"A dollar is a dollar, and a dime
is a dime. I'd sing another verse, but I haven't got the time."
We arrive in port this morning with our decks and holds
full of stories from around the Shore and from around the
world... a morning your otherwise retiring country editor
would gladly sit back and watch the parade go by.
But there is too much good news to report for us to
remain silent for long.
Icy Moves
It's not suprising that a company named ICNet would
be out running about during an ice and snow storm, but
just how much they would be running about is a little
unexpected.
While plans around the country were changed and cancelled
by nearly a foot of snow, ice and sub-zero temperatures,
the final move of people and equipment into The Computer
Village went without a hitch. (Well, perhaps a hitch
here and there, but nothing that couldn't get un-hitched.)
So now, the long-awaited Computer Village is a
reality at last, with staff from ICNet, Intercom Computers,
Stat Computer Repair and Quality Data Systems all working
frantically to meet the needs of their customers while
they are completing this ambitious and exciting phase in
their growth.
It hasn't been easy, but the goodwill earned by
each of these companies over the years has made
for patient customers who are happy to see the
growth, and rightly feel responsible for it.
The Village has energy, you can feel it when you walk in
the door. You can feel that there are a group of people
there who are committed to what they are doing, and they
will do whatever it takes to accomplish their goal. For
some, that is an emergency repair on an office network
system. For others, it is configuring computers to connect
to the internet.
While things may be confusing, they don't seem to mind,
and there are smiling faces greeting customers, visitors,
and friends.
They know that if they want routine and order, there is
plenty of boredom available in other places they could
be working. But it's the excitement here that keeps them
after hours, working on computers and carpentry and
whatever else needs to be done.
These tasks are normally left to the owners of an enterprise,
and the Wards and Mitchell are moving at blinding speed. But
the rest of the folks there are just as committed, and it's
because, we believe, they feel a sense of ownership, too.
They've been given something that one doesn't often find
in ones working career: a chance to help build an important
company that will last for years to come. They sense this,
and they know they will see their contribution grow as the
company grows. It's an exciting thing to watch.
They hope you will grow with them, and that you will
join them in building something totally new and different,
a company driven by the needs of its customers and the
committment of its people to quality, and to effective
computing.
We don't bet, but we do gamble at times. And from our
view of things, the smart money's on the Village People.