RETIRED!!!

Ernie, Laurel, Angel & Tyler

After 52 years, my parents have fnally RETIRED!!!! They opened a hardware store, lumberyard and construction business just four months after they were married and have owned it ever since. 

Our family is thrilled that all the businesses are staying within the family! Dad and Mom handed over the regins to the businesses to my brother and his son.  Randy/Holly own and operate the construction business and Tyler/Angel just bought and run Ernie's Building Center as of June 1, 2011. 

All of us kids are so pleased that they are finally retired!  They deserve it!  They have tirelessly worked over the years to build quite a legacy.  They worked so very hard and so, so, so many long hours. 

To honor Dad and Mom, their hard work, and this momentous occassion, we threw a retirement celebration in conjunction with Ernie's Building Center's Annual Customer Appreciation Day. 

Since May, I have been planning, organizing and dreaming what the celebration would look like.  Mom and Dad wanted it very unobtrusive because they don't like to be in the spotlight.  With that in mind, I searched and searched for retirement celebration ideas but I always came up empty-handed.  So, I put my creative thinking cap on and here's what I came up....

Rick, Terry, Laurel, Ernie, Tyler, Angel, Randy, Barb, & Becky

It's official (all the above, plus Roy next to Angel)

First, we held a private ribbon cutting to honor Tyler and Angel's new endeavor.  My brother, Terry, was the emcee of the event and did a FANTASTIC job.  We took lots of pictures with family and vendors; then, we watched a movie that Rob, Barby, and I put together recalling Dad and Mom's contributions and legacy.  I used "Picasa" to create the video but to upload it I had to split it into 2 parts because it takes time to recall over a half of a century of memories!

Part 1 of Video

Click on this link to view Part 2 of the Video:

https://picasaweb.google.com/104212523944746670287/ExportedVideos#5663337545095639794

I also gathered, organized and presented our family's memories of the businesses on "posters" for folks to read at their leisure.  I dubbed it a "Trip Down Memory Lane"...and mounted the posters on lathe sticks and stuck them in sand-filled buckets.  We opted for that presentation so they could easily be moved around and would be at eye level for most of the guests.  We neglected to take pictures of each poster but you can see them in the background of the below photos. 

Watching memory presentation.  (Note:  Posters in the backgrounds of both pictures.) 

We also invited customers, friends, neighbors, etc...to recount and share their personal memories with Mom and Dad.  I embellished notecards and strung them from a clothesline with decorated clothespins.  We were pleased so many shared their thoughts and memories. 

So, for those of you who couldn't attend....I hope you enjoyed the re-createment of the event and for those of you seeking inspiration I hope my ideas will help you create a memorable retirement celebration for the special retiree(s) in your life! 

The Nemec Clan

I wish Mom and Dad many happy years of retirement in their big diesel pusher :)  You most certainly have earned it and definitely deserve it!!

Thanks to all of the family's help for making this event so special and letting me "run" with my ideas :)  Everyone pitched in to make it all a reality!  Holly- providing pictures, Barby-editting, Randy- pounding nails to make a "52", Katey's help with the banners, Rick/Sue's help with set up and tear down, Terry- emceeing the ribbon cutting, Jackie- for taking pictures and last but not least, Rob, for always lending his support and hands to make my "big ideas" a reality.  It was truly a family effort :)