Honest Abe Log Homes and I have something in common. We’re both 35 years old. We were born into a struggling economy, where we learned to crawl, walk and eventually run, defying its intent to slow us down. We remember historical events that impacted our futures and taught us great lessons. 
We’ve seen the Internet mature and completely change the way people research a product and company like our own.
Social networking has become a major way that people share their lives and passions (like living in a log home), that hardly existed just 10 years ago. Needless to say, we’ve been faced with constant change that has required us to adapt and grow.
We also remember people, the true building blocks of who we have become. Like looking back on my own parents, I think of Doug Smith, owner, and Rick Denton, the founding president of Honest Abe. They are part of our DNA, and part of the foundation to which we have been built upon. Then, each member of our team, year after year, has added pieces of themselves to the structure that makes up this company. We owe our success to all of them, top to bottom, beginning to now.
Honest Abe is blessed with growth, and that’s a blessing we try not to take for granted. It’s no secret that in recent years the housing economy struggled, and we were no exception. No matter your faith, the Apostle Paul shares a great life lesson in writing, “We rejoice in our trials, knowing that trials produce perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.” In the ever improving housing industry, we feel our trials were opportunities to make us better, and we have hope like never before.
Personally, my hope is that it has made us better servants for our customers. In the here-and-now, we are celebrating! We are becoming better equipped to serve by not saying a product or service is “good enough.” We’re carefully improving our building techniques, and looking for opportunities to make small adjustments that can take our quality of manufacturing to an even higher level. We’re engaging with customers to identify how we can better communicate, and finding new ways to educate people about our company, products and the log and timber home industry.
For me, there’s a lot more to celebrating 35 years of existence than just stating it. It requires time to reflect on people, and the value they have brought and continue to bring. It means looking back on situations out of our control, that seemed bleak at the time, but in the end were just seasons that made us stronger and built our character. Then it means looking at our present and future, being thankful for the 35 years it took to get here, and not wasting an ounce of energy to make the next 35 filled with hope as well. We’re celebrating!
Blessings,
Joshua Beasley, President
Honest Abe Log Homes
