--- title: "President's Message: The Best Presents Don’t Always Come in Boxes" description: NASGW President, Kenyon Gleason's monthly column to the members for the month of December 2019. image: https://nasgw.org/hubfs/KenyonGleason-5.jpg --- [Go Back Up](https://nasgw.org/news/presidents-message-the-best-presents-dont-always-come-in-boxes#top) [Skip to Content](https://nasgw.org/news/presidents-message-the-best-presents-dont-always-come-in-boxes#body) [![nasgw-logo](https://nasgw.org/hubfs/nasgw-logo.svg "nasgw-logo")](https://nasgw.org/) Toggle Menu - Solutions Toggle children for Solutions Main Menu (Press to Return) \> Solutions - [Distribution Is The Solution](https://nasgw.org/distribution-is-the-solution) - [VAULT](https://itsonvault.com) - [Get SCOPE™](https://nasgwscope.org/) - [NASGW EXPO](https://nasgwexpo.org/) - [Fortify Insurance](https://www.choosefortify.com/) - [Bill Tracker](http://members.nasgw.org/bill-tracker) - Membership Toggle children for Membership Main Menu (Press to Return) \> Membership - [Join NASGW](https://nasgw.org/join-nasgw) - [New Member Info](https://nasgw.org/new-member-info) - [NASGW Directory](https://members.nasgw.org/membership/directory) - News / Media Toggle children for News / Media Main Menu (Press to Return) \> News / Media - [News](https://nasgw.org/news) - [Insight](https://nasgw.org/insight-newsletter) - [Webinars](https://nasgw.org/nasgw-webinars) - About Toggle children for About Main Menu (Press to Return) \> About - [Our Association](https://nasgw.org/about-nasgw) - [Board of Directors](https://nasgw.org/board-of-directors) - [FAQ's](https://nasgw.org/nasgw-faqs) - Industry Toggle children for Industry Main Menu (Press to Return) \> Industry - [Our Involvement](https://nasgw.org/industry) - [Partner Organizations](https://nasgw.org/partner-organizations) - [Affiliate Partners](https://nasgw.org/affiliate-partners) - [Join Now](https://nasgw.org/join-nasgw) - [Member Login](https://nasgw.memberclicks.net/login#/login) # President's Message: The Best Presents Don’t Always Come in Boxes [Recent News](https://nasgw.org/news/tag/recent-news) 12/13/19, 11:21 AM [Kenyon Gleason](https://nasgw.org/news/author/kenyon-gleason) 2 min read [mailto:?subject=President%27s%20Message%3A%20The%20Best%20Presents%20Don%E2%80%99t%20Always%20Come%20in%20Boxes&body=https%3A%2F%2Fnasgw.org%2Fnews%2Fpresidents-message-the-best-presents-dont-always-come-in-boxes](mailto:?subject=President%27s%20Message%3A%20The%20Best%20Presents%20Don%E2%80%99t%20Always%20Come%20in%20Boxes&body=https%3A%2F%2Fnasgw.org%2Fnews%2Fpresidents-message-the-best-presents-dont-always-come-in-boxes) ![KenyonGleason-5](https://nasgw.org/hs-fs/hubfs/KenyonGleason-5.jpg?width=300&name=KenyonGleason-5.jpg)Sometimes the best presents don’t come in a box, aren’t found under the Christmas tree and aren’t decorated in fancy paper and bows. Every once in a while, the best presents come from cutting a giant ribbon out front of your new building, with hundreds of friends there to celebrate with you. Such was the case earlier this month when Taurus cut the ribbon for the grand opening of their new manufacturing facility in Bainbridge, Georgia. Taurus was very warmly received in the state of Georgia, and even Governor Brian Kemp was on hand to offer his congratulations to one of the world’s largest gun manufacturers for opening up shop in the state. There were hundreds of industry leaders, city, county, and state officials and plenty of local supporters and gun enthusiasts on site. Without question, it was a great early Christmas present for the company. It’s definitely going to be adding some long-term payoff in tax collections and greater employment opportunities, so you could certainly argue about the wonderful gift Taurus will be to Georgia for the foreseeable future. ![IMG\_5166](https://nasgw.