It was 24 years ago, Abel moved from our longtime location at the Point Mall (demolition planned), and from our Camp Hill location (building sold). Our new homes were Scottsdale Plaza (Paxton Street), a vibrant plaza with a busy mall across the street; and in Lemoyne in a great ground floor location (after climbing down steep steps) with better parking.
Well, times have certainly changed, and moving to a beautiful new home is now upon us.
As we pack, shred and toss our current offices, memories come flooding through and my eyes literally are tearing up. Most prominent, of course, are the years of walking into my office, adjacent to my father; thinking how I was privileged to see and work with him every day. It was a joy and honor to work with him; learn from his example as a smart, kind, ethical businessman. There were still items in our office as reminders of him. His name plate on his desk, photos of the WWII plane he trained in, family photos and documents with his unique handwriting. I leave this place and head to a new site where I can’t visualize his presence. I will know there that he and my mom were proud of how I shepherded the business over the years maintaining the level of personal service and integrity.
I have worked with extraordinary talented staff in recruiting, business and payroll, who gave exceptional service to our candidates and business clients. They include extraordinary people like Joan Lewis, Vice President of Operations and Staffing Manager with our company for 24 years. I learned much about this business watching her example of dedication and hard work. In my Lemoyne office were memories of Barbara Isaacman who devoted her 41year career with us with such thorough interviews and understanding of her candidate and clients. I can’t name all the employees who provided incomparable service but they include long termers:
- Business/Payroll – Betty Ort, Mary Beth Smith, Wendy Speck.
- Support Staff – Peg Baker, Gina Fritzinger, Deborah Robinson, Mary Meloro, Megan Warner, Joyce Simms, Cindy Consonery.
- Recruiters – Linda Diorazio, Linda Sarno, Bonnie Shaffer, Cynthia Stoltzfus, Joan Holzman, Lisa Ramey.
The wonderful thing is that the current team of employees is as devoted to hard work and incredible service. This is the team that is currently working and navigating the staffing business that few of us imagined 24 years ago. Many of our current employees have been with us in the 10-20 year range, and new team members are just as dedicated. I can’t say enough about the above-and-beyond efforts of those facilitating this move.
There are so many memories of the bonds of friendship, teamwork, happy and sad life events. Days of achievement and occasional moments of disappointment. We watched the videos of the towers falling on 9/11. We heard the news of Katrina, experienced the historic election of Barak Obama and adapted through the pandemic. While we marked historic occasions here, the best recollections are the day-to-day conversations, working together and sharing personal moments. Those memories reside most within these walls; I’ll try to bundle them up and take them to the new office. There, new memories will be made.
