I’d Walk a Million Miles...
Actually, fly, not walk. Nine years, 137 days and 1 million miles ago I became CEO of Great Harvest. That is trite, but very real for me. As I write, I am somewhere over middle America on a Friday night and will join the Million Mile Club on Delta Airlines somewhere on this flight. When I flew into the airport to sign the documents to purchase and join Great Harvest, I had just joined their frequent flyer club and had zero miles. Now, I am over a million. And, ironically, I just left the airport where I first flew in for a meeting with many of the bakery owners that started it all for me. Like then, today I was honored to listen to their passion for our business model, our freedom, our whole grains, each other and each of you.
I am sure that I have missed some of my kids’ childhood but I have a wonderful and very supportive family. And, that is what I am thinking about tonight. My kids are both away at college, so I will see my wife and the dogs when I get home. But, the last decade has taught me that my family doesn’t stop at my doorstop. Great Harvest has become almost as much a part of my family as my actual one.
I won’t take credit for that. The culture of being loose and having fun and taking care of each other was well ingrained in this brand long before my time. That is something I am thankful for. I am probably a little too serious at work at times and I regret that, but I don’t regret the atmosphere that makes me think about it.
One of the goals I set early in my tenure was for Great Harvest to be as relevant at age 60 as it was at 30. There is no way that happens if we take our eye off of what matters, and that is the 
people that make up the family. It is all of you. It is all of the people that are fanatical about our product. It is all of the people in the stores that make us smile. And it is those of you that smile back. It is the wonderful team in the office that supports all of the people in the field living the dream. It is everyone that bakes or kneads or gives out free slices of bread. It is all of you that keep coming back for your whole grain goodness.
I am pretty sure I don’t have another million miles left in my body, but I am proud to have gotten to know all of you and am thankful for the family, all of it, that is this wonderful brand. I deeply appreciate all of you and all each of you does or eats.
So what would you fly a million miles for?
