Spectrum Connection: March 2021

From the desk of Dave Smalley: Perspective

In reflecting on where we are, where I currently am, I reflected back a year and took an excerpt out of one of my Spectrum Connection notes. This is what I wrote:

“It’s dark out. It is supposed to be dark out. It is 3:30 a.m., and I am wide awake…again. All kinds of thoughts running through my head. Is this re- ally real? When will it be over? Am I strong enough? So many racing thoughts, trying to make sense of all this when there is no sense at all. Trying to gain some sort of control, where there is no control handle to grab.

Yes it is dark, but metaphorically speaking, the dawn will come. In the still darkness, I know there will be a dawn. Slowly darkness will give way to light, and then sunshine, and that gives me hope. Hope and personal resolve is what we have. That and each other.

That last part, the each other part, for me, is the epitome of two sides of the coin. On one side, it makes me sad, because I miss everyone, and I miss being us. As irrational as it is, it weighs heavily upon me that I can’t do a damn thing to affect this whole situation. I am used to doing so, I am supposed to lead, to affect situations, to protect.

Thankfully, there is the other side of the coin. My respect and love for everyone, and those reciprocal feelings are exactly the boost I need to keep focused on the future; one foot in front of the other. Preparing and planning for the various possible scenarios of what our industry might be like when we get back to work.

The fact is YOU inspire me. You inspire me to fo- cus my mind on what is in front of me, what opportunities may present themselves, and how we are going to capitalize on them.”

Now, here we are, nearly a year later. I still don’t sleep, I still occasionally doubt myself, I often feel helpless to help others, but I still love, respect, and draw strength from each and every one of you. Your resiliency inspires me. YOU inspire me. And it does seem like the darkness is finally giving way to the light.

We have proven that we have resolve, that we are tough, that we can reinvent ourselves, and that we have a champions heart. We know that, we have known that, and we have proven that to ourselves. We are facing this down and we have proven to ourselves how strong we are individually, and how much stronger we are collectively.

The sun is not up yet, but it is dawning. We must stay the course and sacrifice until all of our family can get back. We must show the world that we can take it, and take it with dignity.

My best to you and your family,

Dave Smalley

 

From the desk of Melanie Smalley.

An oldie but a goodie. I hope you will find that as we gently start 2021, we remember to be grateful to ALL of our associates and clients that make it possible for us to get back to work. God Bless.

Written August 2016…
It’s easy to be professionally grateful, let me just rattle off my cups of grateful…

• Grateful for all of the amazing men and women in our warehouse operation that pack hundreds of boxes, wash tons of silverware and linen, load and unload trucks by the dozen, manage the organization of the warehouses, vehicles and so, so much more.

• Grateful for everyone that works in our main office facilitating new business, managing existing business, processing payroll and rockin’ the People Department; paying the bills, depositing the funds, inputting the data, pushing and pulling paperwork, packing and unpacking more boxes, getting our crew from point A to point B all over the country, being I-pad geniuses, being amazing administrative gurus and so, so much more.

• Grateful for all of the ladies and gents that manage our many, many brick and mortar buildings all over the country; managing flash reports, jumping to help at other events and keeping the banter fun.

• Grateful for our Cirque teams and their mad globetrotting skills; representing our company every single day by creating killer food and beverage experiences, being the bright happy faces of our company behind the scenes.

• Grateful for our homegrown hospitality team that is the face of our community, creating custom events down to every last detail, loading and unloading more trucks, a kitchen of stellar chefs that don’t just cook but cook with love.

• Grateful for all of the road warriors that spend more time away from home than at home and never complain. You know who you are.

• Grateful to our faithful customers and friends that put their trust and confidence in our hands; we are extraordinarily blessed by clients that believe in Spectrum’s hallmarks and business practices.

It goes without saying that I cannot possibly nail every opportunity to express my gratitude however it’s my hope that you know you’re appreciated and the work you do is valued.  People use the addage, out of sight out of mind; I can tell you that isn’t the case here. Although we all often go in many different directions, no one is ever out of sight out of mind; that’s simply not how we operate, we are motivated and driven by one another’s cause which is always for the Spectrum greater good.

Thanks to everyone near and far for getting us collectively through July. To use a Dave line…we are a better company with you in it!

Cheers,

Mel

 

 

SPECTRUM CORPORATE PILLARS

We are excited to share and introduce our Spectrum Corporate Pillars.  Our Corporate Pillars represent the very foundation in which our company is defined; each pillar representing our fundamental values and culture.  These Pillars will be a guide to our purpose to enrich the lives of our associates and clients with language and culture.  Devotion to our core purpose will continue to permeate a culture that our clients love, our associates thrive and fosters industry innovations of which we are all proud.

In the coming weeks and months, we will talk about these Pillars and reinforce their meaning to our Spectrum family and to our clients.

We hope you are as proud of our Corporate Pillars as we are; we trust you will not only embrace them but share them with others.

~Mel