My Dear Friends,
What a truly special year 2025 has been. PPG has been celebrating our 50th year of working closely with you, our clients. What an amazing 50 years we have seen. So many special times and stories.
My first administrative assistant was Catherine Algiere. As I recall, Catherine had retired from her position as a bookkeeper with a local company. My wife, Martha, worked with a local bank in the Master Card department. Martha met Catherine one afternoon when she was inquiring about a credit card. That evening, Martha said, “Honey, I met the nicest lady today. You need to call her.”
Long story short, I called. She was interested. She was hired. She didn’t use a computer. She had a portable Smith Corona typewriter armed with a black ribbon cartridge that occasionally jammed in the machine. When our friend, Roger Greenall, introduced us to the magical world of computers, we had to hire someone who knew how to make them work. Catherine did allow us to upgrade her to a beautiful, new, IBM Selectric typewriter where characters were formed, not by the usual typewriter keys, but by a most incredible ball that seemed to rotate and dance at unimaginable speeds and always placed the proper character in the proper place on the document. Catherine loved it. However, she always kept her loyal Smith Corona nearby. “Just in case,” she assured me. “Just in case.” Catherine retired from PPG in May, 1995.
An interesting side note is that Catherine’s grandson, Patrick, was one of our first interns while he was a student at the University of New Hampshire. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics at UNH in 2014. I know that many of you know Patrick or will recognize his name. He has been, and continues to be, an outstanding and respected Financial Advisor since joining PPG in 2019. He and his wife live in Wakefield with their son and golden retriever.
Recently, Peter and I conducted an annual review for our client, Elly, when she reminded me that she was actually my very first client. “I’m still here,” she grinned. “Yes, you are,” I smiled back. “And I am too.” Elly is an amazing lady. When we first met, she had her pilot’s license and owned her own airplane. I remember a time, I think it was around 1979 or 1980, a client in New Jersey who was related to Elly needed to complete some very important paperwork for us that she had forgotten about. Time was of the essence. Overnight delivery was not as reliable then as now and personal email was not an available option. Elly was aware of the situation and offered to fly me from Westerly to a local airport in New Jersey. Off we went, arriving late in the afternoon. The papers were signed and witnessed. We were invited to stay for dinner, which we did, and then flew back to Westerly in the early evening.
Mission accomplished.
Yes…so many moments. So many stories. So much to be thankful for. And speaking of things we are thankful for. Many of you have noticed that our historic building has a wonderful new look. For the past several years we have had issues with our roof. A small leak here. A small spot there. Issues that never improve on their own. It was becoming serious. Today, the entire roof is adorned with beautiful carefully selected red cedar shingles. Vintage barrel dormers were redone on site with copper…hand crafted, designed and installed by our master roofing contractor.
You are probably asking, “What happened?” Looking back, my 2003 Christmas Letter was a celebration. I wrote, “We moved into our new building at 9 Granite Street. It is a beautiful, twenty-two room, brick Georgian Colonial that was built in 1911. It has been lovingly restored under the Federal Historic Rehabilitation Guidelines. My wife, Martha, deserves more credit than these few pages could ever give her for the work that she did in bringing our building back to life. Not only did she do all of the design work throughout the building, for over a year she also worked as the general contractor making sure that the craftsmen doing the work were the best available.
Martha was not going to let someone simply nail a few shingles on our roof and hope for the best. This was her baby. 9 Granite deserved only the best. The questions were “How” and “Who?” The answer was revealed when we met two brothers: Matt and Nick Rinaldi. Matt and Nick are the owners and founders of Rinaldi Brothers Roofing. The business, itself, is less than five years old. But, Matt and Nick are individually very experienced. Even more impressive to me was the fact that they have built a significant team of highly skilled craftsmen with years of experience. It all sounded fine, but Martha needed to be sure. We talked recent restorations in our area. We talked construction and design. We talked about how 9 Granite was so important to Martha and me and our entire PPG team. Especially to Martha. Our conclusion was that Matt and Nick clearly knew their stuff when it came to roofing. They were great when it came to explanations. Their listening skills were superb. They both got it.
Martha and I had the opportunity to watch a series of shows related to the American Revolution as presented by PBS. It was awesome. I’m sure it will be broadcast again. If you see it advertised and have the opportunity to watch it, I highly recommend it. I was particularly struck with how limited my knowledge of the American Revolution really is. The combatants were not just British soldiers vs.
American soldiers. There were members of local indigenous tribes that fought on both sides. There were Loyalists. Colonists. German soldiers known as Hessians. Americans. And hundreds and hundreds of others who chose to fight with whatever group was most attractive to them at the time. It has been estimated that between 1775 and 1783, there were 230-250 separate battles that took place with significant casualties on both sides.
This was a time in our history that was rife with discord, danger, and fear. It is also a time in our history that is honored by the heroism and foresight of those who became responsible for our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and the opportunity we all have to pursue whatever dreams we wish as we live out our lives. We call it “freedom.” America has been…and is…and will hopefully continue to be the Land of Freedom and Opportunity. Many of you know that for years I have worn a flag on my lapel in honor of my father, uncles, cousins, and Martha’s father who was in the fifth wave in Normandy. I believe with all my heart that they are heroes and Patriots.
My Mom and Dad took their faith seriously and taught my brother Charlie and me to do the same. Typically, either Charlie or I would say Grace before supper. Christmas dinner was always special. My Mom would serve a turkey or roast that she cooked in the old wood stove in the kitchen. We sat in a circle holding hands around the table. We would be thankful for our food and for the many blessings we had…for our country and for the men and women who had fought and died for our freedom. My Mom and Dad were not wealthy. Quite the opposite. But they were Patriots.
As PPG closes out our first 50 years, I must say, “Thank you. Thank you for your trust and confidence. Thank you for allowing us so many exceptional years. Thank you for your kindness and especially for your friendship.”
All of us at PPG: Joanna, Shannon, Andrea, Tina, Candice, Heather, Chris, Peter, Jon, Patrick, Todd, David, Eric, Bryan, Juan, our families, my wife, Martha, and, of course, the spirits of our beloved Portuguese Water Dogs, Bromley, Annabelle and Reddington join me in wishing you and your family a blessed and joyous holiday and prosperous New Year.
I am reminded of something I said in a previous letter. In the final line of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, it is Tiny Tim, weakened…yet powerful. Disabled… yet strong of faith and courage, who sits with his father and prays his final prayer: “A Merry Christmas to us all; God bless us, everyone!”
Thank you for your trust and confidence. I appreciate the privilege that our PPG family and I have to work with you. My retirement?…not just yet.
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah,
Mal Makin
