Over the years, Memorial Day has come to mean many different things in our culture—it’s the beginning of summer, the running of the Indianapolis 500, and a day of countless sales—everything from mattresses to lawn furniture. It can be hard remember why we have this holiday at all.

A brief history lesson: Memorial Day is the day when we remember the men and women who died while serving our country. Originally (in 1862), it was called Decoration Day, an apolitical event to commemorate the thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers who died during the Civil War. Following World War II, Decoration Day was expanded to commemorate all of the men and women who died while serving in the military.

In the 1970s it was renamed Memorial Day and moved to the last Monday in May, a decision that probably helped to dilute the meaning of the day by creating the coveted 3-day weekend it has become. We hope you are enjoying the long weekend and this year, we would like to encourage you to take a moment to remember the men and women who have given their lives protecting our country. The families of the fallen service men and women would deeply appreciate a moment of our time to remember their sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters.

Our work is to support leaders, teams, individuals show up to create success in organizations here and around the world. Whether or not you agree with the policies of the United States military, there is no denying the number of people who have shown up to defend our country and in that process lost their lives. For their sacrifice, we say thank you.