Hey Team, 

Here we are, home stretch. Eleven months behind us and, while it’s easy to feel like this year has been an alternate timeline or a vortex of calendar stops & starts, it’s hard not to be wildly cognizant of how much we’ve accomplished, endured, and matured through it all. Re-reading our newsletters and DFT logs was humbling. A year ago, we were in the midst of quite a restructuring, investing heavily in new equipment, doubling down on R&D efforts, and battle testing innovative workflows; all of which we had no idea we’d quickly come to depend upon. That foresight and fortitude has saved us, nay elevated us, in more ways and at more times than I could possibly begin to recount.  

There have been exceptionally hard choices along the way. We’ve not been unmarred or without setbacks. We’ve stumbled, we’ve had hard restarts… Some of us have lost loved ones, others have battled significant health challenges, most have felt the loss of community and time away from people we hold dear. Collectively, there are no shortages in the “WTF 2020?” category.  

We’ve also risen to every challenge. We’ve said yes to overwhelming projects and come out the other side stronger – tired and with several bruises, but “Steve Rogers transforming into Captain America” level stronger for having gone through it. There is still laughter in our sparsely traveled halls, there has been strength and joy on our weekly meetings, and there is connection from afar – there has been distance, but not dissonance.   

This team has continued to grow. This team has extended its hand to our peers, to our clients and to one another. This team has sacrificed sleep, personal time, and a little bit of sanity at moments, but we have also kept whole in the face of mind-numbing uncertainty.  

DFT is you. DFT is this collection of individual strengths, covering one another’s blind spots. It is you reading this (or skimming for the trivia!). It is every single person who has dug deeper, run faster, powered through, and offered more of themselves to one another. Together we have championed our values – innovation, creativity, inclusion, excellence, people, and family.   

Thank you. In a year where so much feels foreign, DFT has been a home and a respite for many. That’s because of you, and who you are to one another. Thank you.  

Once more, with feeling, thank you. 

with gratitude,
nancy jundi, coo
digitalfilm tree