Tag: brookswood

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Be The Best.

Vacuums and grief…why not?

A couple of weeks before Chris passed away, he told me about his buddy Tanner and how he was going into the vacuum business.  Would I help him out?  Could I talk to him? Could I give him some business advice?  My initial answer was sure, but I had questions too.  Wasn’t Tanner in school? Why vacuums? Really….a 17 year old kid opening a retail operation?  Really?

You know Tanner.  He spoke at Chris’ funeral and was a great friend.  Sometimes school doesn’t fit for everyone at the exact time we think it’s going to.  For Tanner, right now the timing is wrong.  Now before we go any further I’ll tell you something (and Tanner listen up…this is in WRITING now with witnesses!!)  Several weeks ago, Tanner and gang were over and I made Tanner promise he would complete his GED at some point.  He agreed.  Tanner we have a deal!

That being said, we currently have a business to run.  You see, Tanner’s family runs the Big Gary vacuum stores and that’s how Tanner has learned the business.  And yes it’s true, at age 17, this young man is opening his own retail operation in Port Moody called Newport Vacuums!  His website is a simple marker with contact info for the time being. So…if you are somewhere in the Port Moody area and need a new vacuum or have a broken system that needs some fixing, Tanner is your guy.  He is having is GRAND OPENING on Saturday, May 22 at 202 Newport Drive, Port Moody, BC.

Tanner…I wish you every success in your new business.  I know Chris would have loved to have you in school with him and the gang, but he also understood school was a tough choice right now and he REALLY wanted you to do well and that’s why he was asking me if I could help you.  You and I have had some great business conversations in the past several weeks and I wish you all the success in the world!  Remember your customers first and most everything will fall into place for you….and in the long run, don’t forget…we have a deal about that GED, ok?

PS Great voicemail on your business line.  Customer oriented, energetic and approachable.  Good work.

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Be The Best.

Da boyz were back in town…

An unexpected treat awaited us when we arrived home tonight.  Max and good bud Spencer were ‘chillin’ (I feel so hip) doing a little P90X (an oxymoron I know) and in the ping pong, teen-age hangout room, we actually had ‘da boyz’ playing some ping pong and beating each other up.  It was great.  A few more games of ping pong were played, some additional fighting occurred and of course various feats of strength to see who could match Chris’ forearm power portrayed in the rowing pic from last night’s blog.

Boyz…it was great to see you all.

We’re proud of all of you.  Keep working hard!  (that goes for all of our teenage contacts out there!)

Play Hard, Be Safe and Have Fun. Remember, the only person I ever said that to?  As of tonight, that’s for all of you, starting with ‘da boyz’.

Here’s some pics.

Ingrid, Jesse, Marshall, Dylan, Cam, Alan, Tanner, Me.
Jesse, Tanner, Marshal, Dylan, Cam, Alan
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Be The Best.

Row, row, row your boat.

Chris and his Brookswood buddies Jesse, Dylan, Marshall took to the water for the inaugural season of the Brookswood Rowing Club last year.  They really wanted to be in the same boat (so to speak!), but that was not to be.  The teams were mixed and they made some new friends. Even though they didn’t get to race together, they stuck with it through the season and these are some pics from their regatta in Bedford Channel at Ft. Langley.

Being The Best is not about winning everything or having everything turn out the way you thought it would.  Not even close.  It’s about trying new things.  Wanna hear a secret?  My good friend Mark Wardell once had a private meeting with Jimmy Pattison…yes, THE Jimmy Pattison, a BC icon and billionaire many times over.  Mark asked him what THE secret of success was.  You know the answer?  Be prepared to lose and lose big.  Interesting.  The secret of success is calculated risk and trying new things where the outcome is uncertain.  ie, Trying out for the rowing team and not winning every race, trying out for the basketball team and being cut, trying something new at work and risking failure but pushing boundaries.

Being The Best is about trying new things whether you ‘win’ or not.  This is as much a challenge to me as anyone else.  Be The Best.  I want to try at least one new thing in 2010.  I’m not sure what yet, but I promise to blog about it..!