Gratitude Archives - Chris L. Kenny

What I’m Thankful For

Allison S — Fri, 26 Nov 2021 13:37:13 +0000

This time of year is for reflecting on who and what we are truly thankful for in our lives. From personal life to business associates to each of our respective roles in the community, it is important to remember how different relationships all taken together create a sense of belonging and a feeling of camaraderie amongst our neighbors that promotes strong social values. Here are the different areas of my life—and the people in them—for which I am most thankful.

—Castle—

It all starts in the home and in the family.

Thank you to Teresa for being a beautiful, loving and encouraging wife, enthusiastically and selflessly raising our children everyday while maintaining our very old home and parkway garden. Hard to believe we are already coming up on our five-year anniversary this summer.

Thank you to my sister Melissa, for voluntarily taking the reins at Kenny Family Stores and our six Shoprite locations. She is really making a difference every single day, bringing the company fresh new direction while doubling down on our family business values and traditions.

—CATHEDRAL—

Throughout history, community members and churchgoers gave back by tithing to their local Church. In the modern era nonprofit organizations allow us a similar avenue to give back and help the community. I am grateful for being able to give back because it renews faith in the human spirit and reinvigorates you to see the positive in society, giving with no expectation of return. Charity is something that warms the soul; it is permanent and something we should cherish and keep in abundance, even in the worst of times. It’s a mark of culture and what you value as an organization and as an individual. Donating and giving back shows society an adherence to our better nature.

The Kenny Family Foundation (KFF) was created to invest in well-being to improve the quality of life and to create a sustainable future for the community in Wilmington and New Castle County, helping underserved communities, sustainable initiatives and arts and education projects. Thank you to our family foundation and other local nonprofits for being a strong support system for our Delaware community.

The concept of the village has always been an intra-dependent ecosystem within itself, where everyone works together agreeing on common principles to make the group stronger. Building relationships through real human interaction, social discourse and communication is what makes strong communities.

—KNIGHTS—

Kenny Family Stores would not be here today if not for our incredible team of associates.

Thank you to our team that has now grown to over 1,000 strong; our recent mural unveiling to celebrate our 25^th anniversary was a very special moment to see people we have worked with every day for a quarter century. I still remember my first days with Earl Hood in Stanton’s grocery department. It’s incredible and truly humbling that approximately 10% of our workforce has been with us since we started the business in 1995.

Some of our Associates who have been with us over 25 years

—STABLE—

Our vendors, both large and small, and important industries like our Delaware Farmers make Kenny Family Stores the reliable, community-focused family-run chain of grocery stores that we are today.

Thank you to the relationships we have with our vendors, many of which that have spanned our entire 25 years. The same owners of those companies and some of their senior executives have been with us the entire time. We work to ensure that with every vendor, we maintain very special relationships working together for our mutual companies’ benefits. We have been able to pull through some very difficult times working together, and we always find a way to make it work for ultimately all of our shoppers and customers.

—Village—

The concept of the village has always been an intra-dependent ecosystem within itself, where everyone works together agreeing on common principles to make the group stronger. Building relationships through real human interaction, social discourse and communication is what makes strong communities. Villages operate the smoothest when they have the necessary resources and facilities like the local market. Most village happenings are centered around the town’s general store or the food-providing process, and I am thankful to be in a business that is so often the center of the community.

Thank you to the village we have and the customers who frequent our stores as their local market and place to help feed their families. Our shoppers are just as loyal as our team members; there are nearly 10,000 customers that have been with us the entire past 25 years. That’s also nearly 10% of our customers that have been shopping with us the entire time we have been in business! We are so grateful to have earned your trust and maintained your loyalty. We promise to keep doing right by the community to keep it that way.

— KINGDOM —

Lastly, where would we be without our community as a whole? The many working parts that come together to create our great kingdom deserve mention. From the safety provided by Fire, Police and Military to governance and other public services, I am thankful we live in a functioning Constitutional Republic.

Thank you to the entire Delaware community: friends, family, neighbors and community leaders, police & fire, Delaware businesses promoting a vibrant local economy, and everyone who collectively comes together to make the First State great. The same families that work and shop in our stores have brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers and cousins that are community leaders or work in police and fire or they also have other local businesses. We are all an integral part of this Delaware ecosystem, and I know we are extremely grateful to be one small part of the overall contribution.

