At Boulter, we tend to go big with everything we do. It’s something our clients, partners and community notice quickly when talking with us. We bring the biggest and best equipment, team and resources to every job, and we pride ourselves in noticing, tracking and fixing even the smallest issues during a rigging or steel fabrication job.
A record few companies, let alone family-owned businesses, are around long enough to celebrate 125 successful years. Celebrating our milestone 125th anniversary was a big deal, even for Boulter. However, it left the question, “How do you ‘Go Big,’ when that’s what you do in business every day?”
To commemorate our history and engage our employees and community, we started our celebration in the summer of 2016 with our first customer appreciation party. We then ramped up activities with customers, friends and employees throughout the year, culminating with “BoulterFest,” an employee and client appreciation party.
To engage our community over the summer, we developed a special logo for our anniversary, posted some fun #BoulterFacts to social media, rolled out our trucks and participated in the Webster Fireman’s parade, and were featured in the Democrat & Chronicle, Rochester Business Journal, the Monroe County Post and other local media. And coming up this fall, we will be helping the Center for Youth with their Fashion Week!
At BoulterFest, we honored our employees, customers and community who have supported us with the dedication of a newly installed eight-ton boulder and commemorative plaque reading, “With every move we make, we remain firmly planted in our history, our family, and our community.” We also honored our employees who have served in the U.S. military. Representative Louise Slaughter presented us with an American flag, which flew over the U.S. Capitol, in honor of our anniversary. During a ceremony, our veterans raised and saluted this flag on our brand new flagpole.
During our celebration, Representative Louise Slaughter, Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo, the Rochester Chamber of Commerce and the Webster Chamber of Commerce recognized us for 125 years of service to the community. In addition, we were honored to receive an official proclamation from Mayor Lovely Warren and the City of Rochester prior to the celebration, stating that August 24, 2017 was a day to celebrate BoulterFest. We are grateful for the time and kind words our government and business leaders dedicated to helping us celebrate our anniversary.
A personal perspective
Over the past year, I spent a lot of time focusing on what 125 years as a family-owned business meant. It really came down to why we are so successful here at Boulter: our history and our employees. Our history brought us to where we are. It’s the driving force of what Boulter offers. But, the men and women who work here are really the heart and soul of Boulter. They know this company, its history and its services inside and out. Many have worked here for years and some are second and third generation family employees, too. I wouldn’t be where I am without them and their dedication.
So, while this past year was a celebration of our journey and 125 years of amazing and colorful history, it was also the celebration of a bright and promising future. I’m excited by the opportunity to lead this dedicated team and thrilled to see how we evolve and grow in the next few years.