Brad Miller introduced our first craft talk presenter, TG Metzer.  What a super talk!  This was his third time to do a craft talk. The first time was 20 years ago when he was a member of the Arcadia Rotary Sunrise Club.  The second time is when he then moved to our club, and now would be his third.  Today his son came with him as a guest.  We all applauded the presence of his young, handsome son here at our Rotary Club.

TG said “my life–I would not change anything”.  There is a BA “Before Arcadia and an AA After Arcadia”in my life.

When he was young and living in Memphis,, he was 7 years old.   He was there when Dr. King was shot, in 1968,  TG’s parents were working and so he was being cared for by his grandmother.  But, in true sense, a black lady really took care of him.   He did not really understand why the black lady was crying, that day when Martin Luther King was shot.  He did not understand why the whole city was crying.  Later that day, his uncle took him on a ride in the car as he wanted to get closer to viewing the whole situation.  As they got closer, there was fire everywhere.  That stopped the viewing for them at that point and returned home.

Later his family moved to Normal, Il.  TG said his life was normal.  He found out at this age that there were consequences to one’s action.  This turned out as it was his first brush with the law.  He painted on the sign that said “Normal, IL” and made it “Abnormal, IL”  The city township was not too happy, nor were the police!

He graduated from High School in Normal.  He applied to just one college; which was  the University of Wyoming in Laramie.  He had never been there.   He was excepted!  His next step in life was Laramie.  His younger brother was given the task of driving him to college.  His brother had planned to stay a week with him.  TG thught Laramie would be like Jacksonhole.  And, of course it was not like Jacksonhole.  His brother dropped him off and stayed one hour.

TG continued by  saying that Laramie was a great experience.  The school was fantastic.  Consequences.  He graduated in four years and went to Vail, Colorado and got a job at the Ski Shop.  He really liked his new life style.  He worked noon to four.  He had a great boss.  His boss, in fact, sometime later,  told him he was selling the business in Vail and would he like to go with him to Texas where he was buying into a new business selling phones in the car.  TG made a decision to not follow him into this new business. Years later they met again, and his old boss had made it big in the new product of having a phone in car. This business hit the market and was a big success.

TG then moved to Denver and worked for Nabrisco Grains.  Again he had a great experience and his boss was a WWII veteran of 35 years.  This boss, like his last boss, really took and interest and mentored him in the wholesale grain business. They got along very well.

In 1986 TG went to to Mass Merchandising and working with companies like KMart, Walmart.  Choices one makes.  Denver and Boulder stores were massive.

The Nabisco guy came in and wanted to price the Oreos at 99 cents a package.  No way was that going to happen.  The salesman said “Get your boss out here”. And, indeed the packages were priced at 99Cents and sold like hotcakes.  At that point his boss said “the country is going to change.”   Yes, that did happen and the pricing of products — and the merging of companies was the next big step in the production of nerchandising and selling.

At this point in his life TG did not want to work in this field.

TG went into the “AA” — After Arcadia, of his life.  State Farm Insurance.

As he brought his craft talk to a close he mentioned that he had many great successes and failures.  But, he had learned more from him failures.  Growth comes from failures.

The insurance agent is the provider.  Insurance is always a price issue.  There are three areas that makes the center of life:  Liability, Home, Auto.Liabiity represents good coverage, Your auto can always be replaced.  But, your home has to have the proper coverage.  All insurances must have the right protection.

TG’s choice was to come back our Rotary Club and is now looking forward to helping out where ever possible.

Phyllis Corliss