My calendar shows that Christmas is just a week away – we really are in the business end of the year, inevitably trying to cram too much into too few hours each day.  It is of great comfort to me knowing that regardless of the ebb and flow of business, our staff continue to have the confidence in”us”, knowing that as a work family we can endure whatever comes our way, both the good and the bad, and that “Rule Number One” will always hold us in good stead.

So, what is “Rule Number One”? Quite simply, we put whatever is best for the client first, and providing we do our job properly, everything else will follow.

As far as our people go – what can I say? I genuinely believe that we have the very best people, a classic situation where the combined experience, skill and commitment adds up to far more than should be apparent. Whilst working under constant pressure and the most difficult of circumstances, the team punched well above their weight all year – they always have, always will. Being successful allows us to be a “good corporate citizen” and with no false humility wish to mention a few of our contributions, something that is only possible due to the efforts of each of our people:

• We sponsored kids from Mangere College on several projects (including Spirit of New Zealand and Wenderholm Camp) that have the potential to be life changing, but simply would not have been possible without our support;
• Continued support for several “youth” based groups (including Blue Light);
• Ongoing support for sporting clubs in low decile areas, small organisations like Tappy’s Boxing Gym in Mangere Bridge, run by dedicated volunteers who offer so much, but who, without our support simply could not continue;
• and other donations within the community who need a helping hand.

So, as the year draws to a close, we count our blessings, take comfort in the fabulous people who make up our work family, take pride in knowing that we do the very best for our clients in every job, and know that next year we’ll do it again. I sincerely thank both staff and clients for the privilege.