“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
-John Fitzgerald Kennedy
To all Veterans,
I'm sure you've seen the Veterans Day promotional e-mail we sent earlier, or you have already seen it on the site. Like many of you, I just saw the e-mail blast, as well as hundreds of other promotional e-mails today. I feel compelled to add something that has been bothering me for years.
As we sat down to discuss different promotions for our Veterans Day sale, as we do every year; the same feeling punched me in the gut, as it does every year. I've sat in this same meeting dating back almost 20 years to when it was just me with me. I've sat in on it with groups of staff that included Veterans and groups that didn’t. Every year I get that same punch in the gut and think... are we doing this FOR the Veterans or are we trying to monetize the veterans? I see one as right and the other as walking a very fine line considering without them, these conversations wouldn't be happening at all. As a company, we want to do something to acknowledge our Veterans and all they have done. But it feels incomplete to end there. It feels wrong to not reflect on how we acknowledge and honor veterans and what they have done for us.
I’ve never worn the uniform; I've never stepped foot on a battlefield. I do not think nor will I ever pretend I'm “going to war in the weight room." In all honesty, I do not know what "war" really is. I do not know what it feels like to serve my country in a way where I could be called to combat at any time. I do my best every day to honor the company I work for, my friends, my family, and all those I love. I strive every day to make the world a better place for those I can help. I wake up every morning looking forward to this. I look forward to being a small business owner, a son, a brother, a father, a friend, and a husband. These are roles I cherish- some given, some earned, and some by default- but ALL because of the sacrifices made by those that have given us the freedoms and rights we all have.
The best way I know to honor those who have given these rights to me is to live each day trying to be better than the day before, and for them to know I strive to help others to do the same.
To all those who serve and have served I am going to say something with the highest sincerity and I am going to do so without another sales promotion, without attaching a cool picture, meme, IG, social media screen shot, or excellent video. I am doing this because I do not want the true message and meaning of this day to be lost in "marketing".
I am sending this personal message to you from my own desk to say
Thank You
Thank you from all those who support elitefts, the staff of elitefts, team elitefts, my family, my friends, and my heart.
Thank You.
Dave Tate
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