Death of a Company

It has been an interesting time, the past week or so. The place where I have worked for 28 years has gone out of business. I'm not really sure if it was on the 17th or 18th of October that was the official date of death but it's one of the two. Coastal Electronics was founded in 1949 by Billy Haire and shortly thereafter he was joined by his wife Evelyn. I started work there in June of 1979, the year of their 30th anniversary. I had the distinct pleasure of being guided and taught by Mr. Haire for the vast majority of those 28 years. What a true southern gentleman he was and one of the smartest people that I have had the pleasure of knowing. I was there as the position of command was handed off a few times, when Coastal was a thriving force that had no limits in the communications servicing arena and I was there as things fell apart. Coastal was family owned and operated the whole time so I worked for all the family members at one time or another and you know, my memories of all those years are mostly good ones. I can say that I take with me some really great memories.

What I take the most pride in is the lives Coastal touched indirectly through the years. We helped keep the water flowing in cities and counties, we helped law enforcement agencies, rescue personnel and service companies perform their jobs with greater efficiency and safety. In one of the recent articles in the local paper someone stated that they had been abandoned by Coastal. Abandonment has to be intentional and I feel secure in my feelings that the demise of the company was anything but intentional. I know how hard a certain individual worked to try and prevent the ultimate outcome and the great personal loss they will incur as a result.

There is a sense of loss inside and some have asked if I feel cheated. To that I have to answer no. Irregardless of what caused the fall of the company I take with me the great memories, the irreplaceable knowledge, training and the relationships with customers, employees and management. Some of our customers took time to call me personally and asked if I would be OK. That really makes me feel better about a difficult situation.

I am fortunate enough to be able to continue my line of work with another company that promises what I believe to be a great future and allow me to grow in other directions.