If you drive past the Amway World Headquarters today, you will see 57 United States flags lining the front of campus to commemorate Flag Day.

On most other days, the poles display the state of Michigan flag and 56 international flags representing the many countries in which we do business. (We operate in more than 100 countries and territories, but local regulations allow us only 57 flagpoles. So we make sure to rotate them regularly.)

“People driving by Amway find it really special to see the street lined with American flags. They’ll honk their horns to show their patriotism,” said Kammie Van Oosten,  team leader of Ada Facilities Buildings and Grounds.

Van Oosten’s team of about 10 employees raise, lower and change flags as needed all while adhering to strict protocol for displaying the American flag through storms and sunshine. In addition to Flag Day, the flags are switched out on Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day or other appropriate occasions.

There is a strict protocol for the American flag, but the facilities team treats every flag with the same respect. “We have important rules we follow at all times,” Van Oosten said. “One is that the flags must never touch the ground. This can be very difficult in bad weather.”

Flag Day is a U.S. holiday, but you don’t have to be in the U.S. to honor your flag. Share a picture of your country’s flag using #AmwayFlagDay on Twitter or Instagram. We look forward to seeing them!

Written by Austin Langlois

When I was younger, I always knew I was different from other children. No, it wasn’t because I was adopted from Korea, nor was it due to my excessive reading.  Rather, it was because I was excellent at lying. All my other friends tried to lie and were caught in the process, but not I.

I knew the correct amount of eye contact, the earnest tone of voice and the innocent smile that were all part of the “perfect lie formula.” These lies weren’t your average that-shirt-looks-great-but-actually-doesn’t lie. I told my friends of exotic trips I took to England and Ecuador. I shared stories about how my father was a secret FBI agent and worked undercover. I even told my first grade teacher that I never had a sandwich and convinced her that I truly thought it was a witch made out of sand.

However, I soon realized that nobody likes a liar. It took losing my best friend, frustrating my favorite teacher and annoying my family to their wits’ end to make me change my ways. In fifth grade, I took charge of my life and started telling the truth: an act that has changed my life forever.

Thus, when I arrived to Grand Valley State University in the fall of 2010, I was fascinated to learn there was a career path I could take that you actually get paid for telling the truth: Public Relations.

So here I am three years later, a public relations intern in the Amway Corporate PR department tasked with sharing an intern’s view of Amway. Throughout the summer: I will introduce you to interns from various departments, I’ll bring you to events and activities and together we’ll explore behind the scenes of the largest and most successful direct selling company in the world.

My name is Austin; I am from Grand Haven; I enjoy waterskiing, pie eating and afternoon naps; and I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

 Written by Austin Langlois

 About Austin:

Austin graduates from Grand Valley State University in December with a BA in Advertising/Public Relations and a minor in Spanish. Before coming to Amway, he interned at Hello West Michigan; Experience Grand Rapids; The Chamber of Commerce Grand Haven, Spring Lake and Ferrysburg; Grand Valley State University and assisted on the TEDxGrandRapids communications team. You can find him on Twitter, LinkedIn or at his personal website.

We are happy to welcome several guests to our community Wednesday as we officially mark construction of our $81 million manufacturing and warehouse facility near our World Headquarters, one of seven sites around the world where we are expanding manufacturing.

We first announced this project last year as part of a larger investment in U.S. operations. Work is ongoing in Quincy, Washington, and in Buena Park, California. And our new protein powder plant at our World Headquarters became operational last year.

But tomorrow the spotlight will be on our 317,000-square-foot plant at 5101 Spaulding Ave. SE. just down the road from our main campus. Since we’re renovating an existing building, a ground-breaking ceremony with gold shovels didn’t seem appropriate. So invited guests, including distributors, employees, local business and government officials and the media, will bear witness to a “beam-signing” to officially kick-off the project.

We anticipate the plant will yield 200 jobs over the next three years with construction wrapping up in 2015. Stay tuned!

