A little over a week ago (on Friday March 11th), we had a lot of excitement at Interactive Solutions (ISI) as we prepared to
celebrate our 20th anniversary. I have to admit, as the guy that
started the business, I was dealing with a lot of different emotions all day
long. It started when I read the wonderful article about us in the local paper
(Commercial Appeal) and continued as I reflected on all we had been through in
the past two decades. I started thinking about the early days, our funding
challenges, my cancer diagnosis (melanoma), our first embezzlement ($15K) and
the partnership buyout/divorce. As I thought about it, any one of those issues
could have easily put us out of business… yet we survived.
And years later the challenges continued as we dealt with a
$260,000 employee embezzlement (2003) 10 months after my brother’s sudden
death. And then in 2007 we had to rise to the occasion one more time when 80%
of ISI’s sales team left the company with little if any notice. And to add to
our struggles, one of ISI’s best technicians (Danney Stone) died of
complications from a liver transplant and my wife was diagnosed with breast
cancer. All of this happened in a 30 day period that summer right before the
Great Recession. Tough times? You bet! How hard was it? I remember
being so traumatized by everything that had happened that I was afraid to turn
out the lights in my bedroom (because I was afraid of what the next day would
look like).
But somehow with God’s help and great support from ISI
employees and business partners, we made it through those tough times, overcame
significant obstacles in the AV/VTC industry and moved forward to continue to
strengthen and grow the company like never before. And we never gave up. We kept working hard and
never stopped believing in ourselves. And maybe that’s the reason
why this anniversary means so much to me and ISI. Because the path to get
here HAS NOT BEEN EASY! As we wrapped up the celebration with a wonderful
reception at a local country club, I must say that I was filled with immense gratitude and pride in ISI and all we’ve
accomplished these past 20 years and am looking forward to 20 more!