The dictionary defines “passion” as “intense desire”, “strong affection”. Interestingly, the word is from a Latin root (passus) meaning, “to suffer”. Those who are passionate, feel very strong emotions. Although the original use of passion was to describe the suffering or death of some famous person or martyr to a cause, in modern usage we have tended to make the word a subjective experience rather than an objective one. We use the word to refer to any strong emotion, especially love. At Fortress we are passionate about several things: we are passionate about the quality of our goods and services. We are passionate about our reputation as a company. But we are even more passionate about the moral foundations which under gird everything we do. As president of Fortress Environmental let me tell you about my chief passion in life. The most important thing to me is not making lots of money. It’s not becoming a celebrity or having political influence or power. While I have no problem with any of these things, they do not describe my real obsession.

THE PASSION FOR TRUTH

Simply stated, my passion in life is Truth. I was a philosophy major in college. I have read widely in the scholarly and academic literature of all periods of history. My desire is to know what is true. This passion for truth affects my relationships as well—whether with my family, my business colleagues or my customers. At Fortress Environmental we do not tolerate lies or deceitfulness either in the workplace or with customers. Are there worse crimes in our world? Yes, I suppose there are. But I believe a good case could be made that few crimes bring about more long term devastation and destruction. In my passionate quest for truth I have determined that there is one question that must be answered before any other. That question is: “Is there really truth?”

IS TRUTH TRUE? IS IT ALWAYS TRUE?

The answer may seem obvious but to many people in our day, the answer is anything but . It comes down to whether or not we believe everyone makes his own “truth” in life or whether or not we will acknowledge certain universal and unchangeable truths in life. In the former case, if everyone makes his own truth, the logical conclusion of this is that my idea of what is right and wrong can be different from your idea and neither of us has a right to insist the other is wrong. If the latter case is correct, if everyone is subject to universal and unchanging truths, then it really doesn’t matter whether I think right is wrong and wrong is right. Right is always right and wrong is always wrong. It’s what philosophers and theologians call a moral absolute. In my passionate search for truth I have concluded that Truth is always true. I have concluded that there are moral absolutes. There are some things that are always right and some things that are always wrong.

BUSINESS AND THE GOLDEN RULE

Let me give you an example of how this works in business. Because I believe in moral absolutes, I believe that it is always right to serve my customers as I want my vendors and suppliers to serve me: with truth, honesty and integrity. Because I believe in moral absolutes, I believe it is always wrong to lie, deceive and take advantage of my customers, just as I believe it would always be wrong for my vendors and suppliers to do that to me. This is the old-fashioned “golden rule” which used to be talked about so much: “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Sure, it’s a good idea to treat others as you want them to treat you. But what I have come to see is that it is absolutely true. It doesn’t change, depending on the whims and shifting ideals of society. And without some kind of moral absolute, I am convinced that no business can ultimately serve the customer over the long term.

THE ABSOLUTE BEHIND THE ABSOLUTE

How can there be a moral absolute—what the philosophers have called a “categorical imperative”? In this day of general relativity and postmodern thought, how can someone believe in such an old fashioned ideal? I do for one reason: there is an “absolute” behind the absolutes. The Greek Philosopher Aristotle was the father of the scientific method. His method of inquiry studied the phenomenon of causality – causes and effects. Aristotle was observant enough to realize that all effects have a cause and all causes have an effect. In other words, trace back every event and you will find something before it which made it happen. What if you trace all effects back to their first causes, however? Aristotle said that if you do you will necessarily find the “First Cause”. But in order for this First Cause to truly be a first cause—sufficient to make all other causes occur-- it must be in Aristotle’s words an “Unmoved Mover”. This Unmoved Mover was the Absolute behind all other absolutes. Without the Unmoved Mover there could be no other movement. There could be nothing. Why? The philosophers put it like this: ex nihilo, nihilo fit. That’s Latin for, “out of nothing, nothing comes”. In other words, if there was nothing at the beginning, there would be nothing now. Although Aristotle refused to develop the identity of this Unmoved Mover, my passionate quest for truth has concluded that the Absolute behind the absolutes is God. And without apology I finally “tip my hand”. God is who I am ultimately passionate about. God is the Truth behind all that is true and the Absolute behind all that is absolute. God is the Cause behind every effect and the Reason behind every action. Not only that, but God has spoken to us in the book we call the Bible. So we can know what God says to us about Himself and about our own condition.

NOW YOU KNOW

Perhaps you have noticed the Fortress Logo. It’s an artistic rendering of an old medieval castle or “fortress”. One of the reasons we have retained our company name is because of what this “fortress” really is. In ancient times, people would enter into the castle to find refuge and protection from the enemy. The fortress was a place of safety. It was also the center of medieval life and the most visible sight in the village. It is no coincidence that God is also called a Fortress. He is a place of refuge, safety and protection. He is also the center of my life. Do you understand now why we are so passionate about serving you the customer with honesty, integrity and loyalty? It’s because we really believe in these values. And we believe that if we treat you with honesty, integrity and truthfulness, offering you the best product at the most affordable price, this “cause” will have a wonderful “effect”. Of course, our business will prosper and your environmental needs will be served. But even more importantly, we will be faithful to the God who made us and will be doing what He has commanded us to do. We have tried to make our sales materials as helpful as possible in understanding our products. What may not come through in the pages that follow is how passionately we are committed to the “Three E’s”:

• EXTRAORDINARY SERVICE
Every one talks about customer service these days. The only way you will believe me when I tell you about our commitment to Extraordinary Service is if you experience it for yourself. We will do everything we can to serve your environmental needs. At Fortress we track not only sales volume but what we call “Service Volume”. We chart every act of customer service we perform and use those numbers to measure our effectiveness. We even set Service Targets each month to raise our sights higher on how we can continue to provide Extraordinary Service to you.
• EXCEPTIONAL VALUE
If you have shopped around for HEPA vacuums you know they are expensive. One of the reasons Fortress was established was to provide a high quality, low cost alternative in the environmental marketplace. The retail pricing on all Fortress products is exceptionally competitive. We are confident that, feature-for-feature, you will not find a more value-priced HEPA vacuum on the market today United Parcel Service is our shipper of choice. Together we can guarantee that you will receive your HEPA vacuum when you need it, where you need it, and in perfect working condition!
• EXCELLENT QUALITY