Chapter 26

One nice February morning, while I was up early having coffee, Glenda walked over and sat with me.

"Congratulations, Steve," she said simply.

When I looked at her quizzically she said, "It was a year ago today that you rented that little trailer from Abe."

She patted my hand and said, "You have come a long, long way in a year. It seems like it has been a lifetime since you first came. We may need to have a celebration."

"You know, Glenda, that little patio became too small for us pretty fast. This big patio has become too small for us now. I've been trying to figure out how to enlarge the space without taking away the big yard we have. I need to work on it, since the maximum of twenty people that I thought we could possibly grow to be, we have grown until we have well over thirty every morning and evening. And now we're adding kids. We could use almost double the space we have right now. I would like to have more space for the big rockers and perhaps a couple of love seats or couches. The table needs to be doubled, in two rows, or maybe even three. I'll think on it and come up with something."

As the people began coming in, Charlie, Tiny's Dad, gave me the answer. "The two homes on the other side of your carport are leaving for some land they bought. I'm going to have the spaces on the other side of Charlie for Hank and Debbie's new place and a space on the other side of them for Mickey and Samantha. They've already made a deal on homes, they are just waiting for the space to open. I'm telling you all this because I've been seeing how busy this place is. Why don't you have a custom place built, say with sixteen-foot sections, and keep the seventy-two feet. That would give you a place forty-eight by seventy-two. I'm sure you could design it to be more efficient than your space is right now. Anyway, move the house over a space, and double the size of the patio. That should take care of the space requirement. If it doesn't, then you're going to have to build some kind of huge central open-air building and surround it with homes. When you build the expanded patio, put some commercial type bathrooms in it so the house doesn't have to be used for the restroom facilities.

"Good idea, Charlie, I'll talk to Sue about it. Don't rent those lots yet," I said, and remembered something I had been thinking about. "We need to clear the brush from the property on the whole back side. We could have a street the entire length of the park. Our sewer lines will handle it, as we have some of the largest sewer lines around. We will need more power, and perhaps increase our water main size. Now that you had me install all of the fire hydrants, we're not getting anymore flak from the fire marshal. The park could grow a little, don't you think?"

"You're right, Steve, I was looking at those survey stakes and didn't realize how deep the property was over there. It's not really wooded, it's mostly trashy brush. If we clear it and put a nice eight foot fence over there, the residents will feel like they have a private area."

"Put one of those new ten foot plastic fences in. That would provide even more privacy. The other thing I was thinking, Charlie," I said continuing, "was to make those lots a little larger so they could all be used for double-wides."

"Thanks for increasing my income, Steve. I'll get that started right away. Hell, another sixty to seventy doublewides will bring my salary way up. Great!"

Sue and I talked about the possibility of designing our own place. She wanted to maintain an office for clothing design here, even though the new plant would be so close. Sue also wanted to make sure there was some kind of small private parlor area just for us. That included Stevie and Mercy, of course. Sue wanted Stevie's bedroom to remain close to ours for now, and to possibly have the shower and bathroom just a little bit larger. She felt our closet space was fine, but would like to put more drawers in the closet.

The kitchen and family room needed to remain large and on the same side of the house. The thought was to make the kitchen longer, instead of a larger square. The new kitchen would have a long counter and stools between the family room with the pool table, and the stove and sink. The kitchen would be narrow, only twelve-foot deep, but would extend perhaps twenty to twenty-four feet in total length. The idea was to have a huge commercial stove and a couple of big refrigerators. Considering the amount of people we fed on a daily basis, a huge kitchen would be good. If the room were extended and became a large living room area, part of it could also be cordoned off for babies to play in. We could also end up with a door on the other side of the house. The plan would be to put in a sixteen by twenty-four foot office and design room on the street end of the house, with a bathroom and entrances to the outside and hallway. There would be a large sixteen by sixteen space for a bedroom and bath at that end as well.

We would end up with five big guest bedrooms, a kids' bedroom and a master bedroom. The master bedroom would be big enough for a sitting area with a couch and reading chair.

The contractor was back with us now. His wife's sickness was in remission, so he was now working for me, directing and teaching Terrell, handling the whole scope of construction. He was expanding the construction business by bidding on other outside projects.

As we completed our buildings, we wanted the construction people to continue to be employed so S&S Enterprises Construction Company was born. Tiny thought he understood some ways to get business, so he hired some go-getter young men to prospect for any possible new construction jobs within our local geographic area.

We began working with architects in the area as well as other general contractors. If they wanted to be the general and we just built the project, we were good with that. It was soon common to see one or more of our pickup trucks at many construction sites.

We specialized in rapid construction, repair of shoddy construction, and General Steel buildings. We managed to keep even more men busy.

