Recently we raised a pavilion/carport for Tom Kime and his wife Karen as part of a large-scale renovation project of their property on Seneca Lake in New York. Tom is the president of Lyons National Bank (or LNB), who has worked with New Energy Works on projects large and small for many years. We caught up with Tom & Karen recently to talk about the raising of the pavilion, their remodeling project, community partnerships, working with likeminded folks, and the goodwill a well-made pie can bring to a jobsite.
The renovation project itself is part of a group of connected family properties the couple enjoy with their adult children and grandchildren. Bringing in contractors with longtime business ties to LNB to work on the property is nothing new for Tom & Karen, they have long believed that close relationships are the key to doing good business and that a sense of community among vendors leads to better results.
“Most everyone we work with are customers of the bank.” Tom says. “We like doing business with people who are customers of ours and that relationship goes both ways.”
“We are firm believers in doing business with people who do business with you, or rather business as a relationship. We like doing business with someone who we know well enough that we can sit down and talk things over with.” Tom & Karen told us. “If you deal with the right types of people, they are really willing to work with you and develop connections with other people you have working with on a project. If they are all the right kind of people, it all gels.”
The open pavilion/carport is also a place where the family will gather to enjoy the outdoors on the property. Designed to tie in with the timber features of the main house renovation, the space was intentionally meant to be an open and airy space that fits in with the surrounding woodlands of the 30+ acre property.
Tom & Karen also have a unique philosophy when it comes to extending good will to those working on their project. When our team was raising the pavilion for example, they were treated to an assortment of baked goods throughout the day, which Tom explained was a regular occurrence on the job.
“Karen and I go up to the Adirondacks, we have a place in the mountains near Keen New York, and there is a place up there called Noon Mark Diner which has been recognized by some of the folks who live in the area for having some the best pies anywhere in the world. We can’t come home from the mountains without stopping by and picking up a bunch of pies to bring home to the grandkids, and all the workers on our project have gotten so that they really like the pies as well.” Tom told us. “It started when the countertop and center island were first installed in the main house, we were having a meeting with some of the workers on the job, and the granite had just been installed, and we had some pies, so we thought we might as well break it in!“
“Now when we come back from the mountains, we bring pies back for the guys that are working on the house. We even have a refrigerator on the jobsite for that purpose, so we try to keep a good assortment of pies on hand for them to enjoy.” Tom & Karen surmised. “We try to treat people well and have a good relationship with everyone all around, and we might grease the wheels on that a little bit with nice desserts.”
