It is customary, in documents of this kind, to report enthusiasm. We will report something rarer: continuity.
The period behind us resembled the periods before it, which is to say it was described by many as unprecedented. Arrangements changed; expectations wavered; several of the environments in which we work were tested by weather, by markets, and by the ordinary friction of communities adjusting to necessary things. Through all of it, the work continued. It always has.
We took on new obligations this period, as we do in every period. We were selective. Some opportunities we declined because the capital seeking them was impatient; others because the need was already adequately held; a few because we were not yet certain we could hold them for as long as they deserved. We regret none of these decisions. An institution is defined as much by what it declines as by what it accepts.
To the communities that received us this period, including those whose welcome took time to mature, we say what we always say: judge us by our presence, not our arrival.
Arrival is an event. Presence is a practice. A family of enterprises our size raises questions whenever it arrives. We consider the questions reasonable and the answers, in time, self-evident.
To the young people in our formation programmes, who will one day read documents like this one with the comprehension their preparation makes possible: the work you are learning to do is real, and the usefulness you are acquiring is yours to keep. No inheritance we could design would serve you better.
To those who hold ownership in Schlitt, you have our undertaking, renewed here. We will continue to tell you everything you need to know, in the language most conducive to understanding, and the values you share with us will remain the first qualification for sharing in what they produce.
The seasons will change. We will not.
The Office of the Chair
Issued on behalf of the governing bodies of Schlitt Industries. This letter is renewed as conditions require, and remains in force until it is renewed.