Friday, January 15, 2016
To Susan, The Perry Family & Bob's Friends: I met Bob about '97, when Baracuda Zodiac acquired Fountainhead Technologies & Nature 2. He was the National Trainer for them and I was the National Trainer for Baracuda. Bob was one of the very few from Fountainhead that was kept on after the merger. When we were told that we needed to cross train each other, then travel the country training our sales staff & key dealers; I told Bob, "I hope your ready to play golf across America." Well, we did it. I shot video of just about every course we played from California to Maine. In each one, at some point I'd say, "Say Hi Bob" and Bob would answer "Hi Bob!" It got to be a standing joke. The highlight was winning the Region 9 tournament with Bob and one of his friends, Steve, I think and Brian, a golf buddy of mine who was working the area at the time. We won at Wentworth By The Sea, a beautiful old course with 9 holes on the water & 9 holes in the trees. We all played great that day and Bob hit some of his best shots. He was so proud to win in front of the dealers & customers he'd known for so long.
Bob taught me a lot when it came to giving a presentation, handling objections and securing accounts. Bob was "old school". He knew the value of building relationships with customers. At trade shows, especially in the Northeast, Bob knew everyone. And everyone knew Bob. Twice when working with Bob in his backyard, he took me over to the American Legion for " a couple of pops before dinner". The first time we walked in, he introduced me to everybody and ordered us 2 beers. Within in minutes there were 4 beers for each of us, sitting on the bar. We had to get outta there before we drowned! No matter what, Bob could always answer the bell. It became something we taught young sales reps. When you saw Bob, there were 3 things you could count on: a genuine smile, a firm handshake and hearing "Hey Pal" ! I'll be raising a toast this weekend to my friend Bob, along with a lot of other people around the country and I hope each of you that reads this, does also. Susan, as difficult as this is now, I hope you smile every time you remember the good times. I know I will.
With Deepest Sympathy,
Buzz
