It’s been quite a ride for Pamela Marino of Home-Tech – and to describe this dedicated and driven team member as a Jill of all trades is nothing less than apt.
As Pamela celebrates nearly three decades with Home-Tech, the Board Members promoted her to the role of President. “Pam knows the ins and outs of every department in this company and has helped this company grow through her hard work and dedication,” states board member and Training Manager Brian Schraufnagl. “I couldn’t think of anyone better suited for the role of President.”
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From Ohio Girl to Home-Tech Executive
Thirty-eight years ago, she arrived in Fort Myers from Akron, Ohio with her husband, who happened to be the brother of Home-Tech Founder & CEO, Steve Marino.
Her husband urged her to join him working at Home-Tech, and she found herself in a back office, inputting invoices and trying to learn all she could about the appliance and AC business. Soon, Pamela and her husband expanded the business to Port Charlotte. The couple relocated to Charlotte County with their two young sons and Pamela remembers working out of a tiny office on a shoestring budget.
Charlotte County Location
“We had a little window air conditioning unit and no hot water for the first few years and we used the dryer top to hold the copier and I stored my paper supplies in the dryer. If the kids were sick, I’d just bring them to work. I’d have a computer in front of me, a phone in my ear, and a kid on my lap. It was gratifying though,” Pamela says, “We built it, with care. A high level of customer service is so important to me.”
Pamela and her husband amicably split and she stuck with Home-Tech. Pamela returned to the Fort Myers office as Assistant Service Manager and it was a far cry from her Charlotte County duties. “Home-Tech grew quickly and I grew along with it,” she says. From there she became the Service Operations Manager, Chief Operations Officer, and now the President of Home-Tech.
Passing the Baton
Steve Marino, who previously held the role of President and is retaining the position of CEO, said about Pamela, “In the past 30 years Pam Marino has learned all the many stages and facets necessary to provide convenient in-home service. No one, I mean NO ONE, knows and understands in-home service like Pam Marino. Like any serious business, promotions come by your talent and skills. The fact is, she earned it the old fashion way, sweat and long hours.”
What’s the Biggest Change in 29 Years?
There have been so many improvements to our internal operational systems. Some of the biggest changes in the last 29 years have been changes in technology and using it to our, and our customer’s advantage. We have a fantastic I.T. department on staff and all of our programs are custom built for our unique business model. They developed software that enables us to give 2-hour time frames for service calls and our members can go online and schedule their own service. We are in the process of creating a mobile app to make the process even easier for the customer to do business with us. We are also in development with a program that allows us to communicate with our techs in the field more efficiently which will prove to be a cost-saving effort for our company.”
In Love Too with Community Service
If Pam looks familiar to you it may be because you’ve seen her at various community events. Her passion is the Partners for Breast Cancer Care. Partners for Breast Cancer Care is a non profit who provides breast health care to under-served clients in Lee, Collier, Glades, Charlotte and Hendry counties at no cost to them. Pamela is currently the Vice President and helps organize many fundraising events. She also attends many of the charity events that Home-Tech sponsors annually. She’s known for diving in wherever her heart calls her.
Long Friendships At Home-Tech
“Working with friends for 29 years has been really nice and is not something that everyone gets to experience,” Pamela recounts. “The camaraderie of so many years together has built us into such a great team. We jump through hoops to make sure we are providing the best possible experience for our customers.”
From all of your friends at Home-Tech, congratulations!
Pamela Marino in the News
Business Observer: Appliance, AC firm names new president
Florida Weekly: Home-Tech appoints Marino