During election campaigns, how often have you heard someone say “I’m voting for the lesser of two evils.”  Isn’t it sad that sometimes we must choose the lesser of two evils when going to the ballot box.  Listening to many American relatives and friends, I know for a fact that most are just plain depressed about the Presidential choices this year (Donald vs. Hillary.)

I wonder if our customers ever think about the same thing when it comes to doing business.  Are we just the best of a bad lot?  How does Melmart stack up against our competitors?  In a famous Tedtalk, Simon Sinek said “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”  In years gone by, Melmart had statements relating to our vision, our mission, and our values.  All important components of a healthy company.  This year, partly inspired by the question “why do we do it”, we developed a Purpose statement.  Why do we open our doors every morning in Mississauga and Saint John?

We are in business to create beautiful spaces.  As we accomplish this, we will enable our team, our customers and our suppliers to lead extraordinary lives and share generously.

So my personal challenge, and I invite you to make it yours, is to wake up every morning committed to making our world a more beautiful place.  As we do this, we will begin to live more extraordinary lives than we ever thought possible, enabling us to generously share our blessings with our neighbours at work and at home.

Dean Martin, Chairman