The year 2000 marked both a celebration and a loss—our 25th anniversary coincided with the passing of our founder, Elmer Schmidek. Determined to carry on his legacy, his children stepped in to lead the business forward. Gary Schmidek transitioned into sales, Cathy Dool took on marketing, and Arlene Schmidek became administrative manager. Their leadership guided us into a new era, ensuring that Elmer’s values and customer-first philosophy remained at the heart of our operations.