Message from the President - 1958

[Bob Nickels]

While thumbing through a Winter 1958 Heath Flyer recently, I took time to read the
"Message from the President of Heath" that was printed inside the front cover.
Instead of the expected hype promoting their products, I was struck by the modesty
and sincerity of his words, and how nicely they echo many of the feelings many of
us (the "lads" he refers to!) have described,  45 years after they were written.

So I took a few minutes to scan and OCR the Presidents Message, which appears
below for your convenience.

73, Bob W9RAN


                        A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF HEATH

I am indeed grateful that these Heathkit flyers give me an opportunity to talk to
you directly. Of course, it's not like talking to you face-to-face, but at least
the Heath Company is in the unique position of being able to correspond in this
more or less personal way without the usual round-about route from plant to
distributor and retailer. I know we are able to do a better job for you because of
this close association. From your numerous cards and letters we sense your needs
and desires very quickly and believe me, do everything in our power to adapt our
planning and production to them.

We feel a great debt of gratitude to you for our rapid growth in the
"do-it-yourself" electronics field. We depend entirely upon you and a growing list
of hundreds of thousands of satisfied customers who give us such tremendous
support in terms of more and more orders year after year.

Beyond this sense of debt, we feel a certain element of pride in this growth. We
believe that we are contributing something of fundamental importance to the
economic and educational scheme of this great country of ours. We know, for
example, that a great many young people have gained starts in successful
electronic careers simply because the low cost of Heathkits enabled them to get a
start when a substantial capital outlay was impossible for them. We know that in
many cases the educational value derived from assembling their own Heathkits at an
early age put them well ahead of their contemporaries on the climb to success. We
feel too, that in this day and age of ever increasing emphasis on science and
technology, many more of our young people will find the gates into these fields
opening to them through Heathkit building.

May I presume to suggest at this time, that if there is a young lad of your
acquaintance with this bent, perhaps you could start him on his way to a
successful electronics career with a very minimum investment in a simple and basic
Heathkit. He may he forever grateful.

I know you will be interested to know that the Heath Company will be moving into a
new plant in early 1958. This plant will have the finest facilities possible
devoted exclusively to the design, manufacture, and distribution of electronic
equipment in kit form. You will be hearing more about this fine plant in the very
near future, but I thought you would be interested in getting advance notice about
it at this time.
Before closing, I would like to direct your attention to several new kits making
their bow in this flyer: Two brand new feature-packed oscilloscopes (the O-12 and
OM-3): two exciting new high fidelity amplifiers (W-7M and UA-I ); and a real buy
in a tool kit with all the tools you'll need for building Heathkits. We at the
Heath Company would like to wish each one of you a most happy and prosperous new
year.

(signed)
R. Erickson, President

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