A first-person narrative describing how the birth of the speaker’s son 15 years ago reshaped their priorities and company culture. The speaker explains they built a larger, flexible, family-owned business to support employees, serve the community, and practice empathy—especially informed by personal experience caring for a child with special needs.
Everything changed when my son was born 15 years ago. You know, but my dad and uncle worked in the company every single day. They went on sales calls, they caught service calls, they overlooked service tickets, you know, that's what they did. But they work every day. When Colin was born and I knew what the future was holding for him and for me and our family, I knew right then I didn't have that luxury. I didn't have the luxury to go to work every single day from 8 to 5. I had to create a business and a position that gave me the flexibility to take care of my son and still do my job. I had to change and grow and become a bigger company to support that. I want to be bigger, but not because I want to just make more money. I want to be bigger so that more people have the opportunity to work for a company with a good culture. Get to work for a company that you can serve your community. And my staff takes pride in being known as a company that's going to step in and help out. If Jackson's employees succeed, then Jackson succeeds. We're all like family. I think that's a valuable tool to have somebody you can trust and depend on every day. We're one of the last family owned companies here locally and it really means a lot to stay say we're family owned and operated. We're able to help folks internally at our office in the field, but we're also able to help those in need in the community. When you go through a dramatic life experience like having a child with special needs, it completely affects context. It completely affects and changes perspective. It changed my whole thought process. With Colin, I began to learn appreciation when somebody would do something kind or a kind gesture. I said, wow, that means so much to me because I needed empathy. It's like being able to understand what somebody else is going through and dealing with and is not about you. It's not all about you. I know what it feels like to have a 14 year old son with a dirty diaper that has exploded, that I'm out in public that I don't want to be embarrassed about. I'm just, I'm a human being, okay? I know what that feels like, okay? So therefore that helps me know what it feels like for that families who just had their house destroyed and they don't have any water and they don't have any power and they now don't know what the next two weeks is going to look like. Like I understand that level of stress and fear and worry and anxiety and I think that that's why I want to go help that person. Dell's forward thinking can be very contagious and very ambiguous and very exciting. If Dale says it, Dale means it. And this is how it's going to go, and it is the benefit for all of us collectively as well as for the community.
