As we are gearing up for the holiday season, I have found myself reflecting on 2011. It was a fantastic year for ID Insight and we can't wait for 2012. While there were many great memories on the business front, there were as many or more on the life front. Here is my top 10 list for 2011.
- Continued growth. ID Insight continued to see significant growth for the third year in a row. We concluded our 9th year in business by adding many new clients, retaining our existing clients and creating new products and enhancements. Giddy about what we can and will do next year.
- Time at the Lake. I feel blessed to have been able to spend some serious quality time at the lake this summer with my family, parents, in-laws and friends. Lots of boating, swimming, camp fires and fishing. Looking to resume when the snow melts... probably in May.
- Partnerships. We are fortunate to have established great partnerships with FIS, Fiserv, First Data and others. We enjoyed continuing to develop and grow these relationships. In 2011, we also fostered new partnerships with Centris, Zoot and others. While our business drives these partnerships, I am most thankful for the people and personal relationships that have been developed.
- Football. While football has always been a part of the Elliott family, it took a turn this year when my 9 year old daughter Abby decided she wanted to play tackle football with the boys. Things were interesting at times, but by year end she was having a blast and is now preparing for next year's season.
- Twin Cities. After spending 3 years driving 120 miles round trip, we were all extremely excited to move our corporate office back up to the Twin Cities. Our employees have become much more efficient and able to spend more time with family and friends. Fantastic.
- Coaching U8 Girls Hockey. I decided to become head coach of Abby's U8 Girls hockey team this year. It has been an absolute 'gas'. Smiles everywhere and they actually listen. One of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had.
- Broadband Scout. A break-out year, where we added many of the top broadband issuers in the country, Federal, state and local government and various other groups. We topped our 500 millionth transaction as well.
- Travel. Kelly loves to travel and we were fortunate to get a few trips in this year. We got out of the snow to see family in Arizona in March. We also enjoyed a few days in the Florida Keys in April with friends and were back at Disney World in the fall. All great memories and able to warm our Minnesota bones.
- Our employees. We added to our team this year, accomplished a ton and had fun doing it. We were excited to bring on Sudheer as our senior engineer, Lee as a Data Analyst and somehow coerced my beautiful wife Kelly to join as our Office Manager. Our company is our employees and I couldn't be more proud.
- Duck Hunting. After a couple years away from the duck blind, I was dragged back this year by young Abby who begged long enough for her first duck hunt that Dad capitulated. We hunted for an hour and nearly got our limit of mallards. She now think duck hunting is going out for an hour in nice weather and getting your dinner. I resisted the urge to take her back out a week later when the temperature dropped to single digit.. maybe next year.
Anyway, I am thankful for 2011 and greatly looking forward to 2012. Here is wishing you a great work / life balance, a fantastic holiday season and a prosperous 2012!
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