We were very glad to meet all the members of the business community who came out to help with the official ribbon-cutting ceremony at our new Dallas/Irving warehouse, training and customer service location. There was quite a crowd when we opened the doors, with representatives and ambassadors from the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Irving/Las Colinas Chamber and the Irving Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Robert Adler, Chairman of the Ambassadors Group of the Irving Chamber did an excellent job introducing our company and explaining what we do. I had the opportunity to say a few words and to thank all of the folks who came out to wish us well, including old friends Laurie Gonz of Impressions, Deborah Sexton of Saracen Communications, Paul Bellantone, President and CEO of PPAI, Rick Brenner of Prime Resources Corp., Rich Jacobs of SanMar, industry veteran Mike Carter and his wife Cathy, Tommy Lewis from Bob Lilly Professional Promotions and many other familiar faces. Your support means a lot. We were also grateful to meet so many new friends, and truly felt welcomed by your Texas hospitality. The whole team is very confident we have made the right decision in putting down roots here. After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, (where do you get those big scissors?) we had a few moments to spend with many of the good-will welcoming ambassadors and local business people.
Thank you, thank you for taking time out of your busy day to come say hello. At 11:00 am customers began arriving for educational heat printing sessions and it was non-stop action until the last session ended at 7 pm. Some of the things we heard repeated over and over were, “We’re so glad you’re here, we need the education.” “All the education you’re offering is unheard of, you are the only ones to do it.” “We are thrilled we will be able to pick up the products we need on short notice.” It was wonderful meeting so many of you. Remember, we won’t be fully stocked and ready to fulfill orders until December 15th, we are still working on filling the warehouse shelves, getting a phone number and a phone system and other internal logistics. Thank you to everyone who helped get the new building ready for the open house, especially Brian Elliott of MEC, Carole and Lynn, Victoria, Alison, Missy, Cheryl, Mark V., Mark M., Brian M., Karin, Elisa and Jason from Transfer Express, Mona, Frank, Brian P., Sonia, Iris and Tim. And special thanks to Carleen Gray for planning, coordinating everything with the chambers and inviting our VIPs, and to Steve Bobowski for helping to welcome everyone and to everyone behind the scenes that I didn’t mention. I know it takes a lot of team work to hold such an event, making samples, arranging for refreshments, cleaning, packing and unpacking boxes, making swag bags, travel arrangements, writing emails and so much more. A lot of effort went into making these days a success. Last but not least, thanks to my wife Mary for being my better 3/4 (she’s more than my better half) and for being part of this historic and very special day for Stahls’. Texas, we have arrived and we are looking forward to helping you all grow your custom apparel businesses in this beautiful state and beyond.
Excellent! I hope you open a store in Houston and in the Rio Grande Valley (Harlingen, McAllen) soon.