Well, good morning, everyone and thank you very much. I had three different speeches written but I’m just going to kind of wing it here only using a few notes. What I wanted to tell you is a  little bit about the history of what we’ve done, where we are, how we got here, and how much of a difference I hope we make.

When I first started in this herbal industry in 1965, I learned about herbs in a very unique way. I knew that they worked from personal experience and from that point on it was like, what’s next? Chemistry, of course. So I serendipitously  became a kitchen/bathtub organic chemist, synthesizing  ‘notorious’ chemicals in San Francisco in the mid ‘60’s. Soon after that I knew it would be necessary  to attend the City University College  in the Bronx, New York where I earned my chemistry degree in 1973 and then it went on to earn my degrees in Traditional Chinese Acupuncture (1980) and Chiropractic Medicine (1985). While I studied acupuncture with Professor Worsley in the United Kingdom, I had the unique opportunity to study Western herbal medicine with  Hein Zelstra and Simon Mills of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists, which for me was phenomenal. It opened doors that I never realized existed, and here we are, ~ 40 years later.

According to people like Stanislav  Grof, it is “The Ultimate Journey”, just like this  is my ultimate journey. Or, according to Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead) “what a long strange trip it’s been.”  Well , it’s been an incredible trip. This is something that I started long ago and is still here, now, and being here now, with the same focus of attention now as we had then, based on what we, as an industry, all need to do to preserve Herbal Medicine, is a more than  a reasonable expectation. What we at Alkemist Labs do is serve the dietary supplement industry, preserve traditional herbal medicine, and protect the consumer. Our superpowers are Truth and Quality, and that’s the fundamental foundation of the success of Alkemist Labs.

I also want to make it very, very clear – abundantly clear – that I am so honored and, profoundly grateful to all those who were involved in the choice for me to have this Herbal Insight award. I also want to make it abundantly clear that without Elan, my son, and his support, from the beginning, and his indefatigable efforts, we would not likely be here today and have accomplished now from where we started then. And of course thank you to the many, many mentors and teachers that have guided me on this journey.

I owe a debt of gratitude to my friends at the FDA who taught us how to create this lab, based on their criteria for what quality control should look like for this Industry. We’re doing what we are supposed to do and it’s just mind boggling to know that we have accomplished was started so long ago. I also want to thank my friends, my family, and my wife Leslie who is sitting right there, I’m honored that she attended this Award Ceremony today.

And finally, according to the words of Albert Einstein ‘I’m happy because I want nothing from anyone. I do not care about money, decorations, titles, and distinctions mean nothing to me. I do not crave praise. The only thing that gives me pleasure apart from my work (or ‘play’) is my music, my family, and the appreciation of my fellow workers.’Thank you all and I love you all. Thank you.