Thinking back on everything Counselor has accomplished over more than six decades, I kept returning to the magazine’s original mission, which rings just as true today as it did in 1954: To provide a voice for the promotional products industry.

Your voice.

Flip through Counselor’s pages and what do you see? Your faces and your stories, along with your triumphs, challenges and achievements. It’s all there, displayed across hundreds of thousands of pages through 65 years, from black and white to color, in print and now digital, a genuine history of the industry we all love, along with breaking news, the latest research, business-building strategies and insider tips.

“I’m proud of what we’ve shared together. I’m even more excited to look ahead.”— Tim Andrews, ASI president & CEO

I’m proud of what we’ve shared together and hope you’re enjoying the nostalgic look back in this month’s issue. At the same time, I’m even more excited to look ahead and consider the future.

I joined ASI in 2003, amid the tumultuous period after 9/11 and the bursting of the dot-com bubble. It was a period of critical change in the industry – and the world. In a blink, things changed faster than any of us could’ve imagined. Just consider the mega-companies that didn’t even exist when I joined this industry: Twitter, Uber, Fitbit, Pinterest, Instagram. The list goes on.

A few short years ago, Amazon was just a rainforest in South America – now we’re buying cars off the internet and there are two billion-dollar companies on ASI’s Top 40 lists, with more surely to come.

Who knows what’s next? My prediction: We’ll not only survive, we’ll thrive.

ASI and our flagship product, ESP, grew from a single, hard-bound registry with the names, addresses and products for about 1,000 suppliers into today’s digital business platform where hundreds of thousands of distributors can search nearly a million products – many with video and virtual samples – from over 3,200 suppliers, pretty much in a flash.

Presiding over every revolutionary change? ASI Chairman Norman Cohn (read a Q&A with him on page 64), rightly crowned “the Sultan of Swag” by the Wall Street Journal. In 1962, Norman convinced his parents to buy ASI from Joe Segel, the founder of QVC. Now 86, Norman remains ASI’s chairman of the board and is still very active in our business. His emails and suggestions are often the brightest part of my day.

Norman’s son, Matthew Cohn, is our vice chairman and the fourth generation of Cohns is already engaged in learning about ASI and the industry. Like so many family-owned businesses in our industry, this one is in very good hands.

In light of Counselor’s auspicious anniversary, I’ll close by sharing some advice I hope helps everyone prepare for the next 65 years – or at least the next decade or two.

Invest in yourself. ASI invests about $1 million a year in education, providing free classes to members online and at our trade shows in everything from social media and website design to marketing and sales. But only 20% of our members take advantage of this opportunity. Whether it’s through ASI’s education, our magazines or website, it’s critical you keep up with trends, markets and innovations.

Invest in your business. If you have a bit of extra money, consider hiring a recent college grad or intern to teach your company about social media and new product trends. End-buyers are naturally trending younger, and web-surfing millennials are experts at finding the lowest price. It’s so valuable to engage them the way they want to be engaged, whether it’s email, text or IM, or by sharing a story.

Evolve and grow. Operate like an agency that serves customers with ideas first and products second. Provide Amazon-like service and speed. Consider adding additional services like printing, fulfillment and design.

Embrace technology. We fear automation and e-commerce because we think it’ll make us obsolete. But if calls go away, you have more time to cultivate new business and invest in existing clients. To compete, develop a strong e-commerce-enabled website and pair it with great SEO and social media.

Finally, identify and maintain a sustainable, competitive advantage over increasingly trusted sources delivering products from around the world.

This industry is filled with thousands of people I’ve grown to love – entrepreneurs who are flexible and successful. As for the future, ASI – along with everyone at Counselor magazine – will be here with you, every step of the way.

Reach Tim Andrews at tim.andrews@asicentral.com or on Twitter at @Tim_Andrews_ASI