I had a revelation recently that blew me away. It shouldn’t have, but it did. I was attending a memorial service for an old family friend in a small town in southwestern Virginia. She was 87 and someone I will profoundly miss. As I looked around the church, I realized that 4 of the 5 people I have known the longest in my life were all there. They are over 70 years old and members of three non-related families that have made and kept life long friendships.
My childhood home is in that part of the world and we keep a 
small cabin on a lake there. The cabin is between homes owned by the other two families. My parents both passed away at fairly young ages, so my longest memories are of these families. Without their support after my mom left us, I doubt I am sitting here today in a position to be writing this. In fact, I am sure I am not.
My father was a workaholic, but a very good man. My mom was a control freak, but an incredibly special lady. They taught me a lot, including the value of long-term relationships. They drove me nuts, but that doesn’t change the fact that my best friendships are with friends of theirs. People I can’t imagine life without. Elders who, even from their graves, make me think.
The families now span six generations and we have always found time to spend at least one weekend together every year. And, the really cool part of it is that all six generations get it. We don’t all know how it started (the 7th generation is almost gone, so the rest of us teach the youngest by example and oral history) but we know that there is this clan at “the lake” that matters -- that there is a group out there that unconditionally loves and accepts each of us.
I am sure not about to suggest we are unique. I am not about to think any of this makes me special, even if it is. So, why am I writing any of this? The world has changed and I miss cool, slow summers in the Virginias where we went to the Dairy Queen instead of texting about it. I miss living in a town where the Chamber of Commerce gave out free lemonade if the temperature ever got over 90 (and I think that happened twice in my first 18 years of life.) Long-term relationships now can seem like 45 seconds. But, there are places and people that still value and care about the long term and that understand the world only gets better if we make an effort to invest time to maintain relationships.
Like I said, my dad drove me nuts. But, he taught me that 
business can be good for friendships and the world, if you make positive choices. Great Harvest gives you that chance. The commitment we have to community and service isn’t lip service. Nor is it a marketing ploy. It is real. Family matters. Leading by example matters. We believe in this to the point that we have written language into our franchise agreement that gives second generation ownership of our stores benefits no one else can have. Multi-generational family businesses are rare today. I hope we can do our part to span generations and help everyone "get it." I hope that we can keep this business family that accepts, loves and supports all of us across generations. My dad would be proud if we could pull that off.
What about you? What do you do to maintain your important long-term relationships?
