Where did we begin, you ask?
Well, In the beginning (1999), we created this business. It was without form and our finances were void. Angela was pregnant with our first child, and we were on welfare, collecting food stamps.
We were broke and we had no clue what life was about. We actually started Watermark Painting simply to survive, literally just to put food on the table.
I didn’t have a truck and there was no money to buy one and no one would finance us a truck. That didn’t matter, because I couldn’t afford a payment.
Angela’s step dad loaned me his personal truck, a 1982 Dodge Ram single cab stick shift. And that is what I drove for the first year or so.
I figured I would go to college so I could get a career going, but after the first semester, our business started taking off. In 2001, we hired our first employee, who worked with us until August of 2019. In 2001, we were able to build our credit and I purchased an 8 year old pickup.
After 6 months or so of starting this amazing business, we called the state and said “Thank you for helping us get on our feet, but we no longer need financial assistance.”
Fast forward to today, we have several trucks without financing.
Angela and I have discovered that if we run Watermark Painting as a business and treat employees and clients with care, and create a great culture for our team of employees to work in, this is actually a great career.
We have been so blessed and we love to help others in need.
In fact, I actually serve as a volunteer, certified police officer for the Tonkawa Police Department. I also love serving as the Christian chaplain for our police department. We are truly blessed.
I have had many ask how I can afford to take time off to work for free as a police officer part time. Well, we strive to hire the best men and women possible to join our team. We don’t look for great painters. We look for great people, and train them to be highly skilled. We take care of our team members and they take great care of our clients. We are always looking for great men and women to join our team.
Our oldest daughter, Hannah, got married in 2019 to a Ponca City Firefighter. As a part time police officer, I don’t understand what she saw in a firefighter. Kidding, of course! He is a great guy and we love all our first responders.
My second oldest daughter, Charity, graduated high school in 2019 and works as a dispatcher for the Tonkawa Police Department. We adopted our 7 year old son, Elijah, on November 3rd, 2019. We are beyond blessed.