Business closing after 66 years
Thompson Electric started as a family business and it’s because of family that it will come to a close.
Gary Thompson’s days of pouring over wiring schematics are drawing down as the 64-year-old Bellefontaine business owner prepares to shutter Thompson Electric after 66 years. (EXAMINER PHOTO | JOEL E. MAST)
Gary Thompson announced at the first of the year he was closing the business his father, Harold, started in 1950. A driving factor is the growing number of grandchildren he’d like to spend time visiting.
“I have two sons and a daughter and they’re all doing their own things,” he said. “I never wanted to either discourage or encourage them in any one direction. They all found their own way.
“There’s no one else in the family that wants to take it over. So, it seems like the best way is to close it.”
In a letter to customers, Mr. Thompson wrote, “This is bittersweet for me. It is difficult because I have developed so many meaningful relationships with all of you.
“On a positive note, my retirement will allow my wife (Peggy) and I to travel and spend more time with our five, and soon to be six, young grandchildren.”
The family business included residential, commercial, industrial and farm electric.
The career has been “rewarding and challenging,” he said. “As the owner, you’re the one who has to make all the decisions.”
He noted that careers in the trades such as electrical, plumbing, heating and construction offer stable employment.
“There is always going to be a need,” Mr. Thompson said.
The key is to deliver quality work with integrity.
Using that philosophy allowed Thompson Electric to develop a loyal customer base over its 66-year span.
“You get a lot of satisfaction in helping them out, and over time, you would learn to know them as more than customers. You look forward to visiting and catching up when you were called out to a job,” Mr. Thompson said. “I’m going to miss that interaction.
Read complete story Monday’s Examiner.
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