Q.I received a retirement gift from a group of individuals and was wondering if I should send a handwritten thank you card or use a word-processing program and send a copy to the entire group.

A. A handwritten thank-you card on nice personal stationery (not company letterhead) would be more appropriate than a typed and signed letter. If the gift was sent by your old company's department or unit, you could simply send a thank-you card to the department head, director or communication contact. However, if you knew each sender personally, you should send individual thank-you cards to each person. This simple act of kindness will show that you appreciated their gesture and value their friendship.