I am currently in Atlantic City, New Jersey at the USSC Sign World conference for a few days. I have the honour of doing three presentations during the trade show. Attending this east coast conference is also a wonderful opportunity to spend a little time with many sign friends whom I don't get to see very often. Today I was absolutely delighted to spend a little time with a very special hero of mine... Bill Riedel from Hackensack, New Jersey. Bill is one of the biggest (and oldest) inspirations in the sign industry. He's been a fixture at every Wall Dog and Letterhead meet I've attended through the years and like me, everyone in the industry looks up to him in a big way. Bill is an incredibly talented artist and yet down to earth and humble. He is always willing and eager to share his knowledge with anyone interested in our craft. Although long past normal retirement age, it hasn't slowed him down in the least. Thanks for the inspiration Bill!
A change in direction
In 1998 our company was growing at it's fastest pace ever. We had well over twenty employees working on three large projects in three cities - a thousand miles apart. It was a fast paced schedule with Peter managing one of the projects and me managing two. The crew were fabulous and talented and hard working but I was suddenly doing a job I never imagined I would have to do. The bulk of my time was spent managing people rather than creating fun projects. I missed working with my hands. At this point we decided to purposely change the direction of our company. From this time on we would be driven by projects we loved rather than sales. Over the next year we gradually downsized the number of crew and started being much more selective about the projects we would take on. I would miss the 'dream team' we had gathered but in the process I would get to do more of what I loved most. It was a business lesson I will never forget.
Flash to the past
In the mid 1990's we got the chance of a lifetime as we were asked to put a new fun face on many of the numerous attractions at West Edmonton Mall. We didn't know it then but the job would keep us there for five years full time and a few more years part time. We started the job with a small crew from British Columbia and over time expanded with local hires to more than twenty. This picture was taken in 1997 (twenty years ago!), a little more than a year after we started the massive project. Two employees in the picture are from BC, two from Edmonton, one from Nova Scotia plus Janis, Peter, Rebecca and I. We sure looked a whole lot younger then!
