President's Message: Thrive not just Survive

As we face 2009, we are experiencing the most challenging economic environment that I have seen in my 30 years in business. In this tough global economic climate, Paragon is very fortunate because we continue to run a tight ship with no meaningful debt. This means that we are financially sound which with good management will allow us to weather this storm. In fact, we are continuing to sign new clients and retain our existing clients by providing outstanding services in spite of difficult real estate markets. Therefore, for Paragon, we see this as an opportunity to 'Thrive not just Survive'! And there is a lot going on!

Earlier this month, we had a very successful Global Management Meeting focused on the business and the global economic environment that we face. This was not just a feel good meeting; but rather it was a do good meeting. We identified new services and sources of revenues along with cost saving ideas, all of which will contribute to our profitability. Paragon employees can be assured that the money invested in this meeting was well spent as we walked away with many tasks focused on the growth and development of Paragon.

Recently, we incorporated Paragon Relocation – The Americas, based in our Chicago office. Under the management of Janelle Gerber, we will offer destination services under our own banner in the United States and other countries in the western hemisphere. In addition, we will extend the Paragon brand to six additional countries in the western hemisphere where volume is highest. We are already seeing account activity for destination services business and we will continue to develop our offerings in this space.

In order to complement our global services, it is also our intention to implement Visa/Immigration Services under the Paragon banner by year end.

In focusing on our core relocation business, we are near completion of a major initiative to roll out a new operating system for Paragon Relocation Resources. This new software will allow us to offer our clients and customers even more information at their fingertips. We also anticipate a dramatic increase in productivity through this advanced work flow system.

Though these are challenging times, we are proceeding with our growth and development plans to expand our global footprint and position Paragon for the future.