As many of you know, all 2020 Stampin' Up! events have been cancelled due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. While I miss gathering in person with Stampin' Up! staff and fellow Demonstrators from around the world, there have been many silver linings. People are sending more cards and reaching out to others with compassion, respect, and kindness. We are learning to live more simply and to get creative in conducting daily business. I have made great strides in building my business despite the pandemic. I've learned more about conducting online business and gathering with others by FaceTime and Zoom. We may be parted by distance, but we are still connected through our common bond of stamping and paper crafting.
This week, I was to be in New Orleans, Louisiana, for the Stampin' Up! Leaders Summit. In the wake of the storms and hurricane on the Gulf Coast, it is a blessing that our event there was cancelled several months ago. The staff at Stampin' Up! worked to change this greatly anticipated event for Leaders to a virtual event rather than cancel it all together. I'm excited that Stampin' Up! has remained committed to this training and networking for its Leaders.
Today, I welcome my dear friends and fellow demonstrators, Susi Brunk and Joyce Whitman, to my Westerville, Ohio, home. Instead of celebrating our roles as Stampin' Up! Leaders and learning, sharing, and growing in New Orleans, we are going to participate in the Leaders Summit together here over the next 3 days. We are excited to learn new practices for building our own businesses and working with our teams. We'll take classes and participate in networking sessions. We'll celebrate our achievements and set new goals. AND, we'll get in some stamping and paper crafting in between Leaders Summit sessions.
I've been waiting to show you this gift I received from Stampin' Up! for my participation in the Leaders Summit. (I didn't want to spoil the surprise for other demos.) What a lovely and thoughtful gift this is. I will treasure it always. How wonderful it is to work for a company that appreciates and values me. I'm grateful to be a part of "something bigger than myself" doing a job I love and and sharing it with others. Stampin' Up! is so much more than stamps, ink, and paper. We work hard to make a difference in the lives of others by sharing our creative endeavors. We are difference makers. We are difference makers in our families, our communities, our country, and our world. A handmade card may seem small, but the impact it makes when given to another is big.
Please know that over these next 3 days of the Leaders Summit, you all will be in my thoughts as I learn new ways of sharing creativity with you. And as always, I'll be thinking of you with gratitude. Gratitude for your support of my small business and gratitude for your kindness and friendship. Being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator has blessed me in so many ways that I never could have imagined when I bought a Starter Kit 12 years ago simply to get a discount.
Have a good weekend. Be good to yourself, count your blessings, and spread kindness, perhaps, by sending a card or inviting someone to stamp with you.