It's the little things that matter most

I've heard that phrase most of my life, and up until recently didn't really grasp the truth to that statement. As you know, I just came back from our Annual Meeting, where 30% of the attendees come from overseas. On the last day of the meeting, one of my co-workers who had been working the Information Booth told me that a gentleman with a strong accent had stopped by to give me a package. She packed it in one of her boxes and just brought it to me today.

Attached to the box was a business card from a name I did not recognize. On the back it read, "With compliments and as a compensation for the additional work I caused at the 2004 meeting when I did not include type 1 fonts." I opened the gift to find a box of chocolates all the way from Germany.

I did not remember this gentleman so I searched through my 2004 email archive to retrieve our correspondence. There it was--a chain of emails back and forth where I had helped him submit a paper to present at the meeting.

That something so small touched this guy so much to bring a gift to thank me a year later, really touched my heart. It made me smile to know that maybe I can make a difference...even if it's only for one person.