Tim Guaraldi
Tim Guaraldi shared some of his history with us today. He started his talk by talking about his grandfather, Lenard Alexander Guarali who post WWII he moved his family to 1000 acres of land Grafton, NH. This was during the beginning of the cold war,. He surmised that of all the places you could live with the treat of nuclear war would be in the granite hills of New Hampshire. Though he soon learned that the government had interest in the minerals on his property, especially the uranium. Closer to nuclear energy than he would have imagined. His grandfather was a very brilliant person. he focused his time on research and development. He started Bond Optics which is located on the Etna Road. From the Bond Optics web page:
Bond Optics manufactures precision custom optical components. Our superior quality optics are produced to exact design specifications here in the U.S.A. As a world-class supplier of precision optics and precision optical components, Bond Optics has had the pleasure of serving the Aerospace, Defense, Semiconductor, High Energy Laser, Biomedical, and Automotive industries and Academia for over 60 years.
Tim's grandfather wanted Tim to work for the company. After graduating from UNH with a degree in Business Management, he began employment at Bond Optics in Quality Control. As an aside, Tim shared that it took him 4 1/2 years to graduate, as hunting and fishing could get in the way of his studies.
In addition to doing his Quality Control duties, his grandfather believed that he should know something about every job it takes to run a business. So he could be found working as a cleaner of offices and bathrooms too.
While working at Bond Optics, Raytheon honored the organization with an award of excellence as one of their top 5 vendors. The award was presented to Tim by a general, but Tim doesn't remember who this was.
After his grandfather's death, Tim decided to change course and decided to go into his father's insurance business. At this time he was father to two daughters and his wife was pregnant with twins.
Tim talked about the challenges of learning a new job, and studying to take all the tests to be qualified as an insurance agent. He was working full day, studying late into many nights and working hard to find time to be a good father to Miranda (now a nurse), Nicole, Katrina, and Deserae (now a nurse). He is a believer in working hard. He believes no one should expect an award for what they do...you should just DO. He shared that his life isn't complicated, just filled with doing hard/good work that helps him support his family.
The insurance business has grown from 1.2 million in premiums, to 2.4 million in premiums to now doing over 5 million in premiums. In 2005 the business became his own business. Tim is licensed to sell securities. This is a significant part of his business too. In the past year, he sold his business to Relations Insurance. He is still very involved in the business caring for his clients. He is grateful for all the business he receives via referrals...the main way he has been able to grown his business.
Tim and his wife Anna live in Newport. Anna is the third nurse in his live. His three nurses are part of his long-term care plan.
Prior to joining Rotary, he had been a member of the Lebanon Lions Club and served as president two times. Thus his reluctance to be our president.
Bruce Bergeron is the person who invited Tim to join Rotary in 2015.
While exploring his linked in site, I found the following written by Tim:
I'm passionate about helping clients save money while building a comprehensive insurance package to protect them.
My family has experienced multiple tragedies, from fires to deaths, while we cannot remove the pain,
we can help reduce the other stresses that come with those losses.
What energizes me? Hearing clients say thank you, when they need to use their insurance or retirement products.
Away from work, you'll find me hiking, fishing or hunting in the great outdoors, preferably with friends.
My family has experienced multiple tragedies, from fires to deaths, while we cannot remove the pain,
we can help reduce the other stresses that come with those losses.
What energizes me? Hearing clients say thank you, when they need to use their insurance or retirement products.
Away from work, you'll find me hiking, fishing or hunting in the great outdoors, preferably with friends.
Tim then let us ask questions;
He was asked about how many rental units he has. He shared that his father has 72 units. A building on Hanover St. does weekly rentals for many in need. Often his Dad made the units available for individuals in crisis. Tim has a building in Claremont that he continues to work to improve. He shared that being a landlord can be a challenge.
Dean Cashman asked Tim to retell stories of going camping with his family that he told in his first classification talk. He went on to retell a story of going to a nudist camp with his family when he was a teen, and then getting into trouble "flashing" visitors on the road to Ruggles Mine in Grafton.