Mountain Spirit's Blog

Nice Job Mr. Manzer.

I found myself at a store called Eastern Mountain Sports the other day here on the east coast, of the U.S., and at the front door, the following letter was predominantly posted on a display board at the stores entrance for all customers to see. It was written by the chain’s president and shows that this corporation has the intention of not only making a profit but  also to remind its customers what’s really important in the end.

The Gift of Time Well Spent
The holiday  season always involves a tremendous amount of planning, coordination, and giving of one’s time and effort. With so much to do and so little time to do it, it’s easy to get stressed out.

My wish for you and your family is that after all the parties are over and all the presents are unwrapped, you take some time to unplug from the madness and enjoy each other’s company. Get outside, take in the new season, and appreciate the greatest gift of all – a healthy life:

Crash through a pile of dry leaves on your mountain bike.
Breath deeply on the first day below [-5 Celsius].
Feel the burn of a cold-weather trail run.
Watch the first ice form on the banks of a fast-moving stream.
Grab a handful of snow with your gloves off.
Watch the first winter sunrise from the top of a mountain.
Most important[ly], appreciate the outdoors and take good care of it.

From all of us at EMS – Happy Holidays!

Sincerely,
Will Manzer,
President & CEO
Eastern Mountain Sports

Kudos goes to E.M.S.  I bought my first 60/40 mountaineering  jacket there for our Proctor Academy winter mountaineering course. It must have been in 1975.  For a while the store struggled but these days, not only is its president’s writing good letters like the one above, but the store seems to be on track environmentally as well as with its education and customer service focus.  Well done E.M.S. –  keep it up.
Editor’s note: This letter was given to me by one of the employees at EMS when I explained I’d like to reprint it on our blog. Edits are in brackets.

Tags: Climbing, Eastern Mountain Sports, experiential edcuation, family time, family values, Gift of Time well spent, mountain biking, Mountain Spirit Insitute, mtnspirit.org, nature, Proctor Academy, Will Manzer

This entry was posted on 27/12/2009 at 16:42 and is filed under Climb/Ski/Mntneering, Health, Inner Work, Inspirational People, Leadership, Sustainable Living/Communities. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.