Well, it’s official — 150 products and packaging solutions invented by our clients and our own company have sold in 500 separate retail outlets and online stores. To reach that milestone puts a smile on my face, because it’s just more fuel to boost our belief that we can and will accomplish our mission statement.

I can’t describe to you how it feels for us to go to stores today and see all these clients’ ideas and our ideas right there on the shelves, again and again, proving that every idea and pursuit of an idea is worthwhile. I know and study the history of how things came to be in this country, and it doesn’t matter if it’s an idea about our political system, or for a new movie or a new product; it’s that entrepreneurial spirit of people willing to chase an idea that makes this country great. So when I see 500-plus stores have carried our new items over the past 20 years, I am filled with optimism about the future because we as a people have what it takes to chase it.

I never expected my clients to inspire me the way they do, but with each and every item on the store shelf, I reflect on that very first thought of where that new idea came from and the story of what drove that person to want to do something about it. Today, to be able to look back at the 500 stores and see what has been created from all these ideas is just beyond belief for me.

I know we will accomplish our mission . . . 500 stores is just a drop in the bucket – we won’t stop there. I know our team, and we will chase higher and greater numbers. We won’t rest until that “D” on the back of packages is a brand that everyone in the country recognizes.