Just realized that I have been neglecting my duties of posting here! Time does just get away from you. Lots of things have been happening. In my last post, I talked about getting handed some lemons and my choice to make lemonade. I am pleased to report that the TSS Lemonade is taking a life of its own. And pretty tasty! I decided to take myself on a journey that has me reviewing each and every contract and business relationship that I have in place. I am looking at the sustainability, the liability, and the growth-ability of each one. Some of them have been in place for a long time, others brand new. This process will be a long one and not without some difficult decisions along the way. Reviewing the “ability” of each supply chain association allows me to review whether or not the relationship is on target, has outlived it usefulness or can be strengthened to maximize our growth. It’s kinda fun really, a bit of a challenge to turn into an opportunity. The TSS staff has joined me in this effort by looking at the expense department. Some time ago, I told you about our paper recycle program that resulted in a reduction of our garbage bill. We now have added aluminum to our recycle program. We’ll see how that adjusts our garbage bill even lower. Even without the expense reduction, it’s the right thing to do for our environment. All tenants in our building are participating. As fuel bills are a major concern for me, I have been looking at ways to reduce our heating bill. With a building the size of ours, this is a large expense. We also have been having lots of discussion about how fuel, grocery, and medical expenses impact our customers. We have vowed to do everything in our power to hold our prices down for our clients. This will bring the deployment of online access to our clients. By reducing the amount of mailing and calling we do, our staff costs will decrease, our productivity in business building will increase, and our clients will still have the information they need, when they want it and how they want it. With most of our clients also having internet capability, TSS will now send as many invoices electronically as possible, again reducing those mailing expenses and allowing something we already pay for to become a more useful tool in our management. These are just a few of the examples of how TSS is working hard to be great partners with the communities in which we work and live. New announcements in our offices! TSS has completed the agreement with the City of Ketchikan for the Alcohol Safety Action Program. The office is up and running. There is a short learning curve, but I am confident that TSS staff will, yet again, make Ketchikan proud. I have also completed the ink on another agreement with EMSI, an examination firm, for which we will provide third party drug screening collections and paramed insurance exams. This agreement will lead us down the path to another branch location (can you guess where?). More information on this coming soon! And what about that VP pick? Sarah Palin from Alaska for Vice President. I have recovered from that jaw dropping announcement, as have most Alaskans, by now. Are we excited to have someone from our state be VP? You bet. Are we excited to bring our 50th birthday celebration into the limelight of the nation? You bet. However, I must say, I do have some concerns. Sarah is a great campaigner. She speaks well, carries herself impeccably, and her hometown girl does good image will take her a long way. But I have not forgotten the Sarah Palin who said right here in Ketchikan that she supported our bridge. Valley trash, she called herself, referring to a snub of an Anchorage politician, standing on our stage, supporting our bridge to (so-called) nowhere. Mmm… was this the same Sarah Palin who just last week said she was proud to stand before the nation to tell them she had said “thanks, but no thanks, to pork barrel bridges? Mmm… what she did not say on the national stage, was that the dollars came to Alaska anyway. And then due to a DOT formulary, found their way to “other” projects in Alaska. Since that has happenend, the bridge that the federal government promised this community over 30 years ago, is in jeopardy once again. More importantly, Sarah bold faced lied to a largely Republican community about her intentions. Ouch. Teen daughter having a baby? What one of us has never made a profound mistake? Now more than ever, young mothers are finding themselves growing up far too quickly. While none of us wish for this to happen to our young adults, let’s be real, it has been happening for years, and while not the best time of your life, it certainly does not spell the end for any young mom. She will have different choices to make, but can and will be able to make her way through this. Our families need our support during trying times. Times when we send our young men off to war, times when our elderly make the decision of food vs. medicine. I do not intend to make light of the Palin family struggle, but I do think we need to be realistic about it. Let’s talk about how to keep families together, build stronger bonds with their communities, and have good jobs to support their children and grandparents, instead of fixating on a teen who made a choice that forever changed the direction of her life. She already knows it. We do not have to discuss it to death. I appreciate Barack Obama saying the families are off limits. We should respect that. And wherever you are, whoever you are, just be sure and VOTE. Ink on paper. Do the right thing. To read more about Sarah Palin and the State of Alaska: Click Here! As always~Safe Journeys~Renee