One of Orillia’s favourite greeters got quite a greeting of his own Monday.
Friends, family, customers and co-workers crowded into Home Hardware to recognize 25-year employee Mark Adams during what Mayor Steve Clarke proclaimed to be Mark Adams Day at Orillia Home Hardware.
“This is just great,” Adams said to the dozens of people on hand for the celebration. “Thank you to everyone who came. This has been a wonderful day.”
Adams received certificates on behalf of the City of Orillia, Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop and Simcoe North MP Bruce Stanton. The Ontario Provincial Police also gave him a plaque and let him sit on one of the force’s motorcycles.
It was the least Home Hardware could do for such a dedicated employee, said owner Chris Locke.
“He sets the tone for this business,” Locke said. "When you walk in, he has a smile, he knows your name and usually has a joke for you. He’s just a warm, kind, funny person.”
It was important to make a public event of Adams’s 25th year with the business, Locke added.
“We really wanted to give customers an opportunity to see him. They think a lot of him,” he said.
Locke praised Adams for his knowledge of the store’s inventory and his good memory. That doesn’t apply only to the store, though. When Adams saw Eva Rhines, his dad's former boss, his face lit up, even though he hadn’t seen her in 20 years.
“I thought, ‘He probably won’t remember me,’” Rhines said.
She was happy she was able to take part in Monday’s celebration, saying Adams is an inspiration.
“He wants to contribute. He wants to work and be active,” she said. “He’s just a really good human being.”
That’s just life to Adams, who worked his way up from a high school co-op student to a full-time employee.
“I like this job because it’s like a big family. They’re good people to work for,” he said. “This is like my second home.”
Adams saw many familiar faces, new and old, on Monday, including his first elementary school principal.
“That made me feel happy,” he said. “I’ve been at Home Hardware for 25 years and I’ve known some people from the beginning.”
