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Life Goes On ~ Work!

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Padre Island The change came in the form of selling time-share in Padre Island . The company who owned the time-shares paid me a salary. It was a very high-pressured job. They wanted results and fast! I thought it would be like real estate sales, but I was very wrong! My time with the company was short lived! Time to star to look once again! Dayton-Wright Remember I told you about my friends and former clients, Klaus and Gerry , and Dayton Wright , this is where they come in. the “ boys ” purchased a half interest into a electronic audio manufactures, Dayton Wright . Their partner in this company was an eccentric electronic designer, Mike Wright . He was the genius behind “ mind blowing ” electrostatic loud speakers . He was having financial challenges, and that’s where Klaus and Gerry came in. In addition to some manufacturing problems, ( I’ll tell you more about that later ) the products that the company manufactured weren’t selling very well.  (to be continued)  
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Life Goes On ~ Work!

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At the time I left, P.A.M. and Crown Life , I was living in Bramalea . When I decided to change careers to become a real estate salesman , I looked around the area. Johnson Carney at the time seemed to be the area’s premier real estate brokerage, so I applied for a job with them. To make a long story shorter, they liked me and offer me a job. I had to obtain my real estate license, but Jonson Carney had an excellent training program and I passed the tests. Here I was, a real estate salesman, on commission, ( with a little draw ) ready to conquer the world, or, at least, Bramalea and Brampton ! During that period real estate sales were slow, and my commissions were low. I really liked the job. The owners of the company, Art Johnson , was an excellent boss and very generous, but with little money coming in, a family to fee, I became very upset. Again, I needed a change.  
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My "NEW" Life ~ Work!

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Crown Life Insurance (continued)    Back then, adding machines were elective and very large, too big to carry around. Crown Life used to offer its salespeople special products. This time, they offered “ handheld ” calculators. They were about the same size as today’s larger cell phones, perhaps a litter deeper. We could buy these wonderful “ new fangled ” calculators, that “ Added ”, “ Subtracted ” “ Multiplied : and “ Divided ” ( imagine that! ) for the low price of ( drumroll! ) $275.00 ! I bought one and was so proud to show it off to my friends. Boy, times sure have changed! Mine was black!
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My "NEW" Life ~ Work!

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Crown Life Insurance My father’s insurance agency was affiliated with Crown Life Insurance . To complete their line of insurance services, they worked with Crown , offering different Life insurance products. During our time with Crown Life , we had a few different life insurance salesmen working with us. When one of them decided to leave the business, I asked if I could fill the spot. That’s when I became a life insurance salesman. Honestly, I wasn’t very good at it and eventually left for something different. Frankly, I was restless. Working for my dad was really great, and I learned a lot, but the friction between my brother and I was great. He was 10 years older them me, and was my father’s second in command. So, the writing was on the wall and becoming a real estate agent seemed to be a good career to enter. Before I leave the Crown Life part of my journey, I’d like to relay a fun story!! (to be continued)  
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My "NEW" Life ~ Work!

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Paul A. McWilliams & Son Limited (continued)   My second clients of note were Klaus and Gerry . They came, too, after the purchase of another small agency. Again, I was assigned to handle the new client’s business. I had been working in the business for a while, so handling business insurance was straight forward. This was important, because Klaus and Gerry owned a successful and growing business. I had a great relationship with Klaus and Gerry , especially Gerry , and had many fun and entertaining “ meetings ” with them. After I left my dad’s business, I kept in touch with them, both as friends and eventually, as an employee for a business they had invested in. I’ll tell you more about that a little later. After 10 years, eventually, my enthusiasm working at Paul A. McWilliams & Son waned and I started to look for something different to do.
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My "NEW" Life ~ Work!

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Paul A. McWilliams & Son Limited (continued)   Later, enter my brother, then my sister and then me! That made us 4 th generation insurance nerds! My daughter, Ainsley, is an insurance broker and is 5 th generation ( go figure! ). Will there be a 6 th generation, who knows?! Now back to the story. Sometime, after I ha joined the firm, my mother’s father’s, Joseph Lamb, ( get that ) health failed and his small agency started to suffer. That’s when my father purchased his father-in-law’s agency. After the purchase, I was assigned to manage my grandfathers’ clients. Enter Max Fruitman and his wife. They were a wonderful couple, very poor, and very unlucky. They had a fire in their home and they lost everything! Fortunately, before their fire, I had convinced them to increase their insurance coverage. This really helped when disaster struck. It also taught me a lesson in my young insurance life, “ help people when you get a chance! ”. (to be continued)
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My "NEW" Life ~ Work!

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Paul A. McWilliams & Son Limited (continued)   Our journey through the insurance world started in England with my grandfather’s family. That was on my mother’s side of the family. When my grandfather immigrated to Canada , he became an insurance agent and started an agency with another man. He eventually took over ownership on his own. On my fathers’ side, his father and his brother worked in insurance. When their father passed away, the agency was left to the family and my dad and his brother ran and eventually purchased the business. ( Family Dynamic! ) At some point, the brothers decided to split the agency in two. Both went their own way after that and Paul A. McWilliams insurance was born. (to be continued)
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