This past week was another celebration here at EXAIR, in case you didn’t notice, we like to do that here. This wasn’t a birthday, anniversary or someone leaving the team, it was another record breaker for the EXAIR team. I know we have talked about cookouts before and these only happen for special occasions. Nonetheless when you have the EXAIR management team, including the owner and President, grilling everyone’s lunch – it is a great day.
You can see our Production Manager doing some quality inspection here.
This builds so much camaraderie through the ranks of EXAIR that I don’t know any way to do it better. The entire time we had the cookout there was still no hiccup in our standard operations either, that means if you called in, you still got to speak to a live person and not a recording. That is the level of service that we provide every day, every week, every month, and every year. That is what sets us apart from any of our competition and allows us to continue to reach higher goals than we have ever reached before.
MMMmmmmmmm!!!!! Steak!
Now if you will excuse me, I need to go take a jog and try to work myself out of this food coma from the steak.
It all started the year after I bought my house. My next door neighbor – a Vietnam-era veteran, Honor Flight Guardian, and the best neighbor ever – bought a bunch of American flags & poles, and asked if it would be OK to put them out along the sidewalk in front of our houses to observe the upcoming Independence Day holiday…he had enough to go all the way to the corner of our street. We all thought it was a fantastic idea. And it was just the start.
The following year, just before Memorial Day, as Monty raised the flags down our street, another row popped up around the corner. And, come Fourth of July, there were more. Now, every sidewalk in our neighborhood is decorated every Memorial Day and Independence Day, at 10- to 12-foot intervals (to be fair, nobody published a standard, so it is what it is) with the Stars and Stripes.
I DO love this neighborhood.
Memorial Day, is, of course, the day that we honor the sacrifice of those who gave their lives for the great country that my awesome little neighborhood is part & parcel of. And honor it we will. There will be parades with marching bands and floats. Veteran’s groups will perform ceremonies and vigils. Military aircraft will perform fly-overs at ballgames & special events. Monty will set the flags down our sidewalk. And most of us will enjoy a long weekend.
I’ve seen a lot of posts on social media, reminding us of the meaning of Memorial Day, “in case you thought it was national grill-out day, just another 3-day weekend, etc.” It’s a good reminder; that much is true. But we can honor their sacrifice in celebration too. This weekend, dear reader, I encourage you to light up the grill. Go see some fireworks. Bicycle around the neighborhood (or further) with your kids. Go camping. Sleep in. Stay up late. Spend time with friends and family. These things are the way of life that our heroes fought and died for, right?
But in the midst of whatever you do, remember them: From the Minutemen who fell at Lexington & Concord, to those who didn’t make it home from the recent campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. May God bless them all, and those they left behind.
In closing, as a former submariner, I am also reminded of the ninety-nine members of the crew of USS Scorpion (SSN-589,) which was lost 47 years ago today (presumed, based on last communications.)
Sailors, rest your oars.
Please enjoy your Memorial Day weekend. It’s been paid for dearly.
Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
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