 |
| SVP Meredith Berkich & VP Bob Ulrich in Dallas, Texas |
Tuesday night, June 5, 2012, at the Direct Selling
Association awards banquet in Dallas I had the incredible opportunity to accept
an award that is the most coveted recognition a young company in the Network
Marketing channel can ever hope to receive. In the surprise and excitement of
the moment of hearing Viridian’s name called, going on stage and being asked to
say a few words, I don’t think anyone articulates exactly what they would have
said had they had time to prepare for such an honor.
I wish I could say I was as precise as the copy below (what
I actually said in those brief moments was definitely in the body of the text below
somewhere) but regardless - over 800 industry peers now clearly have a better
understanding of what the Viridian brand represents. I wanted to share the
words I would have said had I been give three minutes and a teleprompter – as
this award belongs to all of the people of Generation V; our corporate staff,
field Associates and customers and we should not let this moment in our history
pass without giving it due reflection.
It is with humility and
gratitude I accept the Direct Selling Association’s Rising Star Award for 2012
on behalf of the Viridian Community and our CEO and Founder, Michael Fallquist.
I thank the DSA for their continuing efforts to protect this great industry
that empowers ordinary people to experience extraordinary results.
I joined Viridian a
year and a half ago, over a year after Michael birthed his vision to create a
new category in the energy space merging affordable green energy with renewable
energy development. Our 7 Continents in 7 Years initiative clearly demonstrates
our commitment to global sustainability initiatives as we annually take our top
field leaders on Voluntourism trips combining service projects with celebration
of their successes. We have planted trees in the Amazon of South America,
installed solar panels on schools and clinics in villages in Africa, and next
year we take them to Asia.
We believe our
Associates have the power to change the world – this is not just a sensational
statement but a core belief. To give you an idea, last year the Customers that
our Associates enrolled made individual choices to switch to Viridian that
resulted in a collective impact of preventing over 208 million pounds of carbon
emissions from being released into our atmosphere. This equates to 2.4 million
trees being planted – 18,525 cars being taken off of the roads – 1.1 billion
2-litre plastic bottles being recycled.
Our Associates, like
to say that “we did not inherit this planet from our ancestors; we are borrowing
it from our children”. Their belief in us and our mission makes it our sacred
trust as Direct Selling Executives to empower these courageous entrepreneurs
with steadfast vision, a unique selling proposition, high quality support
tools, comprehensive education, and a lucrative time/value proposition.
I have been in the
Direct Selling industry for over 20 years now; I know the power of the network
– not only for taking products to market or for profitability but for the
greater good of humankind. Together we can – together we will – make a
difference. We are, Generation V.
