Wednesday was the big Business Session. I posted some Tweets at our Amway50 account throughout the session, so feel free to check them out. But I wanted to give some highlights and post a few pictures here too.

Steve Van Andel and Doug DeVos were great on stage. They talked about the history of the business, and focused a lot on the principles of Free Enterprise. They also mentioned citizenship more than once, and thanked the distributors for their accomplishments with One by One.

We did not hold a formal One by One presentation or video, but instead had a children’s choir singing the One by One song, with images of the children helped through the program appearing on an enormous screen behind them. It was very moving.

There were other entertainment groups there, like Blue Man Group and Anti-Gravity. There was a ceremony where the distributors “pinned” each other with a special edition 50th anniversary pin. And there was a big recognition ceremony for the many levels of high achievers in the room. Very inspiring stories.

After a nice tribute video where they used special animation to walk Rich DeVos through the history of Amway, Rich gave a powerful speech about why the company has succeeded over the years despite challenges and setbacks. He focused on the four pillars that represent Amway’s values: Freedom, Family, Reward and Hope.

At the very end was the big surprise. Rich asked Jay Van Andel to close the session out, and they went to a video of Jay superimposed over the 50th anniversary podium that made it seem like he was really there. The clip from Jay’s old speech was inspirational and motivational for today, just as it was years ago. It was a very emotional close.

The business session, and other 50th events, will be posted on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/user/AmwayGlobalTV.