I celebrated my 73rd birthday on the 2nd of December. My company is over 46 years young. Opening day was December 20, 1977. John McCutcheon, a great singer / songwriter wrote a new song for his 70th birthday. One of the lines is “I am too old to die young”. Loved that one. So why stop working now?
I have been told that agism is a “thing”. Well, I am not sure about that. It is noteworthy that the age of ACDC staff is from 16 to 40. That is important to the health of any technology-based company and ACDC is no different. I am so proud of the people at ACDC, let me tell you a bit about them.
Aiden is starting his fifth year. He is the Tesla Guru and has held just about every job at ACDC. He started with us in High school and rode an electric scooter to work. Smart and wise for his age, he grew into this job by paying attention and working well with others. Kena graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute of Technology (WPI) in December and is remote working after moving back home in Connecticut until her dream job shows up. Kena was with us all during the pandemic working behind the scenes. Chris was joined us in the fall. A perfect fit. Great tech and carpenter too! Chris worked 14 years for a Ford dealership when his wife heard about our company. He now works a 4-day week and is exactly what ACDC needed. Chris is not a trainer. He is the research and product development tech. This allows ACDC to stay on top of the latest innovations in this ever-changing repair business. Krista runs the office with great precision as she was a mechanical engineer and also a WPI graduate. She met her future husband when they were both 12. They married in their 20’s and had two kids. Krista left work to raise her children. There are no part-time jobs for engineers. ACDC has a family-oriented culture. Her husband is a software engineer. This job allows her to be home for the kids except when they are in school. Engineers make great managers. Cristian, at age 16, is in a co-op position with us. He is an automotive student at the local tech high school. Kristie works part time helping everyone. Kristie is a single mom with 3 children. I can relate as my mother raised six children alone too. We all work a 4-day week with Fridays off. We do have classes on Fridays so Aiden gets a day off during the week to make up for the Friday classes. We do not teach nights or weekends.
Really a great team effort and easy to be with. Sales were good. Slowed up at the end of the end year. Sales should be up next year as we received over a one million dollar grant to help techs get to our classes.
Deb has been retiring since 2016. This might be the year is sticks.
ACDC has moved into the entire building. I paid the mortgage off 30 years ago, so the profit can go back into the building. It is 85 years old. The expansion is still ongoing and is exciting. A new kitchen area, expanded classroom. New lighting and more insulation in the shop. More of the latest equipment.
On a personal note. Both of my sons are back in the Worcester area. As you may know, Deb and I adopted two boys that were living in foster homes. They are both in their 30’s, are fathers and are in committed relationships. That was a long time is coming. I asked Will, my oldest “what lesson did I teach you”. He said let me think about that. His answer came back as “Never give up”. That will get you through many tough times.
All the people at ACDC; Deb, Aiden, Kena, Chris, Krista, Kristie, Cristian, and myself wish you a joyous holiday season.
