Chris Nelson

It's our favorite time of year at the Nelson household: there is a crisp Indiana breeze in the afternoons, the leaves have turned beautiful colors and litter the ground, and it's a time of year to reflect on our many blessings and the things for which we're thankful. At our house, we're thankful for a lot. Our beautiful little girl Barbara (named after both a wonderful sister and close family friend) was born. Our son Tommy has grown about a foot and is loving his first basketball team. We're serving in the Special Needs ministry at our church - and being deeply rewarded by it.

Recently, our church held a Special Needs "Parent's Night Out" - where we provide a night of respite to parents of Special Needs kiddos. We had close to 200 folks there (including our volunteers and kiddos). Oddly enough, we had chosen a theme of "Thankfulness." There were several times during the 4 hour event where we transitioned from event to event with the kiddos and tried to really focus on something for which we were personally thankful. If you know anything about kiddos with Special Needs, you know that transitions are tough. For whatever reason, these kids struggle a lot when moving from one activity to the next: so a personal story goes a long way in helping these kids focus on something other than the transition itself. I found myself thinking a lot about Delivra and the team we've built here. Now, don't get me wrong, I didn't spend a lot of time talking then about the Team we've established - I just mentioned that I really enjoy my job. I kept thinking I'd have to find another outlet - so here it is!

Here in the office, Neil is able to keep us laser focused on providing reliable service to our customers. I'm thankful for a new paradigm. When I came to Delivra, I was seeking a different perspective on Information Technology and Software as a Service in general. Many companies where I've been fortunate enough to work and gain experience have been far more focused on customer acquisition than on actually providing reliable service to existing customers. I would never have been able to articulate that simple principle in quite that way, but I knew that there was something missing in the generally accepted "corporate philosophy." Take a look around our team here at Delivra and you'll find that same perspective from a lot of folks.

I know that virtually every company says that "customer service is number one" - but here at Delivra, it's so much more than lip-service. When we sit down and look at our Product Roadmap, we're not just looking at new and exciting features: sure those are important! What we look at first is how new features will affect our existing customers. You'll find that word a lot when we talk about customers - first. We really do keep our customers at the top of mind with every decision we make, and for that I'm thankful: after all, isn't that the way business is supposed to be?!

So, this Thursday, when we sit down for our Thanksgiving dinner and go around the table talking about that for which we're thankful, I'm going to include our customers and our team. Through our customers and our team, I'm able to provide for my family and have enough to serve in many capacities and in many places.

Chris Nelson | IT & Security