Arpin's 2011 Positive Performer of the Year

Mark hard at work

We are glad to announce that this year's 2011 Positive Performer of the Year is Mark Velardi from our Operations Department!  I hired Mark in 2005 and he has come a long way, since he came to Arpin with no household background. 

I always say that in Operations, someone has to live three summers to be of top use.

The first summer becomes just a blur.  Whatever you were able to train a dispatcher in the off-season pretty much gets thrown to the wind when the gun goes off for the summer.  You are way too busy to really train, so the new guy becomes more of an "order taker" and you hope they grasp a few things along the way.

The second summer they see a bit more and by the third, you hope they are starting to get the hang of preplanning, prioritizing and organizing.

I equate it to blinders on a horse: the first summer, they have no peripheral vision and by the third, the blinders should be off. 

Mark Velardi has followed that road map and has made himself a very valuable part of our home office operations.  He, like the rest of us, is still learning and will be the first to tell you that, but Mark has the major ingredient for success:

He cares about others.

Paul Arpin would tell me that he was always learning the business right up to his last days.  Hard to believe with his vast knowledge of the buisness and his fantastic memory.  He knew that you could always learn more and in Operations, every day brought new challenges.  David Arpin believes that the household industry is going through its biggest changes since deregulation of the 80's. 

That is what Paul, David and I enjoy the most about this business.  It is constantly changing and our possibilities are endless, but we must be ready to change with it and mostly, never stop caring about others.

Thank you Mark Velardi for being part of the change and our future.