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Subject: [FOLKLORE FAMILY] The Arc Angels
Date: Sun, 20 Oct 2002 15:27:16 EDT

The Arc Angels
By Jonathan Wygant

Several years ago, Iris Arc Crystal, a company I co-
founded with Francesca Patruno, experienced a lull in
business. We had recently hired several new employees and
hoped that the slowdown was only temporary. However, in
the meantime, we had work enough for only four days of the
week. So, instead of letting 20 percent of our work force
go or sending them home one day per week, we decided that
we would keep everyone on the payroll for the entire week,
working from Monday through Thursday, and taking Fridays to
do service projects in our hometown of Santa Barbara.
I remember phoning several service agencies to find
out what was needed in the community. We divided up into
three groups and showed up where the agencies said they
most needed us. The first week, the group I was involved
with went to a very old Ukrainian gentleman's home to do a
total cleanup of his house and garden. When we arrived, an
elderly woman greeted us at the door. We thought she was
the wife, but it turned out she was the daughter. She was
75, and her father was 97! She told us what we needed to
do, and we proceeded to clean the house from floor to
ceiling and clean up the yard as well. It is amazing how
much work a group can get done when everyone is working
together and being of service to someone who really needs
the help. That gentleman's house went from dirt and
dinginess to a sparkling clean palace by the time we
finished at the end of the day.
The thing I most remember about that day, however, was
not the great cleaning that we did, but something
altogether different. When we first walked into the house,
I noticed the wonderful pen-and-ink drawings that adorned
the walls in all the rooms of the house. I asked the
daughter who had done them. She said that her father had,
and that he hadn't taken up art until he was 80 years old!
I was dumbfounded; these drawings were works of art that
could have easily been hanging in a museum. At the time, I
was in my early 30s and wanted to do something that would
utilize my creative and artistic capabilities more than
being the president of a giftware company would allow. I
had been feeling that it would be too difficult to make a
change at this "advanced" stage of my life. Boy, did my
limited belief system get expanded that afternoon!
We continued to do service projects around town for
several more weeks, including completely painting someone's
home and setting up a large bleacher for a horseback riding
academy for physically challenged children. We had a lot
of fun and did a lot of good. Somehow we ended up with the
nickname The Arc Angels. In addition to the good feelings
that came from helping out others, the good feelings we
shared as employees of a company that cared for both its
employees and the community went a long way toward creating
a work atmosphere that was a joy to be part of.





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