When I talked to the contractor about what I wanted, he said that doubling the width of the patio would not be a problem. He said that instead of having a mobile home manufactured, why not just build a house?

That sounded reasonable, but if we wanted to change the way we lived, the house would be too fixed, where if it were a manufactured home, we could just have another built to a new plan.

The contractor was saying that in the event of a hurricane, we would have to abandon a mobile home but a house could be a refuge. I said that we had that covered as we were going to have a very large area in the new plant for a cafeteria, a meeting room, and a huge daycare center. We felt that area in the center of the four plant buildings should be large enough to accommodate nearly all of the people from the park in case of a storm.

Sue and I decided we would have a forty-eight by seventy two foot sturdy shell built, and have our construction company build it out. Sue and I would temporarily stay in Abe's little trailer for the week or so it would take to build-out the house. Actually we were going to take a vacation during that time.

Sue and I had considered vacations and had made a plan. Tiny had made arrangements for the company to own four condos on one of the gulf resort islands. People put their name in a hat to be drawn for a week in the condo. We picked up the housekeeping only. We now owned a condo in a Hawaiian resort as well. Each month four people were selected from non-management positions and sent to Hawaii for a week. We picked up the airfare plus the housekeeping and dining in the resort restaurant. The employee was supplied with some cash for nightlife, so it was a great vacation for fifty-two employees a year.

The two condos in Key West were Tiny's idea also, because it was the vacation that Ruth and Tiny had dreamed of for years. They spent the first two weeks that we owned them there, along with Shawna and Charlie in the other one. These condos were treated like the Hawaiian condos, so people could be rewarded for production and quality goals.

The company also now owned two giant Coachmen RVs. Those that wanted to take an RV vacation could put their name in for a drawing. The RV trips were for twelve days at a time for a two-week vacation. There was a two-day difference for something unexpected and for cleanup and maintenance.

The big RVs were a treat to Martin and Glenda. They were able to take a month-long trip to enjoy wandering around until they became homesick and returned home to be welcomed by all of us who loved the two dearly.

We needed more things like that for all of the people from both companies, but you can only do so much.

Ruth worked hard getting the company a discount for the Busch Gardens group of parks. We didn't have much luck with Disney. It became a joke that we didn't have a deal with Disney because they didn't sell beer. We had weekly trips to NASCAR events, all expenses paid, for a family of up to four people to go to the track the day before the races and race day. They would have VIP seating, pit passes, a handshake with some drivers, (Gene's of course) and a couple of T-shirts from the race day trucks for the event. There were Truck, Busch Series, and Winston Cup tickets for every week they raced. This was handled a little differently.

Good work is appreciated, so the team leaders would give attaboys to those that were putting that little extra effort, or to someone who came up with a new idea. The leader would put the employees name on a card and put the card into our drawing barrel. We would draw on Friday of one week for the next week's races. You were only allowed to win one race trip a season so more people could get a chance to go.

Mike, the original gofer from Sue's plant, had progressed in his ability to make good decisions and inspire his people to produce quality, so he was promoted that first year to plant manager. Since the plant and the sister plant behind his main building employed so many people, Mike was responsible for many, many jobs. He had done a great job and deserved the recognition.

We had a big party on the nearest Friday of the original incorporation date. Abe wanted to use the date that I went to the first auction and bought all the welding gear. It didn't make a difference, it was a good excuse for a party, and it would be timely to celebrate all of that, plus my having met Sue. Everyone that wanted to come from both companies attended the party, and we invited all of our customers as well. This became the largest party we had ever had. The caterer was prepared for four hundred, but ran out of food by eight. He was responsive enough to be able to find and bring enough food to feed people all the way through till midnight. For some reason, people stayed and stayed.

When everyone finally went home, and only a few of the die-hard park crew remaining, Tiny asked, "I thought you would make some kind of wild announcement tonight for your first anniversary."

"The deal isn't done yet, Tiny, so I couldn't make the announcement I wanted to make yet. As soon as my surprise is done, I'll make it. We'll have to have another party to make it, but then, everyone loves a party."

Tiny looked at me warily, "Is this announcement something that I should worry about?"

"No, Tiny, don't worry at all," I said. "This will be a big deal for all of the S&S people. Sue's working on her group, but can't do with her people what we can do with ours. This will have to be just all S&S."

Once again he looked at me strangely, "The company has really become huge, how can you split things up more?"

"Tiny, the size of the company will make the announcement that much bigger of a deal. Just be patient and I'll let you in on it."

Tiny got up and smiled, "I'm going to bed. This is the latest we've ever been here after a party. The caterer is going to be another hour before he's cleaned up. I don't think you have to stay up with him."

