FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT: RICHARD LICATA – Page 2
The Covid-19 virus is here for the foreseeable future and will continue to spread, more so among the elderly and the vulnerable including those with preexisting conditions such as, diabetes, obesity, and heart conditions. Yes, the pandemic curve has flattened which was needed to keep our healthcare system from being overwhelmed. But until we find a specific viral treatment or a vaccine against the virus, we will need to strictly follow safety guidelines including safe distancing, wearing face masks, frequent hand washing and other hygienic measures.
Meanwhile, I want to thank each and every one of you for staying safe while we provide an essential service during this pandemic. While many of you have been asked to work from home to protect each other, some of our co-workers, and in particular our drivers and crews, are standing in the front line and making it possible for us to stay open and serve our community. As I have mentioned numerous times, Reebie is very fortunate to be an essential business. Although we are probably doing about half the amount of business we typically do, we are still open for business and able to keep everyone employed. Unfortunately, there are so many other people and businesses less fortunate than we are as they had to close down; perhaps permanently. They many have put their heart and soul into their business for years; if not generations. Not only is this a loss for them directly, but also for the economy as they will need to let go of their employees. At the time of this writing, there are now 41 million people unemployed in the United States. Because of this pandemic our financials aren’t anywhere near what they could have been. That is ashamed to because we were off to such a great start in 2020. The silver lining is we are still in business and taking care of each other as well as our customers. For that, I am thankful.
So, what’s the next step now that businesses are coming back on-line and people are going back to work? Although our peak season won’t be the same and will undoubtedly happen later this summer, I do believe there is a pent-up demand and we will soon be at capacity again. With each and every passing day I am seeing more signs of recovery. Not only do I see more cars on the road, which is a sign that more people are going to work, but at Reebie the phones are ringing, providing us more leads and opportunities.
Once again, I want to express my gratitude to everyone who has helped keep Reebie healthy during this challenging time. Everything we have done to this point has been the result of your hard work and sacrifice while following the CDC health guidelines. This has helped to keep all of us healthy and to keep Reebie open.