Hello again! It’s good to be with you today and to have so many of our Team Members back in the NAL plants and offices. Over the last few weeks, I’ve had the chance to visit some of our manufacturing locations. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed seeing and speaking with so many of our Team Members after such a long time.
The most common question I’ve been asked is, “How long are we going to have to wear these masks?” That’s a great question and one I unfortunately don’t have a ready answer for. I recognize that wearing a mask is uncomfortable and inconvenient, but the safety benefits simply cannot be overlooked. Your comments, however, have not gone unheard. We are studying some cloth mask options that we hope will be more comfortable. Additionally, due to the summer heat, we are going to make wearing smocks optional for the time being in most areas of our plants. Your plant management will soon be sharing details with you concerning the change in smock requirements. Please wait for further instructions from them.
During the past few weeks, as I have visited our plant locations, I have noticed that mask wearing is very limited in our communities. Honestly, that is a disappointing to me, as countless studies have shown that wearing a mask is the leading way to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The primary benefit to wearing a mask is not to protect yourself from COVID, but to protect others from being infected by someone who is unknowingly carrying the virus. We all should consider mask wearing as a courtesy to our fellow citizens and neighbors. Please do it for them.
With the holiday weekend coming up, I am reminded of the Memorial Day weekend and the spike in COVID cases that occurred afterwards. I am afraid that history may repeat itself if we are not careful in following appropriate safety practices during holiday get togethers. It’s easy to lose sight of social distancing, hand washing and mask wearing when we are enjoying time with family and friends. Considering that cases are currently spiking both around the country and near us, please do your part to keep your loved ones safe this holiday weekend by continuing safe COVID practices.
Finally, on a positive note, we are starting to see sales returning slightly faster than expected. This is a very good sign for our team and our industry. Hopefully this trend will continue into the near future.
Thank you for spending your time with me. I extend my best wishes for your health and safety this weekend and as always, I hope to see you soon.