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| Giving my speech |
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| Patrick Mullin, great entertainer!! |
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| Jerome & Catherine Pulcine, Patrick Mullin |
My speech, July 11th:
Thank you all for joining us this evening. It is such a pleasure to have our clients, suppliers and friends to help us celebrate and to thank you for your ongoing support.
Now into our 14th year of business I must say it has been an exciting ride and one that we can’t see as ever ending. It has been very rewarding. It has been my pleasure and reward to have clients that have followed me through the 22 years I have been in this industry. We have had the opportunity to be in more homes in this city than you can imagine. In 2009 we hit the 3000 client mark and to this date have help decorator or renovate over 3400 homes in this city. It is often said in the office if you would like to know how to get anywhere in this city, just ask Catherine, she’s probably been there. I think that’s a fair assessment. That’s not to say I don’t get turned around sometimes but usually I could give some taxi drivers directions without GPS. We will have clients call to ask about something that was done in their home 6, 8, 10 years ago and it may not be a name I will recall, but give me address and chances are I will remember.
We have our staff here this evening that you have met when you came in. Karen Jackson, is our Office Manager has been with us for more than 11 years. She came to us as a new graduate from her business school and recently married. Today she has 2 beautiful children and her oldest has just turned 10. She and her husband Kevin have just celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary. She has been a steadfast and loyal employee that we appreciate very much. So many times when we go to the trade shows with our designers, we are asked and which one is Karen. We say back in Ottawa at the office. Karen is the backbone of our operation. She runs the show and is the one that stays behind the scenes and keeps us all going. If we need to know anything in our office from the corners you will hear “Kaaaren”. She is tough to stump. Thank you Karen for everything you do.
Allison Parsons has been with us a couple of years now and Terri-Lynn Boulet has been a more recent addition to our team. Allison and Terri are both graduates from Algonquin College Interior Decorating program and work as Design Consultants. We sincerely see them becoming” Karens” too. Jerome, my husband and business partner is the Management side of our operation. It is asked frequently of us, how do you do that? Work with your husband, one woman I recently spoke to was commenting that she considered working with her husband for about 10 seconds and realized she would probably go insane, how do you do it, she asked. Jerome and I have very different strengths. I have my role in the design side and working with our clients. I work with our design staff in making certain we are presenting to our clients the best look possible and work with their budgets. Some people say I get to do the fun stuff. It isn’t without challenge but I do love it. Jerome is the one who keeps us front and centre and is always promoting our services in the best ways possible. We respect each others role and know that neither can do the others job. That’s not to say that is always a “yes dear” but we do work well together. He did say he would make me famous one day and to a small degree he has. I had a cute thing happen one day in the grocery store with a little girl looking at me and finally telling her mother “That’s the lady on our fridge”. Her mother may have attended one of our many seminars and received a note pad that was on their fridge. I noticed she used it for her grocery lists.
Working with people is certainly interesting and sometimes humorous situations arise. We have had designers out on appointments that call and want help in locating not only how to get to a clients house but also to have us tell them where they are. One particular incident involved a designer off to see a rural client and she called on her cell phone to say she didn’t know where she was or how she got there never mind be to the clients’ home. When asked what road she was on, sincerely expressed that she was on a dirt road with a corn field on one side and large oak tree to the other. I’m guessing since Oak trees are less plentiful than a maple that would have given an indication as to where she was. Jerome very patiently – yes for those who know him – he CAN be patient – helped her through where she had been and put her on her right direction. She did make it to the clients’ home and on time.
It is always interesting to receive some of the phone calls and email requests that we get asking for advice. Some give us verbal tours through their home and believe we can give them paint colours – sorry that’s not possible. Others are a little more complex. I had a man call to ask, and this was for real, how did you make it so when you get to the top of the stairs you don’t hit your head on the roof. Apparently he was building a house, by himself, without plans, or permits I discovered and he had no idea how to build it. I suggested he should stop what he was doing and find a contractor that could help him through the process and get permits for the house.
Another one that is always interesting is the person who buys their furniture that is the proverbial good deal only to discover it really isn’t when the furniture doesn’t fit. We had one client that upon arriving at their house to see an extremely large sofa on one side of the room with an equally large loveseat on the other, an oversize ottoman nicely in the middle to join them all together and a chair and half on the other side. There wasn’t an inch of floor or walking space available. They couldn’t return it as it was a deal and it wouldn’t go anywhere else in the house. Needless to say they weren’t very happy.
One of our most favourite though has got to be the person who calls to say they have torn out their kitchen and now discovered they haven’t any idea of what is involved next and thought that choosing cabinets was all that was essential to updating their kitchen. There is so much more.
As always you have people in your life that make all things seem easier no matter the circumstance. We have those people in our lives too. To Jerry and Lynn Jordan who are there no matter the crisis to help, we love you. To Barry and Wendy Bell, our dear friends and we thank you. To Paul Sheldon and Heather Munro we value your friendship.
Patrick Mullin, our entertainer this evening is an accomplished musician who has traveled this country over 25 years to play his music in many small towns with his family in tow. From Newfoundland to Northwest Territories, he has made his living playing and entertaining crowds both large and small. He has produced a CD of original material that you will hear this evening and we had the honour of being present at the launch of that CD entitled NORTH. Patrick and his wife Carol have been long time friends of ours. It was with them that we mulled over our decision to start this company. Over a bottle of wine and dinner, very concentrated conversation took place and pros and cons of starting it. The die was cast and we set our course. When we had our first office, it was Carol and Patrick that came to lend his handyman help and I must say is a wonderful craftsman too. Over the years we have followed them to many locations that Patrick has been employed as the entertainment in a variety of venues. We have traveled to Myrtle Beach where he played for several months and to Orillia, London and Windsor to mention a few. They always have a welcome home and good times. When we decided to present this evening we couldn’t think of a better way to say thank you to you all, including Patrick and Carol.
Without further adieu ladies and gentleman please welcome Patrick Mullin.
We should always thank and remember our clients and customers, they are the ones who has helped us grow in our business.
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