None of this would be possible without a team , though .
Bret acknowledged that all of his employees have been instrumental in growing the business over the years , especially his wife , Pamela .
“ During the early days of refinishing , Pamela was a huge part of our success ,” Bret shared . “ Surface refinishers tend to be a one-man show and work from their homes and communicate with the cellphone they have , and so as a result , customers would call to inquire about a service , but that refinisher would be out working .”
Bret said he knew early on , Pamela would be a “ secret weapon .” He and Pamela developed the phone system to go straight to her cell phone , so she could always answer the call when Bret was out on jobs .
“ Back in those days , we grew the business because people could get ahold of someone to get information ,” he said .
As Bret and Pamela have grown older though , they have looked toward their blended family of eight to see if any of them might be interested in joining the family business .
Their eldest son , Blake is now in the process of being groomed to take over Yur Bath and Kitchen .
Bret shared that Blake holds the contractor ’ s license for the company and is a licensed residential contractor .
“ We are working with him now and maybe in a few years he will allow me to retire ,” Bret joked .
While his family has been a huge help in the growth , Bret said he would be remiss if he did not acknowledge the group of individuals who have dedicated so much to his company .
“ They are all local people ,” he said . “ We have about 17 people employed here and they all live here and raise their families here .”
Bret said this is very important to him , because it is similar to a family within a family , and he wants to give them opportunities to grow in their professional and personal lives as well .
As a way to give back to the community that supports his family and the families who he works with , Yur Bath and Kitchen has been dedicated to Cure Childhood Cancer and raised more than $ 50,000 the past few years to donate directly to Childhood Cancer research programs .
“ Without this community , we wouldn ’ t be where we are today , and I just wanted to do something to help them in any way we could ,” Bret concluded .
Although Blake has some large shoes to fill , Bret is sure that his son will continue the legacy he and his father built and continue to invest in the community that has poured so much into the Bush family .
Thomasville Scene | Summer 2023 77