Thursday, December 3, 2009

A Family Business (literally!)

I am on year seven working for David Marquardt, who owns The
Steam Team, a locally owned and operated cleaning and restoration
business in Austin, TX. About three years into my employment, David
started an online retail business, blue sky scrubs, which has grown
leaps and bounds over the past few years. In addition to blue sky
scrubs and The Steam Team, David also operates a construction division
within The Steam Team. And last but not least, a Limited Partnership,
consisting mostly of the properties that The Steam Team and blue sky
scrubs call 'home.'

Mr. Marquardt is probably the most genuine, generous person I have
ever met. I'm always trying to think of a way to say thank you to him
for being so giving. He is always finding ways to create happy lives
for his employees. The biggest impression he made on me was to
encourage me to finish my degree at UT - an accomplishment that
normally never could have been met by a single mother with a 2 year
old child.

A simple thank you does not seem like enough. So, after months of
brainstorming, it finally hit me today. A poem of thanks would be great!
As I pulled into the parking lot at work and looked around, let me tell you what I saw.....

Here is the story, so that you know
Mr. Marquardt runs the show
A group of businesses he does run
He makes our jobs quite a bit of fun

First came The Steam Team
and what they can do
is make anyone's carpets look new
And then there is business #2
A remodeling and construction crew

About as random as can be
there is business #3
The account for his every property,
we call this company MFLP
Already it's a little out of the norm
but now I'll tell you he sells uniforms

Now it gets funny, Oh My Gosh
working for The Steam Team
is David's brother Josh
Billy, the manager of The Steam Team
hired his mom to keep the office tidy and clean
Our construction guy, his name is Jim
brought his grandson here to work with him

All of that sure sounds great,
so now let's talk about Austin Day.
We needed help pretty bad,
so Austin suggested we hired his Dad
Austin's Dad mentioned his other son, Cody
who was perfect to work with Jimmy Boddy

The story, it gets better still!
We just hired a guy
named Mitchell.
Mitch, as we call him, just happens to be
the brother of water tech,
Dennis G.

But wait! There is more...
David also
sells scrubs from the
building next door

blue sky scrubs are sold online
and purchased by the medical type.
The one who created the design
Just happens to be David's wife.

You think that's crazy?
Last year, we hired someone
who has never been lazy.
I'm talking about my little sis,
her name is Wendy Griffith

To increase the sales
of the medical attire,
David decided a photographer
he must hire
He asked around for some names
and then he hired
my sister's husband, James

This story, it is not a lie.
I'm sure you're thinking
"My, Oh MY!"
David Marquardt,
yes he is
running a genuine
family biz!