When one considers some of the bad news in the headlines, things look discouraging: the economy, the war in Iraq, gas prices, pollution, global warming, the credit crisis, and the stock market crash, just to name a few. George S. May said: “I don’t believe too much in looking back. If you’ve done well, you’re too inclined to become smug. If you’ve done poorly, you’re inclined to become discouraged. Keep looking ahead - yesterday’s done with - think about today and tomorrow.”

In spite of the current state of economic and financial affairs, the United States of America has proven to be a resilient nation of innovators. When the going gets tough, Americans get tougher and better. Even when things look bad, Americans have continued to do exactly what Mr. May said; we have looked forward.

Time Magazine recently published an article about 10 things that have never happened before:

1. A Former First Couple Switches Roles - Past President Bill Clinton tried to be a supportive spouse and a former First Lady Hillary Clinton emerged as a political powerhouse.

2. Superdelegates Finally Have a Say - After Ronald Reagan’s landslide victory over Jimmy Carter in 1980, Democratic Party insiders created the monsters known as superdelegates. The superdelegates sealed Senator

Hillary Clinton’s fate in the 2008 presidential election.

3. Wrong Track Sky-High - From the moment Obama entered the race, he presented himself as the candidate of fundamental change - with a biography, campaign strategy and set of priorities to match.

4. Outsiders In - 2008 is the first year since 1928 in which neither an incumbent President nor Vice President ran for the top slot. The die was effectively cast before the general-election process began.

5. Selling History - Barack Obama’s supporters craved a piece of the Obama brand, and for that, the campaign made them pay in all sorts of ingenious ways. Want an Obama blue t-shirt with the “O” logo? All yours in return for just three things: your money, your contact information and, ultimately, your vote.

6. An African American but Not Just an African American - The past four decades have been truly revolutionary in American politics, with a significant increase in the number of minority elected officials, greater voter participation by nonwhites and symbolic runs for President by Shirley Chisholm, Jesse Jackson and Alan Keyes. Obama owes those trailblazers a debt, but his ascendance was the product of something very different from those previous WhiteHouse bids: not only was race not Obama’s signature dimension by any measure, but - with the exception of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright controversy - it was barely an issue at all.

7. Best Reality Show Ever - Politics is show business for ugly people, the old joke goes, but the 2008 campaign was just plain show business, with a cast of fascinating if not always camera-ready players.

8. Internet Fund-Raising Comes of Age - Obama’s foremost advantages, and what allowed him to break all records, were Web savviness and volume.

9. Mooseburgers, Snow Machines and Serious Politics - In a stunning, star-making two-month burst of attention, Sarah Palin took her home state of Alaska into every American living room.

10. An October Surprise (in September) - Never has one eleventh-hour external event so transformed the trajectory of a presidential campaign. On a single day Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy,

Bank of America salvaged a troubled Merrill Lynch, the Dow dropped 500 points, while McCain famously declared that “the fundamentals of our economy are strong.”

It was the start of a big, bad political catastrophe for McCain and Republican candidates all over the country.

We have come a long way as a nation by electing the first African American president. We have demonstrated to the world that we have healed from the wounds of a very painful and embarrassing chapter in our history by electing a president based on his qualifications…the only thing that really matters. What does this have to do with us at GSMIC?

We at the George S. May International Company have adopted a policy and practice of continuous improvement, which has served us well. We learn from the past, listen to our clients and employees,enjoy the compliments and correct our mistakes, but always look forward.

This is a never-ending effort and must include everybody. We have to maintain our quality standards, our policies and procedures and at the same time search for revisions and improvements of the current method of operation. I encourage every one of you to come up with ideas that can improve your job, your performance, your work conditions and any company process or procedure. I encourage everyone to take initiative and share your ideas with co-workers, so that everyone may benefit. Anything we can do to individually promote personal growth will benefit us all.

There is an atmosphere of hope in the air; we hear about it on TV and radio and read about it in the media. We believe that events in our lives will bring a positive outcome, things will turn out for the best and we will get what we want. However, let’s not confuse hope with optimism.

Hope is an emotion but optimism is the result of rational thinking. Achieving a positive outcome and creating the basis for optimism is always in the planning. Planning is a chain of actions aimed toward a very specific outcome. Planning to succeed, as opposed to simply hoping for success, is the key to optimism. Optimism can always be actualized when specific goals are set and actions taken in the direction of the intended outcome. Continuous movement and continuous improvement allow us to continue as the innovators we are.

This is our goal as a firm, this is our mission: to teach anyone who comes into contact with us, whether employees, clients, vendors, etc. how to plan for and realize success.

It is my desire that every employee at every level of the George S. May International Company embrace and create a corporate environment whereby this time next year, we will have our own set of 10 firsts. I invite you to join me in creating an innovative, progressive, and successful 2009.

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