I’ll end with a simple final thank you:
Thank you, family
Thank you, team
Thank you, partners
Thank you, local nonprofits
& Thank you, community

The post What I’m Thankful For appeared first on Chris L. Kenny.

25 Years of Sobriety: My Gratitude

Allison S — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 16:15:44 +0000

As I celebrate my 25 years of sobriety this year, I have been reflecting on all of the groups and individuals in my life who have helped me reach this momentous milestone.

My Higher Power

First I am grateful for God, for His design is why I am so fortunately blessed to be able to share my story of sobriety. Without Him and His plan, I would certainly not be here today. My addictions are not the only test of faith that I have faced, but my beliefs and values strengthened by my spiritual journey have made my sobriety more resilient.

My Father

I am grateful for my Father for repeatedly firing me and making the final ultimatum that if I didn’t go to rehab, this would be my last chance and I was going to be fired forever. This time was different than before; he made it clear to me I would not be hired back if I didn’t go. I had not been to rehab or AA before, so this was my first experience.

Everyone’s “bottom” is different and unique to them. Some people become homeless, some become homeless more than once. My bottom was the inability to have the resources to pay for food or shelter or transportation or any of the basic needs and necessities of life. I knew that an overwhelming majority of my money was going to substance abuse, so without a job I couldn’t pay for anything including my addiction. So I went to rehab, and I am grateful my Father drove me and dropped me off. To this day, this is why I always give someone a second chance whether in our business or in the home.

My Rehab

I am grateful that when Bowling Green Brandywine Treatment Center expelled me from the 28-day program at day 20 for being in the wrong bed at the wrong time, they told me I would relapse. Because then, me being the stubborn contrarian that I am, I wanted to prove that I would stay sober even if I didn’t complete their program. Wanting to prove them wrong made all the difference early on in fighting addiction when most people are white-knuckling it or “on the wagon” because this is what drove me to keep coming back.

People in recovery are all motivated by different things but for me, that’s how I went from 20 days to 30 days clean, to 60 and 90 days sober.

I started to really understand the powerful negative effects addiction and substance abuse was having on my life.

I started to really understand the powerful negative Effects addiction and substance abuse was having on my life.

My Home Group

I am grateful for Westminster House, affectionately called “The Zoo.” My home group gave me the strength, support system and foundation to remain sober for the first several years after leaving Bowling Green. It was all of the other variety of individuals in recovery that gave me the opportunity to connect with them, allowing me to learn from them and also share what I was going through while speaking and listening at various meetings.

Many of those at Westminster had only been there a few days, often literally shaking. It was the rawness of the experience of constantly new and green people in recovery that motivated me to get sober. Seeing the different stages of recovery for meeting attendees. Seeing how their life had become so unmanageable and seeing their desperation, seeing people’s arms and skin, littered with scarring from needle insertions. Seeing the loss they were experiencing, hearing that they had lost their loved ones recently, or their home or job or rights to their children or transportation. This was nearly every single time because there was such a large group that you would hear different stories that you would be brought back to the seriousness of the disease. Many of those stories involved relapsing on such a frequent basis that it hardened me beyond just the spite of proving others wrong. I started to really understand the powerful negative effects addiction and substance abuse was having on my life. These meetings helped me internalize why I should stay sober.

My Sponsor

I am grateful for my sponsor Jim Sweeney for always being available and always being there for me—especially at a time when there was no texting! My most serious call to my sponsor was when I was driving with my sister, and we were at an intersection and witnessed a multi-car accident in real-time. Several people in a car flipped upside down and died on the spot. When we walked up to the car, it was a scene of unfathomable horror. That evening I was shaking and needed to call Jim. It still shocks me to this day to recall that evening.

I went to a meeting with him on my 20^th anniversary 5 years ago and he gave me my last coin I received. Unfortunately when I went to my 25^th anniversary meeting this year, I found out he passed away. Rest in Peace Jim.

I am grateful for everyone who has played a part in my journey. One day at a time.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

Courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference

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