Month: May 2008

Welcome Cards Put New Employees at Ease

I was signing some welcome cards for the new staff that would be joining our department the following week. I wanted to make sure I had them ready prior to their actual start day. Remembering how I felt on my first day working at GalleryCollection.com, I recalled how nice it was to have a welcome card waiting for me at my desk. I was very nervous, as you tend to be on your first day at a new job, and I thought the employee welcome cards they hand out signed by fellow staff members added a nice, personal touch.

My first day, which involved quite a bit of training, went extremely well. Everyone was friendly and helpful and I was truly enjoying myself as I learned about the world of greeting cards. I had met so many people that day; I knew I would never remember all of their names! I was carpooling with another staff member that afternoon, so I decided to wait by her desk at the end of the day.

A gentleman was walking through the department saying hello to everyone and asking how their day was going. He had a little twinkle in his eye and a smile that could warm up any room. He paused for a moment at the desk I was sitting in front of and gave me a huge smile. “You must be Lily,” he said. I was slightly taken aback that he knew my name. He shook my hand and I gave him a big smile in return. He welcomed me to the company and introduced himself as the owner of GalleryCollection.com. I had heard he was nice but I honestly didn’t expect such a warm welcome. He knew who I was before I knew who he was! That had never been the case at previous companies I worked for. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to find a job at such a friendly company. I knew right then and there that I would enjoy my new position working with greeting cards.

Since the welcome card I received on my first day made me feel so much more at ease, I try to do the same for new staff members we hire in our department. The employee welcome cards and employee birthday cards we distribute throughout the year are lovely gestures but more importantly, the warm, friendly courteous workplace we offer is really what makes our staff feel comfortable.

Peace on Earth Expressed With Greeting Cards

A close but cynical friend, in thanking me for the Christmas cards I sent in 2001, asked me why and how I had come to choose Peace on Earth holiday cards at such a sorry time. Our grief, never forgotten, was still very raw from the senseless and insane acts of hatred that had taken so many innocent lives. I did my best to explain my thoughts, feelings and reasoning for sending Christmas cards with this theme. I have since found other examples of peaceful greetings throughout history, whose simple statements are eloquent on the necessity for all of us to achieve peace on Earth through our thoughts and actions.

“A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety.”
– Aesop

“Peace and friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy.”
– Thomas Jefferson

“The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend.”
– Abraham Lincoln

“Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can come only to peaceful people.”
– Jawaharlal Nehru

“Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.”
– Calvin Coolidge

“Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.

“You must be the change you want to see in the world.”
– Mahatma Gandhi

“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
– Neil Armstrong

“The journey of a thousand leagues begins with a single step. So we must never neglect any work of peace within our reach, however small.”
– Adlai E. Stevenson

These benevolent words can inspire us to seek peace on Earth through everyday actions. Each of the Christmas cards I send expressing peaceful greetings is one small step that I can take toward making this world a better place.