A day late, (and we wont go into how many dollars short,) wishing you a HAPPY NEW YEAR! All in all, Id have to say 2014 was my least favorite year to date. And as some of you may have guessed, due to my absence from this page...I have been giving the future of Callaway Hills, a great deal of thought. Unfortunately, my Mothers dream come true, is at times my worst nightmare. The familys successful newspaper business enabled her to write off most of the farm and animal shelter expenses. Mom was also blessed with a number of full time secretaries/personal assistants and household staff to assist her Naturally, I realized preserving CHS was going to be much more difficult for me, with no family business or family left. On the other hand, no one would have guessed how much was taken from CHS while Mothers dementia progressed. Nor could anyone ever have predicted the extraordinary number of challenges the farm and I would encounter. Some were things that simply happened. Nobodys fault. Dont tell me there is no such thing as bad luck, or Ill wonder if its possible to be cursed! My terrible 2014 was not all farm related, much of it was personal and just the way life unravels- With respect to the future of CHS...I was not merely whining about the toll it has take on me. Honestly, Ive started to question our relevance today. It seems like more people head for the big shopping malls. Some that frequent the high end stores dont mind spending an absurd and unnecessary amount of money. Businesses are supposed to profit and prices reflect what the market will bear. There is also opportunity for a number of brokers/dealers to make large amounts of quick bucks. Honestly, I am not being critical of any buyers or sellers. (ok, maybe just a bit envious!) Weve become smaller, and are a little less convenient. I know we rely too much on reputation and word of mouth. We do not have the time or vast resources to market ourselves the way others do..and we should. Yet we are blessed with a great training division and genuinely believe we have continued to produce a product as good or better than anyone else. That fact is the best reason to keep on...However, having little in the way of a sales department and only yours truly acting as the office IS rather problematic! So, what major conclusion have I reached? Uhm, none? All I know is that Callaway Hills is my home. I have no plans or desire to leave. As for New Years resolutions? Just one... strengthen my faith enough to worry far less and pray a lot more. My heartfelt thanks to all of you who care about this farms history and its future. Also, if youve read all of this you are either a very special person or very bored :) Tony
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 22:51:38 +0000
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