~ by Christine Fletcher, President & Founder

There is a little bit of insanity involved in starting and running a small business. The pressures are intense: defining the business while looking for customers and then having the responsibility of coming up with enough money every week to pay employees all while you have no one to vacuum the office or shovel the side walk.

After twenty-five years of exactly this type of insanity, one of the original founders of Secondwind, Jan Beauvais, is retiring at the end of June.

Many of our early customers will remember Jan as the brainy guy who might spend two or three hours testing their water and explaining everything they needed to know. One customer said to a friend, “have him out, it’s worth the show.”

Inside Secondwind Jan was the one who researched technical issues with incredible thoroughness, developed systems (process and computer), created a database, defined our configurations and taught us all how to approach problem solving. His legacy here at Secondwind is long and it is deep.

At the end of May we presented Jan with a special momento (a Kinetico valve exposed with all its amazing gears and turbines). The words on our gift say FOUNDER, THINKER, TEACHER, FRIEND. We thank you Jan for all the ways you have left your imprint within the fabric of the company. Timing is pretty perfect, Jan and his wife Christine became grandparents on June 17. We wish you a little less insanity and a lot more time to enjoy your gardens and the next generation.