The 2020 Thanksgiving Note that Every Chamber of Commerce Professional Should Read

To Chambers of Commerce: 2020 is the year that chamber people educated thirty one million small businesses with no one in the room, implemented workarounds for 150 million employees when there was no rulebook, and inspired their communities to pivot, while they (their livelihood, their family's health) were walking on the edge of a cliff. Chambers were students in brand new areas and became the faculty to every employer and employee in the United States. Chamber people received no battle pay, not enough health care benefits, and only a sad face when the idea of a pension is brought up.

I am inspired by chamber people and thankful we are able to do business with wonderful chambers like you. I hope you spend November 26th in the minds and the company of friends and family. The very best holiday wishes from our house to yours.

Here are other gratitude quotes you may find useful:

 "Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year because it reminds us to give thanks and to count our blessings. Suddenly, so many things become so little when we realize how blessed and lucky we are." – Joyce Girard

"It is not happy people who are thankful. It is thankful people who are happy." – unknown

 "Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.” – Henry Van Dyke

 "Give thanks not just on Thanksgiving Day, but every day of your life. Appreciate and never take for granted all that you have." Catherine Pulsifer

 "What I love about Thanksgiving is that it’s purely about getting together with friends or family and enjoying food. It’s really for everybody, and it doesn’t matter where you’re from." Daniel Humm

 “Let us be thankful to the people who bring us happiness; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” – Marcel Proust, Pleasures and Days

 “When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself.” — Tecumseh

“Good mashed potato is one of the great luxuries of life.” Lindsey Bareham

“Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.” – Henry James

On families at Thanksgiving: Remember, you don’t have to attend every argument you are invited to.

To the local community following Thanksgiving: Remember all those local businesses you asked for years and years to donate to your clubs, events and organizations? They are calling in a favor. Answer the call.

Happy Thanksgiving!

John Dussman

Town Square Publications