President's Message - The Power of Many May 2001

I am a great believer in the "power of one" - the ability of just one person to make a difference in the world. I know that many wonderful things have come about because one person decided to take action.

But when one person joins with many other people for the same cause, the results are much greater! With the "power of many," they can handle anything that might rise against them. As a team, they can transform a lonely, powerless struggle into progress. Teamwork creates energy to overcome obstacles and achieve great dreams.

All across North America, many communities exemplify the "power of many." Here in Eastern Idaho, we are blessed with communities that pull together when someone is in need. One example is the story of Ambie Snell, the daughter of a pharmacist in the Idaho Falls area.

When Ambie was four years old, her parents, Ed and Becky, took her to the doctor to treat a double ear infection and a nosebleed that just wouldn't stop. To be cautious, the doctor did a blood workup. The results showed that her bone marrow was suppressed, and for ten months doctors searched for the reason. Finally, a chromosome study revealed she was missing one chromosome, known as chromosome seven. Only 35 other cases of children with this birth defect had been documented - and they all ended up with acute leukemia if they did not get a bone marrow transplant.

The shock of learning Ambie needed a bone marrow transplant was hard on Becky and Ed Snell. But even worse was finding out their insurance company refused to cover the costs because of an obscure clause that stated no transplant would be covered for two years after signing up. The Snells felt they had no choice but to go forward with the transplant. It would cost $25,000 to find a donor, and then $150,000 guaranteed to the hospital before she could be admitted. That's when the fund-raising started.

A friend of the family took over as organizer for the fund-raising activities. He began to involve the media and local businesses with the theme, "For the Love of Ambie." Local news stations, billboards and newspapers carried her story.

Canisters appeared in gas stations and at checkout counters, and many parents recall letting their children drop in a dime, even if that was their last one. The first big fund-raiser, a pizza sale, sold thousands of pizzas. There were auctions, cookbook sales and raffles, and one talent show raised $3,000. Even retailers, including the local grocery store, held fund-raisers. And sometimes envelopes containing money arrived in the mail. The Snells wrote as many thank-you cards as they could, but the outpouring of generosity was just overwhelming.

With Ambie's health declining, the search for a donor started. Although none of Ambie's four brothers or sister matched as donors, Ambie found a match through the national bone marrow donor registry - which was only a one in 20,000 chance. She and her mother moved to Seattle (her father, Ed, traveled back and forth) to go to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and receive the transplant, a six-month-long process. All the donations helped pay for their $2,000-a-month living costs. Ambie went through chemotherapy and received her transplant - but it was rejected by her body. The doctors decided to wait six months and try again. In the interim, Ambie received over 500 bags of blood and platelets from many unknown donors.

In January 1992, right around her sixth birthday, she went back to the hospital for three days of intensive chemotherapy, then received the next transplant. It was successful! Yet she had no immune defenses and was very vulnerable. For sixty days she had to live in a "bubble" room, isolated from any skin contact to protect her from infection. After months at the hospital she was able to return home, but she could not leave her house for a year. During this time, her little sister Kate was her cheerleader, keeping her spirits up.

Through it all, Ambie was a trooper. And now she's an active 15-year-old girl who loves school, sports and playing the piano. She gives each day 100%. Her mother says, "Life goes full circle. You receive help from people, but then you go out and help other people. Someone always needs help, and if you help them, they will help you. That's the way this world works."

If you help others, someone will help you. What a wonderful promise! For the Snell family, that's what made the difference. How many people contributed to Ambie's success? Thousands upon thousands helped in one small way or another. The surge of love and support that came from the community let the Snells know they were never alone in their trials.

That same promise is an integral part of Melaleuca. Our mission statement has always been, "Enhancing the Lives of Those We Touch by Helping People Reach Their Goals." Our focus has never strayed from that mission. We have seen thousands of lives enhanced through our life-changing products and our business opportunity - but only because people were willing to reach out to those around them in their time of need.

It is a fact that no one has ever accomplished their success in Melaleuca alone. Take a look at any top leader, and you can count on finding many others who have helped contribute to their success, and found success themselves. That's the way it's supposed to work! That's the reason businesses thrive when they take part in the mentoring system. We have structured our compensation plan to give the greatest reward to those who have helped others the most, and to those who do not stop but continue helping others reach their goals.

You are a part of the formula that helps people reach their goals. Whether your contribution is to continuously purchase products, to go out and enroll customers, or to help someone else build their business, you will be fairly rewarded in proportion to your contribution. Every time you order, you bless the lives of seven North American families. Every time you enroll a new customer, you share the magic of bringing the best, safest products on the planet to a new family. And the more you mentor and help others, the closer you'll get to your own dreams.

Those dreams are worth working for, especially when they are unselfish dreams that involve families and loved ones. The Snell family had an unselfish dream of seeing Ambie grow up and be healthy, and many people helped them achieve that dream. What dreams do you have in your life? Join with someone else to start seeing those dreams come true. You will build a stronger sense of who you are and what you can accomplish. It's truly powerful! It's so rewarding and fun! And it can be successful!

I invite you to join me as we bring millions of households hope for greater health, financial freedom and a cleaner environment. I invite you to reach out to your neighbor, your friend and your coworker. Be a part of a team that helps people achieve their goals. By yourself, the effect is minimal - just one drop of water falling from the sky. But together with many others, the effect is a tidal wave of unstoppable energy. Many wonderful things can happen when we all work together to help people reach their goals. Like those who helped Ambie proved, when we work together things come together, and when things come together anything is possible!

Sincerely,

Frank

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