Greetings!

Autumn. The season of change. Summer is gone - all the evidence I need is seeing the back of the yellow school bus disappearing down our road, with both of my kids aboard; crabby and unaccustomed to such early mornings.

Usually, the end of summer brings certain “blueness” to my mood. Gone are the beach days, the family bike rides, and our annual vacation to Maine. But, looking back, I really won't miss this past summer! The weather in Connecticut sort of reflected our economic climate - overcast, gloomy, uncertain and chilly with an occasional bright spot here and there. Now that autumn is here, I can say that I am cautiously optimistic about the balance of the year. Work levels are up, the stock market is up, and it just seems people in general are feeling a little better about things.

Why did things feel “uncertain’ this summer? We clearly had mixed signals in our workload. Our backlog continued to grow to unprecedented levels. We have more backlog and the potential for more growth than we have ever had. At the same time, some of that backlog, while safe in the long run, was stalled due to state or local budget issues and uncertainty. We knew the work was coming, but it wasn’t coming fast enough to keep us as busy as we’d like to be.

Here are some of the things we at FHI did during this uncertain "summer of discontent." To me, many of these actions truly reflect why we are proud to be working here at FHI:

• FHI owners and employees made a conscious decision to sacrifice some profit and income in order to preserve jobs and maintain all of our valuable staff.
• Every single person at FHI reduced their hours to retain all staff during the slow period.
• Little things DO add up - we changed a number of small, operational items, none of which had very large individual costs associated with them, but when added together, helped reduce our operating costs.
• We continued to invest in our Strategic Planning process even though it's a large investment during a tight financial year - again, we viewed this as very important for our long-term growth and success.

I believe it’s always important to find the silver lining in all situations. Looking back, I feel positive about the choices we’ve made. Our choices this summer reflected our culture of teamwork, valuing staff, and keeping our eye on our longer-term goals. I also believe they have positioned us for a strong and successful future.

The summer winds have shifted for FHI with a number of large projects getting started in August and an eagerness by our staff to buckle down to a heavier workload. You, our clients, show a continued confidence in FHI that's reflected in our strong teaming relationships and strong backlog. In addition to our commitment to the long term, we recognize that you are our reason for being, and we remain loyal and committed to giving you our best efforts!

So now that the kids are back to school, we can all sweep out the beach sand, break out the backpacks (or briefcases), and get back to work with our eyes on the future.

Welcome autumn!

- Susan VanBenschoten, Chief Operating Officer 

P.S. All thoughts and comments are welcome! Please, send me an e-mail at svanbenschoten@fhiplan.com or call me at 860-247-7200 ext. 236.