People often ask me, “Did you learn building from your Dad?” September 21, 2009 I love to have these real life stories to tell at family reunions because my Dad (Jim Roarke) doesn’t know the first thing about construction and what few DIY adventures he has taken are truly Great Moments in Building History.  But everyone has gifts to share and his was team building.  He taught me how to recruit good people and build relationships that last.  I even worked for him learning how to find and recruit professionals before I set out on my own.  After 23 years I would say his people training and coaching is on par with any building knowledge that could be passed on. His father, my grandfather (Matt Roarke), was the one who taught me a love of blue collar work and it was from this perspective that I fell in love with seeing things built; to take the existing and change it into something beautiful; even a work of art.  It brings immense satisfaction to me to work with my hands. While my grandfather was not a businessman, he was among the most dependable and reliable people to walk the earth; constantly dealing with people on his delivery routes, he was revered for going the extra mile in service because that was the way he wanted it, and his clients were the beneficiaries. I remember his stories about the Great Depression and how hard he worked.  He was so content with very few possessions; a very simple man.  It was like having a John Wayne figure for a grandfather.  One of his delivery jobs was driving a milk truck.  He had great reverence for John Brown, the owner of J.J. Brown Dairy of Troy, NY, who took such good care of his customers and employees.  Grandpa talked about John Brown’s good character until the day he died. These relationships have helped to forge many of the founding practices at RCB. And if all this were not enough, over the years, I have been fortunate to have several other men, all with significant stewardship responsibility, come into my life to help increase my leadership skills; teach me wisdom gained through long and sometimes hard experience and encourage me to aspire to great dreams.  If I named them here they would be offended.  Here is a wonderful quotation that one of them shared with me just this week: “Reputation is what you’re supposed to be.  Character is what you really are.  Reputation is what you have when you come into a new community.  Character is what you have when you go away.  Reputation is earned in an hour.  Character doesn’t come to light for a year.  Reputation is what men say about you on your tombstone.  Character is what angels say about you before the throne of God.”  (William Davis) I am fortunate to have such men building into my life. As our client list continues to grow, we are committed to expand and grow with it; to provide all the service required to those who have believed in us, hired us and trusted us with their projects and their homes.  No Detail Will Be Too Small for our clients.  The modern day management term for what we do is called building High Trust relationships (Todd Duncan).  I wonder what my Grandpa would call it.  I wish he were still alive to see RCB today, to see the simple ideals he and John Brown cherished moving forward, to see the recruiting skills of his son building an ever larger organization, to see the family influence; to see it all coming together.  I think he’d be very pleased.  I pledge to make sure that you are pleased as well. Welcome to the RCB family! Roarke Custom Builders, Inc • 461 Elliot Road • East Greenbush • New York • 12061 phone: 518-689-0066 • fax: 518-689-0067 • email: info@roarkecustombuilders.com