“At Gazelle Sports we actively pursue, encourage and celebrate a healthy lifestyle. We strive for retail excellence by providing the world’s best customer care, focusing on a never ending commitment to unmatched product knowledge and creating friendly, positive relationships with customers, vendors and our communities.”                                        -Gazelle Sports’ Mission Statement

So, it’s been a while since my last post – over a month, in fact. That’s not due to a lack of trying; rather, a lack of inspiration. I’ve tried many times to sit down and write something meaningful; something I would enjoy writing and something you would enjoy reading. Nothing.

Last week I had the privilege of attending The Running Event in Austin, Texas as a representative of Gazelle Sports. It is a convention/expo combination for running specialty retailers held annually. It’s a good opportunity to get away, get some tips, and get a good look at some new product. In conjunction with the event, Competitor puts on a dinner for the “50 Best Running Stores in America” in which they recognize, you guessed it, the 50 best running stores in America and Store of the Year. In addition, a few of the vendors have awards to give out; Balega presents the Ubuntu award, Nike presents the Just Do It award, and The North Face presents the Never Stop Exploring award.

As I sat with my co-workers around the table, none of us knowing what was coming, it hit me. Inspiration.

I’ve worked in a lot of different companies over a short period of time; everything from retail to sales to childcare and back to retail. Never have I been more proud to be associated with the people I work with and for. Never have I been so proud to wear a company’s logo on my shirt. I WANT people to know I work at Gazelle Sports because of what it stands for; in my community, in West Michigan, and in running specialty. We don’t do what we do for awards, but it feels nice to be recognized for doing the things we think are important. Thank you to everyone who keeps Gazelle Sports in business, and thank you to all my co-workers who make this such an amazing place to work.