Celebrating 20 Years of AAPK: Introducing Our Mission, Vision, and Core Values

[treefarmer]

Bryan, I reckon I'd be guilty of plagiarism if I made any kind of statement, seems it has all been said.
To those who responded to Bryan's mission statement, I can only agree with each of you and say a hearty Amen!
Great place, good cyber friends and quite often when I try to research a knife on the internet, the 1st reference that pops up will refer me right back tp AAPK.
Treefarmer

[Reverand]

A well thought-out and forward thinking plan.
You and all of the Admins have built this site upon these core values even before they were fully articulated. I believe that by having this in print and outlined so well, it will help to keep the same focus moving forward.
Personally, I feel like part of a family here, and I appreciate that greatly!

[ThatWeirdKnifeGuy]

Happy to support the site

It's my internet home, I don't have social media accounts of any sort. You guys are my only friends

[Gtrclktr-351]

I echo both the praise, and thanks, that has already been posted. I’ve only been here a short while, just over 90 days, but it has been long enough to tap into the well of knife knowledge, connect with like-minded individuals and to realize that this forum is different. In many ways it reminds me of the first forum I joined, which was music related and billed as “The Kindest Place on the Internet“.

[Paladin]

This has been my go-to site for a long spell and it has been a great ride, all thanks to Bryan and the administrators. It has all been said so well by those who posted earlier that I will just echo their great posts.

Ray

[OLDE CUTLER]

Yes, by all means a round of applause for Bryan and the admins. I too look only to AAPK for info on knives and look forward each day to reading and absorbing all the new info here.

[jerryd6818]

I have nothing to add that hasn't already been said. So thank you Bryan, admin's and all the members old and new for making this such a wonderful site.

[wlf]

I wear my AAPK shirt to all the knife shows I attend , when it's clean. I need another color.

Above all , I am so thankful for the integrity of our pictorial history here. I have participated on Blade Forums and have good friends there still, but Blade Forums like Facebook , is only there for commercialism.

When people want to know or see something about knives ,they come here.

Thanks to Bryan and all the admins.

[bighomer]

I'll add my thanks to Bryan and the administrators and to all my cyber friends, God bless all of you.

[LDF Knives]

Congratulations on20 years of AAPK! this is the best Knife Website world Wide!!! may AAPK continue 20 more years!

[DM11]

Congratulations! Thank you Bryan and everyone who make AAPK happen.

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Agree with all that’s been said. This place brought back sanity after I retired from my job. Found a ton of support and encouragement when I was deathly sick with covid the first time.
Thank you Bryan and all that make this possible.
I hope you have a succession plan in place for the indefinite future of AAPK and if not, I encourage you to make one. This is too important to leave to chance.

[Knife Nut]

Ditto to all the great things already said. A wonderful site with great people.

Paul

[peanut740]

here's to 20 more!

[Reverand]

here's to 20 more!

Amen!!!

[RobesonsRme.com]

Well thought out and stated re’ the Mission Statement, Core values and Goals.

Best and most friendly knife site on the world wide web.

Don’t even know how long I’ve been here, but I found it while searching for info on a knife and an AAPK post was in the search results.

[Madmarco]

The same way that many have described finding information online by clicking-on a link that took them to AAPK, I found this thread when I went to a member's profile to search his posts to see why I haven't been seeing posts from him, and am I ever glad I did!
I won't be redundant by repeating what everyone has already said, suffice to say I fully agree, from Bryan's opening statements and through to all the following comments.

I found AAPK through some gentle prompting from Mark/SSk, whom I'd bought a knife from and was how we knew each other, to come and check it out which I did and have logged-in at least once a day ever since. I found a family here that couldn't have come at a better time, since I only had one brother left, and he passed-on shortly afterward. I had/have never been a member of any online forums at that time, and still am not except for here. Once I had an idea of what forums are about, I browsed some of the other knife forums, but mostly to see the picture of knives I like, and while doing so couldn't help reading a few comments. Some comments had so many curse words in them that immediately turned me off from any further participation and I left never too return. Others made statements like, "This thread is about this knife not what you're talking about, maybe you should leave", with many other similar remarks. It wasn't pleasant and I've stuck to our forum since.

One thing that is burned into my memory is, shortly after being around another member purchased a Gold Membership for me, which left me stunned, but also serves as constant reminder of how great AAPK really is!

I apologize for typing out a letter, I just felt it was necessary to properly express my appreciation.

Thank you Bryan and crew as well as all my BladeBrothers, you will have my support until I no longer can offer it!

P.S.- Happy 20th Anniversary!

[bestgear]

Checkout the link to the Mission, Vision, and Core Values in the footer of every page next to Privacy and Terms

[tvic]

Just found this thread and read every word of the Mission Statement, Vision Statements and Core Values. I worked for 40 years in education and can’t tell you how many hours, days, weeks and months I spent on committees developing Mission, Vision, and Core Values statements as a part of strategic planning. You don’t sit down and come up with these very important words in five minutes. To all of the administrators, I appreciate the work that must have gone into this because words mean something - and everything that y’all have put together IS meaningful and certainly reflects what all of us here on the Forum want and believe. It’s an honor to be on this Forum and be associated with the fine people here. Thanks again to all of the administrators for all you do to make this Forum a great place to be.

[stockman]

Thanks to Bryan and his staff. The forum is well ran, and a big help to members. I had been a member since 2006. Enjoy it almost every day. Thanks Harold

[winst]

Staying true to a mission statement is the driving force that makes and keeps a business successful. You guys are the best...

[Quick Steel]

The AAPK has become a significant part of my life. I cannot praise Bryan and the administrators too much. They have succeeded in maintaining a courteous and friendly participation among the members. I consider this as important as the substantial body of knowledge available through this site.

To the administrators and members, thank you.

[bestgear]

Just found this thread and read every word of the Mission Statement, Vision Statements and Core Values. I worked for 40 years in education and can’t tell you how many hours, days, weeks and months I spent on committees developing Mission, Vision, and Core Values statements as a part of strategic planning. You don’t sit down and come up with these very important words in five minutes. To all of the administrators, I appreciate the work that must have gone into this because words mean something - and everything that y’all have put together IS meaningful and certainly reflects what all of us here on the Forum want and believe. It’s an honor to be on this Forum and be associated with the fine people here. Thanks again to all of the administrators for all you do to make this Forum a great place to be.

thanks Tim, your feedback is greatly appreciated. The team crafted every word collaboratively through numerous revisions and updates to produce what is now in the public eye. Bryan kept reminding us that we are simply documenting what we’ve practicing but putting that into words where 5 team members concur isn’t easy as you stated. We got to the point where it was just right knowing that there will be future iterations. Thank you for the decades in education, our society is richer because of your dedication.

[MissouriGuerrilla]

My salutes and kudos to AAPK as well! I checked out other knife forums and this was, by far, the best! Love all the categories, pictures and overall camaraderie. Bravo!

[rustyoldknife]

Well said and thank you