We welcomed more than 200 Founders Council members and other attendees to our World Headquarters this week, and we did it in grand style. Check out some of the photos on our Amway Facebook page. And if you missed the live stream of their arrival courtesy of our Amacam, the replay is available here. Watch for more coverage in the weeks to come!

The 2013 Founders Council began today in Grand Rapids, Michigan! Tomorrow we welcome them to our World Headquarters. Here are some fun facts. Did you know…

We are preparing to welcome about 200 members of our 2013 Founders Council to West Michigan next week, and for the first time ever you are invited to watch part of the festivities.

We will present a live broadcast of their arrival at our World Headquarters in Ada, Michigan. The one and a half hour live-stream will air on May 14th at 2:00 p.m. EDT via a special tab on Amway Corporate Facebook page.

Thanks to new technology – our Amacam – we are able to share all the glamour and excitement of the event with Amway distributors, prospects and friends around the globe.

The Amacam consists of three high-definition cameras (two inside and one outside) that will showcase the members as they arrive to walk the yellow carpet and be welcomed by hundreds of Amway employees.

Attendees to this year’s Founders Council group come from 15 different countries and include 11 new Founders Council members!

So, mark your calendar and plan to join us for the celebration. (How many of our top distributors will you be able to identify?)

Post by Gary Wade.

Our World Headquarters will be closed Monday, April 22, as we fend off the rising waters of the Grand River bordering our property.

Many parts of our community are flooded as river levels rise to heights not seen in more than a century.

Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who are affected, and we hope everyone stays safe.

When Amway and Microsoft recently hosted an event celebrating and promoting women leaders in business, people took notice – including Forbes.com contributor Anne Doyle, who wrote:

“When two global corporations with the economic impact and cultural  influence of Amway and Microsoft – both reach and employ millions of consumers and change agents all over the world —  recognize that the women’s leadership engine is revving up and they’d better get on board, the possibilities for paradigm shifting change are enormous.”

More than 200 women attended the event, which started with a conversation between Amway managers and their Microsoft account executive about the need to better support women seeking leadership roles.

It resulted in a daylong gathering that included keynote speeches from Amway Chief Marketing Officer Candace Matthews and Microsoft Americas Premier Support Vice President Kelly Rogan, who explained why being a “street fighter” is just as important as being a great collaborator.

We can’t wait to see where this conversation leads.

(Guest post by Nick Wasmiller)

“Amway was founded on the belief that, by helping people improve their lives, they could make the world a better place.”

So begins the message from our Chairman Steve Van Andel and our President Doug DeVos in the Amway 2012 Global Corporate Social Responsibility Report released today.

The annual report highlights the many ways our company, its more than 21,000 employees and more than 3 million distributors make a difference in the lives of others.

That includes building homes in Latin America, providing water filters in Haiti, building libraries in China and adopting schools right here in the hometown of our World Headquarters.

Corporate Social Responsibility is built into everything we do: our people, our products and our performance.

 Steve and Doug credit their fathers for recognizing the potential in this business for making a difference.

“They made it their mission to be more, do more, give more. And more than a half-century later, we’re still emulating their powerful example. … We’re awed by how far we’ve come and inspired to keep becoming more, together.”

Read the full report here.

Although infographics weren’t so popular when Amway Co-Founders Jay Van Andel and Rich DeVos started their first business in the mid-1940s, we know they would appreciate this one.  They tried their hands at business at least seven times prior to distributing Nutrilite, the precursor to today’s Amway.

Their first venture together was a flight school called Wolverine Air Service. The second was a hamburger joint called Riverside Drive-Inn. They also started businesses renting canoes, chartering fishing trips, importing Haitian home accessories and selling wooden rocking horses and organic baked goods.

We’re glad they kept going. And in their honor, we’re always here for the millions of Amway distributors trying to build their businesses every day, too.  How many times will you try?