If my April 14th Blog Post was titled “The Home Stretch”, then today’s post coinciding with the last day of my career (July 31st) has to be titled “The Finish Line.”
Over the past 6 months, I have been asked dozens of times: “Are you at peace with your decision to retire?” Let me set the record straight - I am ECSTATIC! It actually makes me a little uncomfortable just how sure I am that I am doing the “right thing” - for me. Most of my co-workers (who are also good friends) are younger than me and are still working. I don’t want to be the bragger who makes like I’m “lucky” and they’re “not.” So I downplay my excitement… but I wouldn’t make a very good actor. I know they are happy for me - and I KNOW that I have earned this.
As proof of being “all in”, I offer up the following: I actually have a countdown clock in my office. I set it about six months ago to “go off” at midnight on July 31st - and I check it most mornings when I start my day. It said “2 plus days to go” when I started writing this post. I even decided to stay up late tonight so I could see it “go off” - and to document the event. If you were wondering who in the world would have such a contraption - that would be me! (See "proof" below.)
First to business. Decisions have been made and announced to the industry about my replacements. Effective August 1st, Michael Katzman will be the Paloma Blanca and Mikaella Sales Agent for the Northeast. Michael has covered this territory for over 35 years for several top lines, and is an experienced professional. His contact information is as follows:
(845) 629-2598
Effective August 1st, Eileen Siegal will represent the 4 (5) brands of JTAA Fashion Design that encompasses Calla Blanche, L'amour Bridal, La Perle Bridal, and Angela & Alison. Eileen comes to this position with decades of experience, and was most recently with Mori Lee. Eileen can be reached at:
Eksiegel@comcast.net
(215) 605-1572
I have known both of these people for over 25 years and they are seasoned professionals. I also am proud to call them my friends. I am sure they will be in touch with you shortly… you may have heard from them already. I am confident that they will represent the brands well, and that they will take good care of you. My one suggestion is that you keep the lines of communication open. I tried my best to be responsive to my stores, and to listen to them when they needed my help. I have done my best to facilitate a smooth transition through my retirement, and forward to the new sales agents. That’s why I announced my intentions a year ago… and I am now ready to “pass the torch(es).”
Letters went out last week from both companies announcing the transition to the new reps. If you are an active account, you have already seen these. In the event any of my stores may have missed the emails… or if you are one my friends and associates that I include in my “Blog Subscription List” - I am including copies of the letters below. I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank both of my bosses for their kind words. I’d also like to publicly thank them for the way they have handled this past year. When I announced my intensions to my companies 12 months ago, I had a vision of how I’d like the last year of my career to “play out”. Things worked out EXACTLY the way I had hoped for, and Marty and Tao couldn’t have been more professional, more fair, nor more supportive if I had “written the script.” Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate to work for some of the smartest AND nicest people in our industry I appreciate you more than words can express!
On the personal side, I am 100% ready for my “new life” - no looking back and no questioning my decision. My plan is to take the next 6 months to “wean myself” from the bridal industry before I make any “major” decisions. Carol and I are going to do some traveling during that time; and I plan on being so busy “living life” that I won’t feel any void in my world - sans the bridal industry. Our annual family beach week to the Outer Banks in NC is less than 2 weeks away… and I can’t wait. I expect it to be a little “weird”, not having to rush back home from the beach to head to Chicago and to prepare for a new season but…
One of the few things I remember about my childhood is the yearly family vacations we spent in Nantasket Beach (South Shore of Boston.) That’s where my love for the beach began… and where I first learned how to hunt for seaglass. I taught my 4 sons the “art”, and now I take walks along the waterline with my grandkids; with our eyes peeled at the sand - them forever hopeful that they will see the next piece of seaglass before PopPop. I still get excited packing the car for the trip, and it’s even cooler to see the whole family’s excitement build… as we compare lists during the final days before we leave. We are “list people” (or maybe I’m a list person and they just put up with me!)
We are then heading for Tuscany in late September for our “Retirement Trip”. I’ve been dreaming about this for many years, and have spent the last 9 months fine tuning our itinerary. We’ve been to the Caribbean a dozen times, but this will be our first real 2-week “adventure” to Europe. I’ve had so many friends rave about the area and I can’t wait! I then have a Florida wedding in October, another family trip to the beach house in OBX for Thanksgiving week, and then out to Palm Springs for the month of February. Like I said, I will be very busy!
I have several ideas for filling my time once I get back from Palm Springs. I bought golf clubs a few weeks ago; I had given my clubs away when I quit the game 20 years ago. I may take a college course or two, and am even thinking about writing a book. And no… I am not going to be including fly fishing in my repertoire. I tried it and had a great time…but it’s not for me. And the stories my brother-in-law and I could tell about our weekend fishing expedition in June would make for an amusing and entertaining blog post - or maybe a chapter in my book.
But for now I’m ready to lay by the pool, catch up on my reading, and enjoy the summer with my family. Watching my grandkids swim in the pool is one of my greatest joys. Now that I will be home every day… maybe the visits will be more frequent!
So in closing I wish to leave you with this final thought:
My one blogging rule has always been (and remains): “No Religion and no Politics in Grass Clippings” - and I stand by that. But I am a thinker… and have always had strong opinions on the state of affairs in the world. I just always chose to keep those opinions to myself. With the exception of one line in a 2017 blog post which read “This is America and you have the right to complain if you’re not happy with “things”. But if you didn’t vote… you have no right to complain.” I stand by that statement. Things in our country (and the world) are very polarized right now, and there are no easy solutions to changing that. Whatever your beliefs, 45% or so of the population most likely strongly disagree with you. if we “hate” everyone that thinks differently than we do, there is going to be a ton of hate “flying around.“ I choose love over hate. I stay out of politics because it is WAY too much of a “blood sport” for me. But I stay informed and I vote. And I live stress free and I sleep well at night. I recommend it to all of you.
So I say “Farewell”… and I hope our paths cross again one day. Either way, I wish you all the best.
Peace and Love,
H
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