Recaps and Resolutions

Back on the first day of 2016, we at The International Kitchen, like most people, were brimming with resolutions and goals for the coming year. That year marked some milestones for us, including the company switching hands as founder Karen Herbst decided to retire! As longtime employees, Richard and I were humbled and excited at the prospect of taking over the reigns from Karen.

When I started at The International Kitchen in 2004 I had no background in professional travel, although I had traveled extensively myself, mostly in Italy, where I lived for a number of years. It was not too long before I was hooked – food and travel are perfect combination! I confess I did at times dream about running things when Karen retired, and when she approached Richard and me early in 2016 I had to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming. The “selfie” on the right, in fact, was snapped on my way to our first meeting to talk about the transfer. I knew I wanted to commemorate that moment and the excitement I felt.

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Of course, being part-owner of a company is daunting and full of responsibility. We have employees to take care of! We have clients to satisfy! And we have a 20-plus-year legacy that Karen built that we want to honor and carry forward: no small task, any of them. So our first resolution for 2016 was to keep the business going forward as it ever has, with a strong commitment to customer service, a supportive, family-like work environment, and dedication to the best product in the travel industry.

Other resolutions for me personally in 2016 were to start traveling again (my first trip to Europe since my kids were born was February 2016), and to learn how to balance my responsibilities as a part business-owner with my family life and volunteer commitments.

How do you think we’ve done since then? Did our resolutions pan out? I have certainly traveled since then.

Do you make resolutions for the new year, and do you keep them?

By Peg Kern

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An original version of this post appeared January 1, 2016.