Silver linings

by

Chris Dehmer speaking at the CMA conference in early March 2020

We usually share a ‘year-in-review’ sort of post here, but 2020 was obviously no ordinary year, and we didn’t get that post up in January. But it’s never too late to take stock, so at this halfway point of 2021, we’re taking a few paragraphs to look back at 2020.

When you’re hit with tough times, I think the best thing you can do is focus on what you’re grateful for; at Dark Horse, we can honestly say there were quite a few of those things. 

Back in the summer of 2020, I was honored to be elected to a second term as president of the Cabinet Makers Association’s Board of Directors. In early March 2020, I experienced a first: Presiding over the CMA’s national conference in Illinois. It was great to spend time with friends from across the country and learn from the impressive line-up of speakers that our Executive Director Amanda Conger put together.

There was some talk of COVID as we gathered in Chicago, but none of us dreamed that the country would shut down within days of returning home. Our conference turned out to be the last one I would go to in 2020 due to COVID-related cancellations. But community is the CMA’s mission, so we figured out how to work around the limitations; after all, you need your community most when things get challenging. 

Some of us hopped on weekly Zoom calls to problem-solve and share ideas about how to rethink our operations. In the fall, we took the presentations that were originally slated for the cancelled International Woodworking Fair, and put them online in a webinar series.

Carrying on

At Dark Horse, there were challenges, but in the end, we had a banner year. We worked on some great projects that we’ll be sharing on the website, and I’m thankful that we’re getting to do more and more of the work we enjoy most. Soon, we’ll be announcing a new project that I’m excited about. 

We have a lot to be grateful for, and we’re especially thankful for our clients and collaborators, not to mention the people I think of as “friends of Dark Horse” — those of you who read our posts, look at our latest projects online and generally cheer us on. 

We hope the remainder of 2021 is healthy for everyone – in every sense of the word!

Chris Dehmer