.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, which says a lot since I'm not a holiday kind of guy. I hope that doesn't come as a surprise to too many of you. But Thanksgiving seems to be the holiday least touched by our typical crass commercialism. Basically there are no commercial, patriotic, or religious overtones (other than those pumpkin and turkey guys who are kind of pushy) not, I would hasten to add, that there's anything wrong with the other major holidays. But, as a society, we seem to want to exaggerate our holiday celebrations and make them our own and thus we divide ourselves around some of the other key dates instead of coming together.
There doesn’t seem to be any real politically incorrect way to celebrate Thanksgiving yet although I’m sure it’s coming. So, at least for now, Thanksgiving is something we can all do together and should all do from time to time on our own behalf and for those around us as well. Right now, the basic idea that we gather with friends and family to celebrate the harvest remains a pure notion. We rake leaves, eat good food, toss a football... simple pleasures.
We have much to be thankful for at Flashpoint. We're not exactly Camelot yet, but we're on our way and we’re getting it done. With a lot of peoples’ help and hard work and some really good luck as well, we have accomplished the first few steps in a remarkable launch for our College – in a brand-new place and with an explosively exciting future. More importantly, with the help of some new and very talented additions to our community, we're doing all kinds of good work that will ensure that we'll just keep becoming a better and better school and one that is here long into that very bright future. Everything... and I mean everything... will keep getting better - day by day and week after week - because we're all going to make that happen.
This is true because all of you have made such a strong personal commitment to Flashpoint. You've given Flashpoint your intelligence, your experience, your professionalism, and your passion. And, while I am a great believer in the power of the "rugged individual" (the great American persona), I believe even more strongly in the power and capability of a dedicated group. A team that works together, whether it's three people, 10, or 550, can move a mountain. We are assembling, growing and expanding that team and recruiting more talented individuals to it every single day and it shows.
When I try to understand how and why we're moving forward when so many other places are having more difficult times and even throwing in the towel, I can’t really attribute it to one single factor. But I always tell people who ask that, without a doubt, it's due in large part to the kind of people who are here at Flashpoint. While some of us are still somewhat new around here and the place is already getting big enough so that we don't all know one another as well as we will over time, we each really owe each other a big "thanks"... because everyone contributes to making this place work for everyone else. The bottom line is that it takes a real community to have a successful enterprise.
So, on behalf of everyone, but also very much personally from me, thank you for all you do for our school, our students, each other and our future together. And Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.