Strategies_Spring2024

In 2022, Blish-Mize regional sales manager Mike Wilson presented Don with the Estwing Golden Hammer Award for 50 years of service in the hardware industry. Honoring Ties With Friends and Family Don lives what he describes as a Mayberry lifestyle, referring to the fictional small town from “The Andy Griffith Show,” which aired on TV in the 1960s. He worked alongside his parents for most of his life. His wife and father-in-law also worked nearby, at the square’s bank and barbershop. Don’s mother and father both passed away a decade ago, after having worked side by side for many years. He says they were never more than a few feet apart for more than 30 minutes. “Dad would get into the store at 7:30 a.m., and Mom would get here at 8 a.m. They’d have lunch for an hour in the afternoon and then go home at 5 p.m.,” he says. “You don’t see that anymore.” After his parents passed away, Don says he asked himself how he was going to manage the store without seeing them every day, but slowly, things have worked out.

In 2022, Don received the Estwing Golden Hammer Award for 50 years of service in the hardware industry.

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