Working with the public is never easy. Being the face of a local, family business is even tougher. But being the smiling, caring advocate for your clients while balancing the daily chaos of production requires a special kind of person. And doing it for five years with your dad as your boss and your brother as a fellow team member? Well. that’s almost unheard of.

Since 2021, Amanda has done exactly that. And she’s done it better than we ever could have hoped.

She didn’t set out to build a career in printing and promotional products. But if you’d met her over the past five years, you never would have known it. Every customer, every phone call, every search for the perfect promo item. she approached each one with genuine enthusiasm and care. She treated every project like it mattered because, to the customer, it did.

That’s what made Amanda special. And that’s exactly what we’re going to miss.

But as much as we’ll miss her, we couldn’t be happier for her.

For years, Amanda and her longtime boyfriend, Niko, have navigated a long-distance relationship while exploring every possible path to build a life together in Denmark. That journey involved applications, research, essays, interviews, setbacks. and then more paperwork. (Apparently Denmark takes this sort of thing very seriously.) Her determination finally paid off. Amanda was accepted into Roskilde University, just outside Copenhagen, where she’ll begin the next chapter of her life this August.

It’s bittersweet. I won’t pretend otherwise.

As her dad, I couldn’t be more proud. As her boss, I’ll admit I’m a little more selfish about it. Over five years, so many of you have gone out of your way to tell me what Amanda meant to you. Customers who call and simply ask, “Is Amanda there?” Emails just to say how much they appreciated her patience and kindness.

Those are things you simply can’t teach.

You can teach someone to process an order. You can teach estimating. You can teach software. You can’t teach genuine kindness.

Amanda has always led with her heart. Our customers simply got to experience what our family has known all along. I knew this long ago, and I have witnessed even more over the recent years. I saw it when she worked in pediatric healthcare. I saw it again when she became a caregiver for my late father in his final years. And I watched it every day here at CustomXM as she brought that same compassion to our customers.

She hasn’t left yet. Amanda won’t head to Denmark until early August, so if you’re in the neighborhood, stop by and wish her well. Send her an email. Give her a call. She would love to hear from you.

As for us, we’ll be cheering her on from nearly 5,000 miles away.

We’ll miss her terribly. But we couldn’t be happier for her.

And after August. check on me every now and then. I’ll be fine. Everything’s fine.

(And if you happen to know someone who’s even half as good as Amanda. I’d love to meet them.)

Paul Strack