The New Year marked our 20th in business. At first glance it doesn’t seem so long ago, but when we look back on the year we opened our doors, we get a better perspective.
It was 1997.
January 20, 1997 was a Monday. It was 34° and partly sunny in Washington D.C. when a 51-year old named William Jefferson Clinton was sworn in as President of the United States for the 2nd time. The same year a 36-year old attorney and law professor named Barack Obama became a State Senator in Illinois.
In 1997, AOL was two years old. Google wouldn’t be founded for another year. There was no such thing as Facebook or LinkedIn. The only tweeting was from birds.
Twenty years ago, if you owned a good computer it had about a 2GB Hard Drive and 32MB of RAM. And you thought it was fast. Apple was worth about $4-billion. It’s worth about $625-billion today.
Titanic was the year’s biggest film. Seinfeld, ER, and Friends were the top television shows.
The first Harry Potter book was published in 1997.
In 1997, Justin Bieber was 3. He still is.
Twenty years ago, a 21-year old became the youngest golfer to win the Masters; Tiger Woods. 1997 was the year Mike Tyson bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear during a fight. Kobe Bryant was 19 and in his 2nd year with the Lakers.
The Green Bay Packers beat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. Tom Brady was a relatively unknown back-up quarterback at the University of Michigan.
Netflix, DreamWorks Animation, Go Daddy and Overstock.com all got their start in 1997.
Twenty years ago, the Dow Jones average closed at a record 7,908. Twenty years later, the Dow is flirting with 20,000.
Two decades actually is a long time.
Our longevity is due in part to our work ethic, our creativity, and a long list of clients who have challenged, inspired and sustained us.
We’ll put on a pot of coffee. We’re ready for the next twenty years!