As we close out 2012, it’s amazing to reflect on a record-breaking year and the progress our TEAM has made. It’s remarkable that only a year ago we were coming off the best year in company history and looking ahead at some very aggressive goals. Our leadership team talked about how challenging it was going to be to continue growing at the pace of roughly 40% per year that we had been achieving for the past 6 years. We continued to mature as an organization and this was going to require a lot more growth, very rapidly. Looking back at some of the highlights, it’s exciting to know that the extraordinary can be accomplished when good people strive for great things. I am blessed to work with some of the best people I’ve ever met and proud to have watched them achieve some of these accomplishments throughout the year:
- 14 internal promotions for employees who showed they were capable of achieving more
- The addition of 2 leaders from outside the company to fill growth positions
- Generated almost 250,000 blood donations for our clients
- Nearly 1 million conversations with blood donors around the country
- Two awards from the Professional Association of Customer Engagement (PACE)
- The PACE Outstanding Corporate Citizen Award for our InceptGives program
- The PACE Employee Appreciation Strategy Award for our LifeSaver Bonus Program
- Foundation of America’s Blood Centers President’s Award
- Practicing what we preach with our own employees giving 187 life-saving blood donations
As important and proud as I am of each of these accomplishments, the project I am most proud of is our InceptGives initiative, which provides donations and support for local, national and international charities. Now in its 3rd year, InceptGives supported more than 20 different charities in 2012, including Red Cross Military Services, Donors Choose, Partners in Health, and Migrant Students Foundation, Inc. Our team’s hard work has given us the opportunity to provide for those less fortunate, and for that I am grateful.
2012 required large adjustments for us as a company and stretched us more than any year in recent memory. As we close it out, I’m thankful for everyone’s hard work, everything we learned and the opportunity to go out and try and exceed this year in 2013.
I hope your 2012 provided its share of records and growth opportunities and put you in the position to make 2013 the best year ever. Good luck!