The year is drawing to a close. It is my good friend and editor of my books, Carolynne Gamble, who summed it up for me in such a wonderful way. She said that you cannot measure the success of a business from the simple financial perspective. You need to look at how much you have done to give back to the community…how many artists you have supported with your wisdom and how inspiring you have been to your students.
I sometimes equate success with money and even though we do well in that department the greatest joy I experience has nothing to do with the sales I make. Every single day someone comes through my door and lifts me up with stories about how they found us or what we mean to them. They talk about coming back after 10 years and being so thankful that we are still here.
One couple recently told me that their parents told them to visit the gallery and they live up the hill on Atlas Peak. They had never been in and they were one of the lucky ones whose house did not burn last year while every house around them did. They were so grateful to come through our door and find a place in the area where they felt at ease and comfortable.
It is stories like this that I am honored to hear about truly every day. So in this New Year as we all begin again I am dedicated to a new cause: the Victims of the Butte County Fire.
I cannot even imagine what they are going through with no home this Holiday Season. We are all fortunate to have so much and my prayer is that everyone sitting at their Holiday table will send loving thoughts to all the families in Butte County.
One couple recently told me that their parents told them to visit the gallery and they live up the hill on Atlas Peak. They had never been in and they were one of the lucky ones whose house did not burn last year while every house around them did. They were so grateful to come through our door and find a place in the area where they felt at ease and comfortable.
It is stories like this that I am honored to hear about truly every day. So in this New Year as we all begin again I am dedicated to a new cause: the Victims of the Butte County Fire.
I cannot even imagine what they are going through with no home this Holiday Season. We are all fortunate to have so much and my prayer is that everyone sitting at their Holiday table will send loving thoughts to all the families in Butte County.
There is so much we can do and my heart is filled with tears that I use to motivate me to give what I can. It is times like this that the creative soul kicks into gear and works to make life better for others.
“As a survivor of the Napa Fire Storm last year I personally know what the families in Butte County are facing in the days, weeks, months and even years ahead. The challenge is great and demanding. I pray for all the families that God will guide them, so that they can find meaning that brings them to a new objective in their lives, as the lives they once knew are now changed forever. God Bless Everyone!”
A letter from Janice Swanson.
A letter from Janice Swanson.
Happy Holidays to You and Yours,
Jessel Miller and the Jessel Gallery Family
Jessel Miller and the Jessel Gallery Family