By Shawn Conrad, CAE

We keep hearing that this Thanksgiving will be unlike any Thanksgiving we’ve celebrated in the past. It may be hard to find things you are thankful for in 2020, while a global novel coronavirus wreaks havoc on our health, schools, business, and communities.

Thanksgiving has always been a special holiday for my family, which almost always made it home for the holiday–we were used to large crowds around the dinner table. We’d use the time to catch up on everyone’s lives and always had plenty of people for a first and second squad in the family football game. We had to exercise to prepare for the feast ahead of us.

This year, our collective well-being may require we get creative to muster the energy to celebrate. It might help to remember that Thanksgiving was formed out of the desire to celebrate getting through a very difficult time. Those early settlers in 1621 may not have faced COVID-19, but they were thankful for having survived numerous other hardships.

This Thanksgiving, let’s take a simpler approach to discovering things we’re grateful for. Look for goodness where you can, extend a helping hand, or just be thankful for your health, family, or friends. Be kind and patient with those around you and take a moment to really listen after asking how someone is doing .

Be sure to stay in touch with those who cannot gather with you during the upcoming holiday season and lastly,  stay connected with your good friends at IPMI. It goes without saying we are thankful that you are a part of our community.

Be well and stay safe!

Shawn Conrad, CAE, is IPMI’s CEO.