If I told you the National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers wasn’t even started by wholesalers, would you believe me?

How many of you grew up with parents who told you if you’re going to “talk the talk, you’ve got to walk the walk”?



What they meant of course is that you can’t just say you’re going to do something, you’ve actually got to do it, or the talk is meaningless. Well, on one particular issue, it’s time for me to start walking a little more often. So these next few paragraphs are going to be just that… talking and walking.

This is not a column I wanted to write. Not because the issue isn’t important, but because it’s a challenging one. It’s hard to talk about mental health and its impacts on our daily lives. It’s even more of a challenge when you throw into the mix the notion of guns and suicide.

With the annual “March Madness” of the NCAA Men’s and Women’s basketball tournaments about to get underway, I’m sure you are all furiously researching the odds of who will win and filling out your brackets for the home, office or friend pool. It’s become probably one of the most popular and collective sports activities next to watching the Super Bowl.

It’s been an absolutely remarkable and chaotic week. And as I write this, it’s only Wednesday.

From a very public shooting in Kansas City, where over 20 people were injured and one person died, to the closing arguments in New York for the trial focusing on the gross mismanagement and fraud at the National Rifle Association, this has been a very busy week.

My wife and I are working on a 1,000 piece puzzle right now and it’s probably the hardest puzzle either of us has ever attempted. Most of the puzzles I’ve done in the past are challenging, but color cues or lines and shapes give really good hints as to where the pieces go. Not so in this puzzle.

My column this month is a simple one. I want to just let you all know how grateful I am for you.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a person focused on commitment and trust. To me, if you aren’t committed to what you say you’ll do, and you aren’t a person of character who’s willing to back it up, can you really be trusted?

It’s important to always be on your game. Building your credibility and reputation takes years. But in in just a matter of minutes, you can shred it to scraps for the trash bin.