Hello everyone! My name is Ali. I was 5 years old when my Dad (Brett Dipasquale) started Construction by Design. It was the year 1993. They say people can’t remember that far back into their childhood and for the most part I think that is true. However, there are a few things I do remember from early childhood and all the space in between. I remember that I LOVED ruby red grapefruit juice. I remember my kindergarten teacher, making peanut butter playdough in class and learning sign language. I also remember going to the MSUB campus with my dad to post flyers. The kind of flyer that has little tear offs of your name and number. I remember him telling me he was going to start a business. I don’t think either of us realized what that one small step would lead to. I grew older and I remember being his sidekick. I remember my mom dropping me off at a job site because she had a meeting to go to. I don’t remember how old I was; I do remember unpacking and playing with my toys outside on the sidewalk. I remember being fascinated with the black and yellow radio, because it was solar powered and had a wind-up crank. I didn’t get to know my great grandfather very well before he passed away. I remember him as kind old man who gave me and my aunt lemonade and cookies. (Milk and cookies were too normal I guess.) I have been told that he owned a pretty successful business. Graf Masonry. That he and his father before him were both contractors. I started working for my dad when I was 12. It was a summer job, I mostly cleaned up after my dad and I remember learning how to Windex windows after a job was done. I rolled up extension cords and helped clean up the job site at the end of the day. My grandpa Al worked alongside my Dad for 10 years. During the summers I remember him always saying, “We’re just standing around looking pretty, Ali and I are good at that.” Then he would wink at me and laugh when the boss (my Dad) got irritated. I remember we used to joke about changing the name of the business to “Bad Back Construction.” We also used to go over the number one rule every morning before work. “Promise them.” My dad would say. I would hold up my hands with my fingers spread wide and say, “I promise you that at the end of today I will still have all 10 of you.” I also remember joking about measurements being “golden” when they were accurate. “On the money” was a saying that was popular at the time, but we said “golden”. That must have stuck because the business now has a golden sheet for all final measurements. My dad, Brett often says “you don’t pick the window business the window business picks you.” I think this statement holds true for him. He has a family history that runs deep in the contractor business. So, when he sat down and thought about the rest of his life, window installation seemed like the next most reasonable step. I still remember when my dad became a fireman. I remember going to the EMT classes with him and watching him practice climbing up a building. I remember having to adjust to him being on shift. I remember crying because he wasn’t home to tuck me in. I also remember being so incredibly proud of him. Even though he was now a firefighter he worked both jobs. He maintained his ownership of Construction by Design Inc, stepping away only briefly when he went to and graduated college. I was in awe of him as he walked across that graduation stage. In 2012 Construction by Design, then an installation and remodeling business began to evolve. It grew into Reynolds Window and Door and became a window company that also does installation. He was still a firefighter until 2016 when he retired from the fire department. Retirement hasn’t slowed him down any. Running and growing Reynolds Window and Door to meet the needs of his customers has become his main focus. Working 2 fulltime jobs for most of his adult life couldn’t have been easy. He definitely knows how to work hard, but he also knows how to play hard. What’s that saying? Work hard play harder. He spends a lot of his time away from work going on adventures with his family. A lot of weekends are spent on the wakeboard, skiing, going on trips out of town, and watching my sister and brother play sports. I think one of his favorite things about owning this business is that the whole family can work here. His wife Korinne, and both of my brothers Nick, and Gabe work at Reynolds Window and Door. Who knows maybe one day my son and daughter will work here too.  I know this blog is supposed to be about the history of the business but my Dad, Brett DiPasquale is the face of Reynolds Window and Door. The person whose family and history directly influences the culture of this company.