Introduction

I want to thank you for coming tonight to honor Mark at his retirement party. On behalf of Ace Enterprises I welcome you!

I’ve been given the privilege to present the retirement address tonight, but before I get started, let me first introduce to you to our honored guest’s family. To the right of Mark is his lovely wife Donna and to his left is their son Albert. Let’s give them a warm welcome.

Reflection

The caterpillar is a slow moving creature that constantly works without rest and at work’s end, morphs into something beautiful for the remainder of its life, a butterfly. The caterpillar’s life cycle resembles the growth of Ace Enterprises and of Mark. Now, I am not saying that Mark is slow...but he did seem to have a dozen hands while doing the job. Like the caterpillar, Mark was able to accomplish what others only hoped to accomplish.

As Ace Enterprises incrementally grew in the scope and quality of our business, so did Mark. He began as a clerk in the outer offices in our former facilities, working his way up to Senior Accounts Manager. Like mine, his belly grew in size with each promotion too; from the size of a Red Sox’s baseball, right on up to the Celtics basketball that we both support today!

All kidding aside, what I remember most about Mark, is his tenacity. Remember when the powers that be solicited help to divert that would be disastrous computer failure? Only Mark remembered how to record the invoices in the pattern our computers copied. When the dust settled and the computers came back online, everything was in order.

Some called him Sponge Bob Square Pants because of Mark’s exuberant happy go lucky style outside of work, especially at our annual Christmas party! Yet, he was serious about our business. The length of Mark’s client list illumines this fact.

Acknowledgment

Thomas Edison once said, “The three great essentials to achieve anything worth while are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.” These words exhibit the qualities of the Ace Enterprises work ethic. Mark personified these words in everything he did for the company, and for the customers he served throughout the twenty years he has been with us. Because of his efforts, our company is all the more stronger and secure.

Let me share with you the phrase Mark repeated before he met a new client in his office. “There is no one I have met that I didn’t like. If I like them, they will like me and the company I represent.” This of course is a parody of what Will Rogers said, “I never met a man I didn’t like.” But Mark extended that observation into a personal mantra that gave him great success with the people he served.

The Future

I spoke with Mark about his future plans and this is what he said, “I’m going to do everything!” Like the caterpillar that morphs into a butterfly, tomorrow Mark and his wife will begin a change in their life’s routine to “do everything.” They fly away from Boston’s airport tomorrow to take a world tour. Their final stop will be Santa Barbara, California where Mark and Donna plan to live.

Ace Enterprises inherits a fine employee example in Mark. What we all can keep as our own when Mark leaves is the knowledge that we, like Mark, can achieve the desires of our heart if we keep at it, work hard, and use a little common sense in our dealings with others.

Conclusion

Tomorrow morning Mark will awake and from that moment on Ace Enterprises will slowly become a distant memory, like the images of land as a boat sails into the sunset. It is our hope that Mark will take with him memories of friendship and support, and memories that will help guide him and Donna to safe harbors and fun times.

Our grandest wishes are with you Mark and Donna.

Thanks once again to all of you for being here tonight. And thank you Mark for being who you are, an inspiration to us all.