Charlotte Pipe and Foundry had reason to be thankful and celebrate in September 2001. They had risen from a small family company in 1901 to an international leader in their field in 2001. They did it while upholding great American values.
Charlotte Pipe called on us (Rouse International) to help plan the event, decorate with balloons, and even prepare the keynote speech for the CEO.
The whole event, however, was threatened by the terrorist attacks just as we were setting up for the celebration on September 11, 2001,
Charlotte Pipe stood firm against terrorism by continuing with their celebration and by presenting this speech affirming their company’s values and their freedom in the USA to pursue success for another 100 years and beyond.
I prepared versions of the speech for (1) a sentence, (2) a paragraph, (3) a page, (4) five minutes, and (5) fifteen minutes.
THANKSGIVING MESSAGE 2001
IN A SENTENCE
Seldom in history have so few done so much for so many as have you, the employees of Charlotte Pipe.
IN A PARAGRAPH
Seldom in history have so few done so much for so many as have you, the employees of Charlotte Pipe. I am proud of you. I thank you. I am honored to be part of this family and this business as we celebrate the past 100 years and step forward to begin the next 100 years together.
IN A PAGE
Seldom in history has one family of workers served so many, so well, for so long as have you, the employees of Charlotte Pipe.
You have made Charlotte Pipe the only business of its kind to survive and thrive one hundred years under continuous ownership in the United States. You have made us the only manufacturer in the world with a full line of both cast iron and plastic pipe and fittings. You have made this business grow from a beginning of 25 to a family of 1500 employees. You have built our service area from one county of Mecklenburg in the one state of North Carolina to all the counties of all the 50 states of all of America and beyond. You have grown our annual revenues from thousands to millions of dollars. You have changed our status from an out-of-place upstart in 1901 to a recognized world leader in our field in 2001.
You have built a legacy of iron and plastic that will last for generations by manufacturing pipe and fittings that will continue to serve the needs of tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of families in their homes, in their workplaces, in their places of play, and in their houses of worship.
But you have also built a legacy more valuable than pipe and fittings, a legacy more lasting than iron and plastic. You have built a foundation of integrity and a commitment to service worthy of the best of men, the best of families, and the best of businesses.
On this foundation and with this commitment you have set an example in your personal lives, you have established a tradition in the life of this company, and you have built a legacy that will be a positive influence on the lives of all who know of you for as long as your story is told in the days, the years, and the centuries ahead.
I am proud of you. I thank you. I am honored to be part of this family and this business as we celebrate the past 100 years and step forward to begin the next 100 years, together.
IN 5 MINUTES
Seldom in history has one family of workers served so many, so well, for so long as have you, the employees of Charlotte Pipe. I am proud of you. I thank you. I am honored to be part of this family and this business as we celebrate the past 100 years and step forward to begin the next 100 years, together.
You represent the fourth generation of this proud family of Charlotte Pipe employees.
As I look out in the audience today, however, I am reminded of your loyalty, steadfastness, and longevity. Many of you began working with Charlotte Pipe as part of our third generation, some of you as part of the second generation, and you are still with us today!
That is a phenomenal accomplishment in its own right, and it speaks so well about you, about Charlotte Pipe, and about your family of coworkers.
You have proven exceptional in your ability to serve and secure the loyalty of one another. But more than that, you have proven exceptional in your ability to serve and secure the loyalty of customers. You have made a marriage of our family to the family of our customers and made it last, sometimes for generations.
You have earned the respect and kept the business of these customers by making the best products humanly possible and by giving them the best service available anywhere. I see it every day in the way each of you perform your special job in your special way.
It is in the friendly voice of the telephone operator, the skill of the iron pourer and extruder operator, the accuracy of the typist, the reliability of the shipping department foreman, and the pride each of you takes in a job well done.
Your success, however, is not only measured by the quality of your work but also by its quantity.
The combination of your quality and your productivity has yielded a positive value, a profit for Charlotte Pipe. That profit has been reinvested time and again into this business to make it a better and safer place for you to work, to put at your fingertips the most advanced technology for doing your job, and to fulfill our responsibilities as stewards of the environment in which we all live.
Through your efforts, you have made Charlotte Pipe the only business of its kind to survive and thrive a hundred years under continuous ownership in the United States. You have made us the only manufacturer in the world with a full line of both cast iron and plastic pipe and fittings. You have made this business grow from a beginning of 25 to a family of 1,500 employees. You have built our service area from the one County of Mecklenburg in the one state of North Carolina to all the counties of all the 50 states of all of America and beyond. You have grown our annual revenues from thousands to millions of dollars. You have changed our status from an out-of-place upstart in 1901 to a recognized world leader in our field in 2001.
Even if Charlotte Pike were to close today, you would already have built a legacy of iron and plastic that will last for generations. You would have built pipes and fittings that will continue for decades on end to serve the needs of tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of families in their homes, workplaces, places of play, and houses of worship.
But you have also built a legacy more valuable than pipe and fittings, a legacy more lasting than iron and plastic. You have built a foundation of integrity and a commitment to service worthy of the best men, the best families, and the best businesses.
On this foundation and with this commitment, you have set an example in your personal lives, established a tradition in the life of this company, and built a legacy that will be a positive influence on the lives of all who know you for as long as your story is told in the days, years, and centuries ahead.
But Charlotte Pipe will not close today. In fact, if we keep people of your quality associated with Charlotte Pipe, then I fully expect this family of workers and this business to continue for at least another 100 years, maybe even into the next millennium.
So, as I conclude, let me say again, “Seldom in history has one family of workers served so many, so well, for so long as have you, the employees of Charlotte Pipe. I am proud of you. I thank you. I am honored to be part of this family and this business as we celebrate the past 100 years and step forward to begin the next 100 years together.”
IN 15 MINUTES
I have not included the 15-minute version in ROUSEings.com. It is basically the 5-minute version, along with suggestions for places to insert data, illustrative examples, company milestones, and recognitions of outstanding employees and their accomplishments.
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I believe that each of us now reading of Charlotte Pipe and Foundry might well aspire to have such things properly said of our lives, our service, our businesses, and our legacy. It leaves us with the question of what we might do to fulfill our potential to be worthy…… … .
Share your thoughts in the “Leave A Reply” section below……….. How would you summarize your current Thanksgiving Message/Story in a sentence, a paragraph, a page, five minutes, or more? In what ways would you like it to change over the years, decades, or centuries ahead? What “Great American Business Stories” do you know that inform and inspire you?
PS: You can read more about the 9/11/2001 attacks / the Charlotte Pipe anniversary event / our balloon decorations for the event at https://ROUSEings.com/balloon-life/9-11-2001/
Graham Rouse
Editor: ROUSEings.com
© GM Rouse 2024. All rights reserved.
