By: Rob Carpenter | President & CEO
One of the joys that we in the Baltimore-DC area are privileged to enjoy each spring is the blooming of the cherry blossoms.
Some years, it seems like winter will never end. This past winter seemed particularly long and cold, but now spring has arrived again, reminding us, as it always does, that each season of life brings its own unique joys and challenges.
One of the joys that we in the Baltimore-DC area are privileged to enjoy each spring is the blooming of the cherry blossoms. The history of how cherry blossoms originated in our area is a long and interesting tale. It is also a reminder of how collaboration and long-term thinking can plant seeds that produce fruit enjoyed by many for years to come.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, several individuals lobbied to bring cherry blossoms to the area in and around the nation’s capital. But it wasn’t until first lady Helen Heron Taft became involved that the plan really took off. Soon after she did, the Japanese consul gifted the U.S. with 2,000 cherry blossoms, which turned out to be infested with bugs and were burned. Undeterred, the Japanese made a second donation of 3,020 trees in 1912. First Lady Taft and the Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first two cherry blossoms, which are still standing today near the John Paul Jones statue at the south end of 17th Street in Washington, DC.
Today, millions of people from around the world descend on Washington, DC, each year to experience festivals, parades, and concerts surrounding the blooming of the cherry blossoms. What started as a dream of a few individuals and expanded to a partnership between two countries has become a symbol of friendship and renewal throughout the world. If you ever have the chance to witness these trees along the Tidal Basin firsthand, you will be amazed at what nature can produce and what thoughtful individuals can accomplish when given the right opportunities and resources.
BWFA hasn’t been around nearly as long as these cherry blossoms. But over the past 29 years, we have strived to build strong and lasting friendships with the clients we advise and serve. The partnership between the U.S. and Japan produced a spectacle enjoyed today by many—a spectacle that prevails, despite some hard times that have tested that original friendship. Likewise, we hope to make the most of the resources and expertise we have to produce fruit in our clients’ lives that will weather any storm and will endure for generations.
We are proud to be your trusted advisor, and we work each day with a mission to bring harmony to your financial life.