Let’s celebrate. Sure, 2020 has been a year of chaos and uncertainty. Yes, there have been challenges faced that many of us never imagined. It’s been difficult, painful even.
But here we are; we’re still here.
And maybe more than any other issue of Ratchet+Wrench we’ll run this year, I feel this one helps speak to your resiliency, resourcefulness and perseverance as leaders in this industry.
Our 2020 Ratchet+Wrench All-Star Awards winners share our cover this month, and you can read each of their stories. All six honorees are deserving, and have incredibly inspiring stories. Whether it’s Admin Support winner Susan Boone’s dedication and commitment to her team and community, Shop Worker winner Becky Merlini demonstrating that having a big presence in this industry doesn’t come from physical stature, or how our Wild Card winners Leigh Anne Best and Laura Frank have proven that small businesses can have a true, lasting impact on the world at large, these stories display what makes this industry so great: people.
Every month, we try to highlight people who are pushing the industry forward, improving their businesses, and helping those around them. So, our awards issue isn’t necessarily unique because of that, but personally, the process we go through in selecting them always brings this out more for me. We solicit nominations from the industry, our team here researches and combs through hundreds of possibilities, and it gets whittled down based on a very long list of criteria. This isn’t an objective, numbers-based formula; we want people and stories that best represent the great things so many of you do. All of our winners should be a representation of who the people in this industry truly are.
The list of adjectives to describe our winners—and all of you—is long, but I hope more than anything you read these stories and see yourself, whether that’s you right at this moment or who and what you aspire to be. That’s the point here: This is a great industry, full of great people, and the opportunities are endless. Sure, there will always be adversity, there will always be challenges, but you’re still here and that’s what your business, team, community and industry need. Take a moment to celebrate that. Cheers.
Bryce Evans
Editor, Ratchet+Wrench
