Everyone has been anxious to forget 2008 which could have been dubbed annus horribilis. Not me.  There were two people who made 2008 one of the best years ever for our family -- John Wolff and Ali Fieber. 

John and Ali came into our lives at almost exactly the same time. Ali transformed Chris Hanson from being a sad, anguished 17 year old into someone who was happy and who believed in the healing powers of love. 

John Wolff swung for the fences.  He was a Harvard grad, a professional baseball player, and an entrepreneur.  And he was irreverent and charming and very cool.  He joined the Hanson team and turned '08 into a winning season.  He challenged Chris Hanson to step into the batter's box and swing away -- that was the moment that Chris Hanson made a U turn and decided the glass was truly half full and not half empty. 

John filled a massive void in our lives.  Ali did too.  They both "went long" the Hanson family in 2008.  John is now at Columbia Business School and Ali is a freshman at Colgate.  Chris Hanson is headed for Dartmouth in the fall of 2009 and is challenging himself every single day on the squash court and in life. 

Return on investment?  We had a BANNER YEAR in '08.  It all comes down to how you measure ROI - stocks, bonds, real estate and commodities might have been a huge disappointment last year but if you invested in PEOPLE you would be celebrating the last 12 months rather than trying to forget them.

Here's to you Johnny.  Couldn't have made it without you.  And here's to you Ali Girl -- L for LUV. 

xxx