Our approaching year-end gives us the opportunity to reflect on all the ways we have been blessed in our personal and professional lives. If we give ourselves permission to slow down during the busy and sometimes stressful holiday season, we will no doubt recall many of those blessings.

On the personal front, I am thankful for good friends with whom I have been able to share life experiences. I have a loving family, too. The gift of good health is also a blessing not to be taken for granted. I count among my blessings the unique encounters I have had that have encouraged me. I pray that we all have such opportunities for blessings that provide us hope for the future, because hope is a literal lifeline for us. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. noted:

Even in the inevitable moments when all seems hopeless, men know that without hope they cannot really live, and in agonizing desperation they cry for the bread of hope.

Professionally, I have much to be thankful for, too. For example, the Meet Minneapolis board approved our 2025 plan and budget. This action allows the 70-member Meet Minneapolis team to continue to serve as the public-private business association representing our local tourism and hospitality industry and promoting our destination.

I am thankful for our team members who are leading our third annual Warm Winter Clothes Drive in conjunction with Hennepin Healthcare. Giving back to our community in ways that help some of the most vulnerable among us, in their time of need, is essential for Meet Minneapolis and our local industry.

A number of Meet Minneapolis team members – and a stellar collection of partner organizations – conceived and launched the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame Experience. This limited-time, seasonal exhibit is a glimpse of what a more formal and permanent attraction might look like. The Minneapolis Foundation, the Minnesota Star Tribune, Mich’s Markets, and the Hennepin History Museum deserve our gratitude in the creation of this exhibit.

The Hall of Fame Experience is open through December 28 just below The Dayton’s Holiday Market on the first floor of The Dayton’s Project building (700 Nicollet Mall).

In 2024, we are thankful for how our entire community embraced the challenge of hosting the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials where the women’s team that later captured gold in Paris was selected. The American Physical Society and GALA Choruses had successful events and want to return to Minneapolis. And one of our leading corporate citizens, Target, was in full force with its annual meeting that had been on hiatus during the pandemic.

I am grateful for the businesses and entities that make up our Meet Minneapolis Partnership Network. We do not do this work alone, and the successes of our industry are because of our collaboration with all of you.

Finally, I am most thankful for the unwavering dedication of our Meet Minneapolis team that continues to excel as destination marketing professionals, even as expectations continue to rise. It is my privilege to work alongside them.

I hope we all will take the opportunity to reflect on our personal and professional blessings over the coming days. Such an introspection may also help us to chart our course for 2025.

Please have a blessed holiday season as we move into a hope-filled new year.