IT STARTED WITH A 'YES' IN 1976. NOW WJ OFFICE ENTERS YEAR 50

By Neville Chaney

As many of you may know, WJ Office started as West Jefferson Office Equipment (which is still our corporate name). We have changed the “doing business as” name over the years as location and rebranding opportunities appeared to make sense.

I consider December 1976 as the birthing date of the current WJ Office.  It started when a friend of mine (Roby Triplett) approached me about going in with him as a majority partner to purchase this business located in West Jefferson. After a lot of prayer and getting feedback from various folks, I said “yes.” Roby indicated that this was an investment for him and he would be a silent partner.

We consummated the transaction with Gene Lyle and his son, Preston, and then the work really started. The initial staff were Sandy (our bookkeeper/customer service person), Preston (our service tech), and me. The last 49 years have been a rewarding struggle. Plenty of highs and lows like any business owner will tell you, but whereas over 80 percent of small businesses fail in the first five years and 90 percent fail in the first 10 years, we have been one of the fortunate ones. We are entering our 50^th year of operation. Thanks be to God!

We’ve accomplished this with a team of wonderful people. They are teammates who love each other and share a common purpose --- to make our organization the best that it can possibly be. One third of our staff has more than 20 years of tenure, and one person (Max) will celebrate 33 years with WJ Office this summer.

The last five years of sales have been the best five in our existence. However, sales do not happen without great customers and friends. Thanks to each of you for making WJ Office an exception to the rule.