"Goodnight, Tiny."

About one when the caterer was finishing up, Sue came out of the house carrying Stevie. She said, "Today was too exciting for him and he didn't eat as much as he usually does. I'm going to sit out here with you while I nurse him. He'll go right back to sleep. You should think about going to bed too, as you've had a long day."

I watched Sue nurse our son, giving me the warmest feeling a man can have. If you've ever felt protective, sit with your wife as she nurses your baby. It is an amazing feeling.

Stevie sucked and slurped for ten minutes, working on both breasts before falling sound asleep. Sue smiled at me and I picked him up, put him on my shoulder, and I patted his back gently until he let out a very grownup belch. It was loud enough that Sue and I both chuckled. I carried Stevie into the house and put him to bed.

Sue was shutting down the patio when I came back out. The caterer was done and leaving, so we went to bed.

In bed, Mercy was waiting up for us. Sue said, "It's too bad you weren't able to announce what you are going to do with the company. When Tiny hears your plan, he's going to have a fit. Do you think everyone will go along with your idea?"

"We'll find out. As soon as all the numbers are in, we will know better. You will have to figure out what you will be doing with your plants. When the new plant is built, will you still need your original manufacturer?"

Sue said thoughtfully, "I don't know yet. So far our orders continue to increase, so during the ramp-up of the new facility, we will need all the facilities we can find. When we're completely open out here, we may decrease some of the subcontractors we have now. If they will continue to produce quality, we'll have to consider making and selling more products."

We three slept till seven the next morning. When I went out to the patio, Glenda gave me a big hug, saying it had been a great year, and thanked me for helping Martin and her enjoy themselves so much. This must have been a sleepy Saturday, as most everyone slept late. Jim had to rush to get to work and only had time for a quick sandwich and a cup of coffee.

Phil got me off to the side and asked, "What do you have up your sleeve? You act like something is about to pop out of your head, so I know you're up to something. What in the world is it?"

"Phil, you're as bad as Tiny. Hang on a couple of days and I'll have something for you that should make the wait worthwhile."

I had an appointment today with Ben and a few of the community leaders within the Tampa area. Ben had invited them all to his lush office in his downtown office building. Saturday was an excellent day for what I wanted to do, but it is always strange to see how deserted the downtown streets and buildings are on the weekends.

The group of people we were meeting with was made up of the Mayor of Tampa, Sandy Friedman, two city councilors who were of Latin heritage, a black community leader, and a minister who is instrumental in helping the homeless.

After introductions and serving everyone coffee and water, I introduced myself, telling them that the intent of this meeting was to help me devote some time and resources to help the community. My biggest priority was to establish a school or schools to help single parents within the area. One of our companies was going to need many skilled workers in the near future and we had found that we are more successful by thoroughly teaching and training people in our methods before they were hired. We provided transportation to and from the training facility as well as day care for pre-school children. Our intent was to employ these people and help them to become independent. So far we were retaining eighty-six percent of everyone we hired. Additionally, over sixty percent of the other fourteen-percent are employed, but have moved from the area.

I continued my presentation, "After training, we hire those who successfully complete our school at near double minimum wage and provide benefits to our workers that exceed the norm.

"We want to be able to enroll a minimum of four hundred people a year and desire future referrals from all of the people present.

"An important part of our training and hiring is our desire to hire the handicapped. We have jobs for those people with limb impairment, those who are wheelchair bound, the deaf, and we are trying hard to place some blind people. Each case is handled individually, but the intent is to help these people become self-sufficient too.

"Please know we hire people of all ethnic groups, who may speak any language found on our continent. We do offer and encourage English classes to all non-English speaking employees. Most of our management and floor supervisors are multi-lingual, so employees are comfortable from the beginning. We do not hire undocumented aliens, but have a staff that will assist them to obtain work permits."

I folded over the bullet list for our training program to show a picture of some small homes in the community.

"Another goal we have is to assist single parent families and families that are either homeless or living in substandard conditions. With both the company's money and my personal resources, we wish to purchase property that we can build homes with assistance from Habitat for Humanity. We felt we could probably complete a minimum of one home every two months, and perhaps more."

At this point Ben took over. "My family has purchased the old Florida Hotel here in Tampa. We have begun renovation of the hotel to become a hostel for the homeless. The first floor will become administration, kitchen facilities, and a large dining hall. The second and third floors will become a group of apartments for homeless families. The fourth floor will be a training and counseling center to help the homeless to re-enter society. The fifth through tenth floors will be for individual homeless people. We will maintain and fund this establishment, but will need the local ministries to administer and minister to these people. This will be a large task and will probably require the co-operation of several homeless support groups."