The best part about Thanksgiving and the holiday season — along with all the delicious food, of course — are the remainders this time of year provides about what’s important. That includes family, friends and all the other blessings we enjoy.

It’s been a challenging couple of years with a pandemic, political and social unrest and what appears like a growing gulf between the citizens of a country where far more should unite us than divide us. There’s ample justification for the view the world’s going to hell and we’d be well-advised to invest in handbaskets.

Call me a Pollyanna, but I remain optimistic. More so, I remain grateful — equally cognizant things could be much better, but also far worse.

So in the spirit of Thanksgiving and the upcoming holidays, allow me the opportunity to count some blessings. Please be patient. There are a lot to count.

First and foremost, thank you to the readers of the Business Times. You remain the reason I do what I do. Thanks also to the businesses and organizations that advertise in the Business Times and provide the financial wherewithall that enables me to do what I do. Your support has never been more important — or appreciated.

I remain grateful, too, for my boss, Craig Hall. He not only makes it possible for me to do what I do, but also gives me unbridled freedom to do so. While I’m at it: Happy birthday, Craig.

Thanks to Alowetta and Marc Terrien, the indefatigable couple that conjures the Business Times website out of Thin Air. Thanks to Kitty Nicholason, who builds many of the ads that appear in the paper.

For this newspaper editor, blessings most definitely include the columnists who so generously share their time and talents along with their excellent advice for readers. They include Janet Arrowood, Dean Harris, Phyllis Hunsinger, Paula Reece, Marcus Straub and Tim Whitney. That’s not to mention the good folks with Bray Real Estate; Dalby, Wendland & Co.; Mesa County Public Health; Monument Health; and the Western Colorado Human Resource Association.

I also count among my many blessings the individuals and organizations who help the editor of a business journal report on business, among them Robert Bray, Keira Bresnahan, Christopher Chavez, Curtis Englehart, Celia Kohn, Karen Martsolf, Mike Moran, Kelly Murphy, Diane Schwenke, Fran Stephens, Annette Young and Tamara Vliek as well as the Business Incubator Center, Grand Junction Economic Partnership and local chambers of commerce. 

Thanks as well to Dan Barton and the team at Colorado Mountain News Media that prints the Business Times twice a month.

I tend to count a lot of blessings this time of year — especially when I’m enjoying whipped cream served with a slice of pumpkin pie. But I’m most thankful for what’s most important.

Phil Castle is editor of the Business Times. Reach him at 424-5133 or phil@thebusinesstimes.com.