As we say goodbye to 2017, I have to say that for me personally, 2017 was a great year! Of course it had its ups and downs but overall it was a very fulfilling year, both in my personal life as well as my business life. This mini-post is a reflection of the year, mostly for my own memory’s sake, and for the few of you who actually pay attention to anything I post here. 
As I reflect on 2017, I have to say that the very best part of the year was getting to spend almost every day with my beautiful wife, Irma. For the few days we weren’t together (my weekend at DBCC Men’s Retreat or her babysitting grandkids at daughter’s house overnight), there still did not go a day that we did not speak to each other. And having a daily relationship with her as well as my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is the best part of any year for me!
I also enjoyed another year of being a Grandpa to 5 beautiful grandchildren. Grand kids are the best!
2017 was a great year for finally enjoying the completion of our “downsized” Ahwatukee home. Even though we moved in around September 2015, interior remodeling was not complete until somewhere around the beginning of 2016 and landscaping was not completed until the end of 2016. So, it was nice to just be lazy and enjoy the fruits of our labor. This after working so hard for last two years (2015 & 2016) on selling our large Anthem home in May of 2015 and purchasing a smaller home in Ahwatukee and doing a $80,000 complete remodel, all paid in cash (no mortgage).
Business was really good for us in 2017, which was much needed as we had not seen much growth the previous few years. In fact, as soon as Donald Trump won the nomination for President of the United States, we started to see increase. It may not have been “the day after” but it was very soon after and seemed to indicate to me a turn-around in the economy.
2017 was also a very interesting year politically. Like him or not, for me it was exciting to watch President Trump in action. I didn’t vote for him in the primaries but did vote for him in the general election and I’m totally behind him regarding his polices and overall agenda.
As 2017 ends, I think our economy has improved greatly, we are a much stronger nation in the eyes of foreign nations (Obama made us weak), and the Establishment (career politicians, lobbyists, etc.) are hopefully rethinking the way they are doing government. I do hope in 2018 and beyond that President Trump improves his “statesmanship” (mostly on Twitter) but it has been exciting to see someone who is not a career politician get in there and shake things up for the better.
MILESTONES
- I turned 50 in February. Not sure if that is a good or bad thing but it is what it is.
- Irma and I celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary in April.
- Our business turned 20 years old in April.
TRAVEL
We were able to do a bit of travel in 2017:
- Spent about a week in San Rafael, CA (wine country).
- Attended Grant Wallace (my brother) and Debbie Aragon-Wallace wedding in Payson and stayed overnight
- Visited Durango, CO for the first time in July.
- At the beginning of November, we made our annual trip to Las Vegas for the Pubcon Digital Marketing conference. One of the highlights of this trip was finally getting to see the “Beatles – Love” Cirque Du Soleil show.
- After Thanksgiving, spent 3 days at Disneyland Resort with wifey and the 2 eldest grandchildren
WORSHIP/MUSIC
I was pretty busy this year either leading worship or playing on a worship team. Here are the highlights:
- Played on worship team at my home church, Desert Breeze Community Church, 15 weekends, either leading or playing instrument.
- Led worship for Worship Support Network 28 weekends at 3 different churches in the valley.
- Led worship for Good Guys Car Show church service 2 weekends where my long-time friend, Alan Gee, delivered the message.
- In summary, I played every weekend in 2017 except for 8 of them, a few of those due to the fact that we were traveling.
- Recorded a demo of 5 songs with surf rock band The Drip Grinders, a trio where I play bass. Unfortunately this band is on indefinite hiatus due to drummer quitting but the same drummer and I may be starting a new surf/instrumental rock band in 2018. It was still a really great experience to record music in a studio, a 1st for me.
MUSIC ARTISTS/BANDS
Major concerts we saw in 2017:
- Brit Floyd in June
- Iron Maiden in June
- Los Straitjackets in September
- U2 “The Joshua Tree 30th Anniversary” tour in September
LOSSES
- Grandma Galloway, my last living grandparent, passed away on September 4th, 2017. She was 91.
- Irma lost her last living grandparent, her grandmother on her mom’s side, as well.
WORK/BUSINESS
- Celebrated 20 years in business in April
- Picked up several new clients in 2017 which almost doubled monthly residuals from retainer fees.
- Infographic Journal, our infographic archive, celebrated its 6th birthday on September 28th.
- Published 992 new infographics on Infographic Journal for a current total of 8,966 infographics in its 6 year life.
- Almost sold Infographic Journal in 2017. We at least had someone seriously looking at it but decided it was not a business model that would fit into what they are doing. The fact that we had a serious looker though was very exciting.
If you’ve read this far, then God bless you! Thank you to all of our family and friends who have counted us worthy to be part of your lives. We love you all!
PS: I’m pretty sure I may have missed some things here but thankful for “editing.” So I may come back here and add those as I think of them.