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20Images/2019/12-December/IMG_5166.jpg?width=3324&name=IMG_5166.jpg) *Taurus CEO David Blenker cuts the ribbon as state and local officials, including Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, gathered on December 5 in Bainbridge, Georgia with Taurus representatives from the U.S. and Brazil for the grand opening of the new Taurus manufacturing facility* But beyond just the facts and figures, the statistics around taxes and number of employees, the opening of this new facility is actually a giant Christmas present to the entire gun industry, especially since it comes at the end of one of the industry’s most difficult years in recent memory. While many companies struggled through a very tough economic environment in 2019, the news of Taurus making this substantial investment is a positive beacon of hope all of us can point to in reference to the future. This grand opening event on December 5 put a spotlight on Taurus, but it also showed the country the resilience and persistence of our industry. Despite tough economic times, despite the fact we’re being inundated with challenges to the 2nd Amendment, we are going to keep moving forward, keep working hard, keep winning the day and keep making and selling the products our customers want. And on that note, I want to leave you all with my personal best wishes and expressions of gratitude. NASGW enjoyed a very active and productive year. We appreciate and do not take for granted your support and involvement. We exist for you – and in 2020 we’re going to continue to deliver on the promises we’ve made of doing “Big Things” for the industry. We’ve got a lot more up our sleeve. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful and Happy New Year. I look forward to seeing many of you as we gather in Las Vegas in January for the Shot Show. Until then, have a joyous and happy holiday season. Best Wishes & Happy Holidays, ![KenyonGleason-signature](https://nasgw.org/hs-fs/hubfs/KenyonGleason-signature.jpg?width=250&name=KenyonGleason-signature.jpg) Kenyon Gleason NASGW President   ## Kenyon Gleason You May Like These ## Related Articles ![](https://nasgw.org/hs-fs/hubfs/k_gleason.jpg?width=700&name=k_gleason.jpg) ### [President's Message: Don't Let the Lights Go Out](https://nasgw.org/news/presidents-message-dont-let-the-lights-go-out) ![](https://nasgw.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Kenyon/kenyon-headshot-2021-square-500.jpg?width=700&name=kenyon-headshot-2021-square-500.jpg) ### [President's Message: Be Defiantly Joyful](https://nasgw.org/news/presidents-message-be-defiantl-joyful) ![](https://nasgw.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Kenyon/kenyon-headshot-2021-square-500.jpg?width=700&name=kenyon-headshot-2021-square-500.jpg) ### [President's Message: Plan for the Best](https://nasgw.org/news/presidents-message-plan-for-the-best) [![nasgw-webinar-1](https://nasgw.org/hs-fs/hubfs/nasgw-webinar-1.jpg?width=300&height=131&name=nasgw-webinar-1.jpg "nasgw-webinar-1")](https://nasgw.org) [Join Now](https://nasgw.org/distribution-is-the-solution) ©© 2024 National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers All Rights Reserved.  [Privacy Policy](https://nasgw.org/privacy-policy)  101 S. Reid Street, Suite 307, Sioux Falls, SD 57103 P: [(605) 215-1187](tel:(IOI)%20HHF-OFNF) E: [staff@nasgw.org](mailto:gro.wgsan@ffats)   ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Kenyon Gleason", "url" : "https://nasgw.org/news/author/kenyon-gleason" }, "dateModified" : "2019-12-13T21:05:17.053Z", "datePublished" : "2019-12-13T17:21:00.000Z", "headline" : "President's Message: The Best Presents Don’t Always Come in Boxes", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://nasgw.org/news/presidents-message-the-best-presents-dont-always-come-in-boxes", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://nasgw.org/hubfs/nasgw-logo.svg" }, "name" : "NASGW" } } ```