Welcome to the first of our anniversary series posts. We’re trying something new with our blog, so occasionally you’ll see an employee anniversary post peppered in, because we’d like to recognize those celebrating major milestone anniversaries at Perkins & Co. Our employees do a lot for us, and this is one way we’d like to acknowledge their dedication, wicked smarts, and hard work.
Our first guinea pig, er, employee, to be highlighted is Lindsay Park, a tax manager and novice beekeeper (we’ll get to that later). Lindsay joined the Perkins & Co family ten years ago after an interesting start. Lindsay recalls, “When I first interviewed with Perkins & Co, it wasn’t meant to be (yet), so I began working at a national firm; that’s where I met Brigitte Sutherland and we worked so well together. When Brigitte moved to Perkins she insisted I come along too. Within a few months I made the transition and instantly became a member of the Perkins family. It’s funny to think about how it all started.”
We recently sat down with Lindsay for a trip down (her) memory lane—all ten years of it:
1) What was your first project at Perkins & Co?
Starting at Perkins was a whirlwind! I was thrown into my first project working for the real estate practice group under Kimberly Woodside’s supervision. I had never worked on a real estate project before, so it was a great opportunity to learn something new right away. I remember receiving my review from that project — eight pages of hand-written comments. It was intimidating at first, but I quickly realized this was the result of a dedicated teacher. Kimberly’s last comment on the eighth page was “Great Job!”
2) What was it like working at Perkins & Co in 2006?
Working at Perkins was so different back then. It seemed huge when I first started, but immediately it felt more like family than my previous firm. Perkins’ commitment to an open door policy made a big impact.
In 2006, everyone had 10-keys at their desks, plenty of pencils, and mountains of paper. I remember about two years after I started we began transitioning to a paperless office. It changed how we worked in so many ways.
3) In honor of a major milestone anniversary, Perkins & Co celebrates with a gift of the employee’s choice. What did you choose?
The firm bought me a beehive and the necessary equipment for a beginner beekeeper. A shipment of three pounds of bees—that’s 27,000 bees, in case you were wondering—arrived shortly after the end of busy season. I was so nervous about transferring the bees into the hive!
I only recently became interested in beekeeping after learning of the dangers of processed sugars from the documentary “That Sugar Thing”, even though I was exposed to beekeeping early on in life through my uncle; he’s been a beekeeper for many years. After watching the documentary, I started eating all-natural honey and soon realized I lived in an area surrounded by wildflowers — a great home for bees. I took bee classes with my daughter, read two books on beekeeping, and enlisted the help of my uncle Dave. Bees are fascinating creatures!
4) What stands out about Perkins & Co to you?
Perkins definitely provides me with opportunities—not only from a career advancement standpoint, but they genuinely want their employees to have a work-life balance as well.
Through it all, Lindsay says she feels “lucky to work for such an amazing group of business owners and has enjoyed getting to know everyone over the last 10 years.” She’s honored to be part of the Perkins & Co family, and would like to thank everyone for their “patience, mentorship, and kindness. “
Thank you, Lindsay! We’re so grateful to have you, and we look forward to what the future holds for you and our firm.