Of all the ideas for blog posts I’ve written during the past three years, the subject of this post never made my editorial calendar.
I was hired by McKonly & Asbury 22 years ago, right after graduation from Messiah College. I always envisioned myself staying until I decided to retire at some point in the future. However, God has a way of changing our plans and making them his own.
I have been acquainted with the Martin family of Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe, (i.e. Martin’s Potato Rolls) for several years (and sit on the Messiah College Board of Trustees with owner Jim Martin) and have come to respect the values they represent and how they have chosen to run their faith based family business. I was taken completely by surprise when they approached me in December with an amazing opportunity to join the company as their Vice President of Finance and Administration.
After a great deal of prayer and soul searching (and talking with the real boss – Mrs. Exuberant Accountant), I have made the decision to join the Martin organization effective October 3rd. In this position I will have the opportunity to be involved not only in finance, but also employee development, mentoring, and business advising – three areas that regular readers of this blog know I am very enthusiastic about.
In transitioning to Martin’s, I will be attempting to fill the huge shoes of a great man named Mr. Ronald Gipe. Ronald has accomplished some amazing things in his career and specifically during his time at Martin’s. I hope to build on the impressive foundation that he laid while serving this business and family.
Click on this link for an excellent video that tells the story of this exceptional organization.
As I leave one of the great accounting firms in the country, I have a sense of sadness in leaving so many special clients and coworkers. I have been blessed with numerous impactful relationships in my life and I will miss serving my clients and working with our team members here at the firm (many of whom I hired and mentored – I love you guys).
Along with the difficult decision to leave McKonly & Asbury came the bittersweet decision to end the Exuberant Accountant Blog. After posting twice a week for three years, this will be my last post. Therefore, I have some folks that need a shout out.
First, I need to thank two people who were integral to the launching of this blog: Jim Rodgers and Michele Golden – two of the best marketing minds I know and two folks who had a huge impact on my decision to launch this blog and offer me advice during the early days…thank you so much!
Thank you Phil Clemens, Dale High, and Barry Shaw: Three faith based family business owners who I admire so much that I wrote each blog post with these amazing leaders in mind.
I also want to thank Terry Harris, the Managing Partner of McKonly & Asbury for his belief in me three years ago when I approached him with the desire and idea to launch the blog during a time when blogging in the accounting industry was a huge, unknown risk. You always believed in me and allowed me to push us forward and try new things. Thank you for being willing to take a chance on me 22 years ago and during many other times of my career.
I want to thank the many thousands of subscribers and readers of this blog. Each time I posted, I could always count on many of you to reach out with positive encouragement, stories to reinforce the blog topic, and amazing discussions. I will miss this interaction as I felt it provided me great insight into how business leaders were thinking and what challenges they were struggling to overcome. I always felt these exchanges gave me wisdom and better judgment as I was advising seasoned executives and mentoring next generation leaders.
Many of you have asked about the book which I am writing, titled “Five Steps to Strengthening Your Family Business.” I do plan to finish the book and I am happy to announce that my good friend Tracey Jones of Tremendous Life Books has agreed to publish the book. We hope to have it published at the end of the year. Thank you for your continued support Tracey!!
A huge thank you to my amazing assistant, Dawn, you have been such a special talent, writer, editor, supporter and most of all a dear friend. I will miss working with you every day.
Finally, my lovely wife Gaye. Thank you for being the most amazing helpmate a person could ever hope for. God gave you the patience of Job and many times you needed it being married to me. As I write this, tears are streaming down my face and I just want to publicly thank you for always supporting me. Thank you for saying “I do” 22 years ago. I love you with all my heart and I am not worthy of your amazing love!!!!
