Four Reasons We're Celebrating Today

Since today is Independence Day, I thought I'd take a break from my usual blog posts and share four of the reasons we're celebrating today, above and beyond our usual Fourth of July festivities. We have so much to be thankful for!

Two All-American Craftsmen

I'm grateful to have more calls for work than one man can answer, and this year I've started referring some of my customers to local handymen whom I trust to do a great job.

Recently Jesse Scott, who's already one of the craftsmen in our network, introduced me to two more extremely talented handymen, who are both very friendly and easy to work with. I'm thrilled to introduce them here.

As you can see, Allan Bailey is a real family guy, and he has a very easy-going personality. He's also an Army reservist, so he's got the military ethic to show up on time and do the job right! Especially today, I'm honored to bring a member of the Armed Forces into our network. Welcome, Allan!

Like me, Allan has been a handyman since he was a teenager, and he's picked up a lot of skills along the way. He's available for a wide range of projects: building decks, replacing light fixtures, repairing doors, installing windows, small plumbing jobs, and much more.

Check out a few of his recent on-the-job photos. (Click to enlarge.)

Ricardo Blanco of Blancos Home Improvement is also new to our network.

I'm continually impressed by Ricardo's range of skills. He does everything from spot-welding to deck-building. He's also a family man, and he brings a friendly and positive attitude to every job.

Take a look at a few pictures of Ricardo's work. (Click any photo to enlarge.) What a craftsman!

Click here if you'd like to work with Allan or Ricardo... or keep reading for another reason to celebrate.

Good News on the Home Front

When you call us to schedule work, you'll almost always reach my wife Faith. She's my office manager, and she often says that one of her favorite parts of her job is getting to know our customers and talking about their projects with them.

If you've been our customer for awhile, you might also know that Faith has been battling Grave's Disease for the last two years. It has been a serious challenge to her health and a great concern for all of us.

This summer I am thankful to say that Faith has "kept the faith," so to say. She has turned the corner and begun to recover and get her health back!

Many of you have sent your thoughts and prayers to us during her illness, so I'd like to send a big "thank you" to all of you. Your good wishes have been very encouraging, and your prayers must have worked!

Now I'm going to turn the blog over to Faith for another piece of awesome news which she picked up from the local community and which seems perfect for sharing today.

The Eagles Are Back!

Faith writes:

Thank you Arthur, and I second that motion: thank you to all of our customers and craftsmen and other members of our community that have prayed for me and sent their good wishes. It means a lot to me.

One of the first things I did when my health started to recover was to spend more time getting out and reconnecting with my friends and acquaintances. Recently I had the chance to visit our county library, where I saw something amazing:

Avian expert Mike Skinner of Balsam Mountain Trust held a "Birds of Prey" demonstration which included this lovely young eagle named "Hope."

"Hope" received her name because the conservation program for American Bald Eagles has been working. If you live in the Asheville area, you might even have noticed this in person. I myself have seen eagles flying up and down the French Broad River valley. It's a wonderful piece of good news, and proof that conservation really works.

If you live out in the countryside like I do, you might have also spotted one of these, especially at night:

Isn't she lovely? She's a barn owl. Sadly, although barn owls are not endangered in general, her handler said that our local population has been dwindling as people replace old wooden barns with steel buildings.

The good news is that you can help replenish the local population of these beautiful birds. Locals have discovered that barn owls will move into owl boxes, so if you have the right kind of terrain, you might be able to give your local birds a new home. Or if you have an old barn on your property, consider keeping it maintained for our feathered friends.

We hope that you and your family are having a safe and happy holiday. We'll be back from vacation tomorrow, and we're looking forward to hearing from you about your next project.

Give Faith a call and say "hi"