It was a pleasure and honor to be named small business person of the year by the Guilderland Chamber of Commerce. I was lucky enough to be in Italy when I started getting the congratulatory emails.
Italy is a great place and I had never been there before. My number one reason for going was to allow my wife to fulfill a life long dream of visiting the Tuscany region of the country. Honestly I would rather be building my business! I learned a lot in Italy. Mostly the trip reinforced my belief of how truly blessed we are to live the lifestyles we live in the USA. I think often we forget how we got to where we are. Sure Italy is great. We hit tourist traps like Pisa and the Coliseum.
However, the most important place we visited was a WWII US cemetery on the outskirts of Florence. At this site 4,402 US combat troops are buried.The number stuck in my mind like it was etched in my brain. I had not expected to visit this area but I am glad we did. I was stunned by the tranquility of the symmetrically arranged crosses. I have been to US military cemeteries before but for some reason this cemetery, representing the final resting place for our servicemen thousands of miles from home, really struck me. I am not embarrassed to admit after about 10 minutes I was overcome with emotion and realized I had tears in my eyes. At first, I wasn't really sure what I was feeling. I was just struck with an utter sense of gratitude to the serviceman before me. These guys were probably half my age when they were sent to a country they probably couldn't even find on a map. However, their country asked them to step up and they did. These guys paid the ultimate sacrifice to give me the freedom I have to start and run a business. For that I am forever grateful. The experience put things in perspective and changed me. Sure we all have bad days but I am sure the worst day of my life was infinitely better then their best day of combat. Receiving an award always makes you feel good. I think sometimes no one realizes how hard we work as Realtors. Here it is 2:00 am and I still have a new listing to upload! However, my fatigue is temporary. The sacrifices these guys made lasts forever. As Memorial Day approaches please take the time to acknowledge our Veterans for the sacrifices they have made to allow us to live the lifestyles we live in the greatest country in the world. If you are a Veteran and I can help you in anyway please let me know.
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