Welcome back to the Sunstone Way.
I hope you had a great long weekend celebrating the unofficial beginning of summer. I also hope that you had some time to think about the meaning behind Memorial Day.
It is all about sacrifice. About giving more than we take. And taking care of others. The day was set aside to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice – dying in service to our country – regardless of political party, religion or ethnic background. It’s time for all of us to pause and think about what it means to be an American, and what has been sacrificed so that we can pursue life, liberty, and happiness with our families, especially on Memorial Day.
Back to Civil War
Memorial Day grew out of Decoration Day. In 1868, Union Army national commander General John Logan set aside May 30 as the day to put flowers on the graves of the Union Army soldiers who died during the Civil War. The tradition grew to include the Confederate states, eventually honoring all 600,000 who lost their lives in that war.
Many more soldiers have lost their lives in the last 157 years protecting U.S. sovereignty all over the world. It took until 1971 (55 years ago) for Memorial Day to become a national holiday – the last Monday of May was chosen to create another three-day weekend.
Community Before Self
There’s a saying from the Bible that goes like this: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) We broaden the definition of friends to mean community. And yes, our country is a community.
I am thankful for those who join the armed forces to defend our country, knowing that they (and their families) may be required to make the ultimate sacrifice. I empathize with the families of those serving, knowing that they too are sacrificing time with their loved ones – missing baseball games, school plays, and holidays – so that we can pursue our own American dreams.
I have learned a lesson from these sacrifices. I think I have learned what it takes to make a community work – or at least what I can do to help make my community better.
For the Greater Good
My parents taught me early on that putting others before myself is a good way to give meaning to our lives. When people help each other, it makes us stronger as individuals and as a community.
It might be a bit difficult at first to understand how sacrificing something – your time, talent or treasure – can bring positive results back. But working for the community, for the greater good, provides a stronger environment for you to succeed.
I’ve certainly found that to be true through my career, first as a teacher, then as a public government employee. In both roles, I worked to help those around me – teaching youngsters, serving community members. I learned and grew while helping, and that helped me.
Here at Sunstone
I was excited to find out that this approach was central to Sunstone Management and a core value for John Shen, the company’s founder. It made my decision to join the firm as CEO an easy one.
You’ve heard me talk before about Sunstone’s core values. They are: Investment. Entrepreneurship. Community.
Those core values are all about working for the greater good. When we say investment, we mean investing in the future of our community, with support for both economic development and good causes. We invest in entrepreneurs at our universities, supporting their education and growth.
We are entrepreneurs ourselves, always looking for ways to solve problems and enrich the communities we serve. We do this in our unique way by bringing together government, industry, and education partners through our Public-Private Partnership (P3) approach.
Then there is the community itself. For Sunstone to fulfill its mission, we work in partnership with the communities we serve to attract businesses, grow jobs, and find capital they need to build critical infrastructure. It’s because of the great Americans we celebrate on Memorial Day that we are inspired to sacrifice for the greater good, for the betterment of the community.
And we do that every day. Because that’s the Sunstone Way!
Come join us in the cause. And remember, always be a Sunstone.
John Keisler
CEO & Managing Partner
Sunstone
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Sunstone Investment Group, headquartered in Southern California, is the holding company for the Sunstone family of entities, including: Sunstone Investment Management Services, responsible for administrative services; Sunstone Advisors, an SEC-registered investment adviser, which oversees Sunstone Venture Partners LLC, a private capital fund manager; Sunstone Cities, a government economic development consulting firm; and Sunstone Community Fund, a charitable organization that supports entrepreneurship. Sunstone is dedicated to enriching lives through investment, entrepreneurship, and community. Email us at contact@sunstoneinvestment.com.
©Sunstone, 2026