As most of the United States gears up for a combination of turkey-coma, football, and Black Friday shopping activities, we wanted to take a moment to share with our members and colleagues a few words of thanks and remembrance.
First and foremost, we at GREC want to thank our sponsors, partners, members and colleagues throughout the retail industry for their support and engagement over the past 10 months. Since we launched in February 2009, we've had the amazing fortune to put on executive events on three continents, speak at six conferences, and engage with members from 35+ countries. We are truly and deeply grateful for the acceptance and support of the retail community, and we look forward to expanding our activities in 2010.
Second, on 26 November 2008, gunmen in India began a three-day attack that left 174 people dead. On this first anniversary of that attack, we give thanks for the people we know who survived that attack and offer our thoughts and prayers to the families and friends of all those who didn't. Too often we find ourselves tied up in economic forecasts and shopping trends, so today we'd like to remind ourselves and everyone else that retail is the universal activity that binds us all together: from a tiny village in rural Africa to the boutiques of New York City, every single day billions of people exchange the value of their labor for something they want. So today - as we should on all days - let us remember that we share this among so many things, and work toward greater peace and prosperity for all humankind.
And third, I personally give thanks every day for an experience I had two years ago when I was privileged to work for a week in an orphanage in Haiti. There are 143 million orphans worldwide, and we are honored to work with the RetailROI initiative to support the retail industry in making a difference for those children. This holiday, please consider supporting RetailROI and those millions of children who are in need of even the basics this year.
Happy Thanksgiving to all, and thank you for all your support this year.
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