Geri Roskopf’s Blog

TOW — The Office Worker

The government is famous for using acronyms — abbreviations from the initial letters of words — for many of their agencies, programs, etc. For example, some acronyms we are familiar with are the FMCSA, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and DOT, Department of Transportation. Sometimes acronyms drives me crazy, especially if they’re used without an…

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First Things First

On a day-to-day basis in the towing industry, we are all pulled in many directions and asked to do many different things, which sometimes makes our stress level reach an explosive level where we are angry, short-tempered and not nice to be around. I’ve been in the office only one day in the last two…

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What it Takes to Be Number One

Vince Lombardi, Jr., son of the famous Green Bay Packers coach, Vince Lombardi, wrote a book titled What It Takes to be Number One.  The book is a short read and contains quotes from Coach Lombardi and lots of photos of the coach in action. The table of contents of the books lists:  What it…

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Best Laid Plans

Plans to take off for the weekend. Yahoo! Finally everything is working out — extra coverage for tow operators and phones, vehicle filled up with gas and checked over, bag is packed and I’m ready to go! Him: Hmm, no not yet. Me: What do you mean, not yet? Him: Have to tow a concrete…

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On This Day….

My granddaughter is just starting to learn to print. For my birthday, she decorated an envelope with Disney princess stickers, drew numerous hearts and wrote “Grandma” on it. The front of the pink card with a crown printed on it read: “On this day a queen was born, and the inside message was: “We call…

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The Lesson of a Winding Road

When I was young and learning to memorize the names of the states in the U.S., Florida, Idaho, Tennessee, California and Texas were easy to recognize because of their shapes. The same went for my home state of Wisconsin, as the peninsula of Door County sticks out like the thumb of a hand. My oldest…

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Know Before You Tow

While most in the towing and recovery industry think a Know Before You Tow slogan would be geared toward towing operators, I would add all other support specialists in a company such as dispatchers, managers administrative staff, etc. If I was asked what my job title and duties are, I would say I am an…

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Flying High

It has become a tradition at the Wisconsin Tow Show to display company flags on a rope between two tow trucks with the motto:  flying high with company pride. Along with company flags, the American flag, the Wisconsin state flag and the thin, yellow line flag representing tow operators are also on display. The American…

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The Joys of Owning a Business

Starting a business in no small feat. They say roughly 20% of new businesses don’t make it past the first year. Do the benefits of small business ownership outweigh the negative? After facing a few challenges each day, I usually say (sarcastically), “Oh, the joys of owning a business!” While my husband worked for his…

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Oh What a Feeling

I was heading out to do errands, and as I was going out the door, I shouted to my employees that I was leaving for about an hour and to call if they needed anything. Half way to my first stop, I realized I forgot my phone. At first, I was going to turn around…

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