A story unto itself - Regal 8 Inns of California

Our first motel in California was being built by a monied banker in Santa Rosa. He had built and leased a 67 unit Motel 6 in Santa Rosa, and now built an 80 unit Regal 8 Inn in Rohnert Park. We opened for business late summer 1996, opening off season and an unknown entity locally. We had a new manager in place with unknown abilities, which we ultimately had to let go and replace in late December. We had poor occupancy and there was little or no public relations.

In the meantime partner Don Geary flew to Los Angeles with me and we met a banker regarding the sale of their failed motel in Stockton. Don was impressed and we flew to Stockton and looked at the motel. It was in a poor location, had poor parking and was somewhat small. I was NOT impressed, but Don thought it would help our Rohnert Park location, so a deal was made. We opened Stockton and it turned out to be our slowest starter to date, with very low occupancy.

When Don saw the occupancy figures on Stockton he got a hold of the bank and talked them into taking the property back. By the next board meeting Don had convinced the other owners that California was a failure and they instructed me to close it down, get rid of it, any way, if necessary give it away!

Margaret and I gave it some thought and decided to form a corporation and take over Rohnert Park as a franchise motel. We called a meeting of our friends, supervisors and anyone we thought might be interested and made an offering of 100 shares @ $500 a share. Participants had to come up with $100 for each share and commit to an additional $400 if needed. We sold 55 shares and Bill and Frances bought 16 shares with Margaret and I buying the balance of 29. The Regal 8 Inn board accepted our proposal to take over and franchise the operation and we would pay them 2% of gross revenue franchise fee.

One of our investors was a couple Frank and Pat Walton, two very good managers that were operating our Fargo, North Dakota motel (at 96% occupancy). They took over Rohnert Park and completely turned it around and made it profitable in about 30 days. No more additional funds were ever needed from the investors (stockholders).

The corporation went on and had motels built in Vallejo (80 units) and Fresno (80 units). We subsequently leased on in Tampa (120) units) and purchased one in Memphis (140 units).

About a year later the shareholders agreed to sell their stock back to the company at $5,000 a share. Not a bad investment was it? $5,000 for $100. Bill and Frances were the only investors who did not sell and thereby ended up as sole owners of Regal 8 Inns of California. They ran it very successfully for several years.

See you again soon with the rest of the story.............

Another big memory

You might remember that I got to shake the hand of a President of the United States (Johnson) on my first full day in the U.S. I got my second handshake with the highest office in our land in 1976 with Gerald Ford.
I was in Washington DC with BPW on a Legislative Conference and we were invited to the White House to meet the First Lady Betty Ford. After a tour of the White House, we were ushered into a hall to await Mrs. Ford's arrival, when the door opened and "Hail to the Chief" was played. In walked Gerald Ford. It was quite a moment. He was very gracious and excused Betty as being sick and unable to attend.

We all know now that in all probability Betty Ford was probably indisposed in another way and a number of years later I was privileged to be part of the hosting group (Fresno County Alcohol and Drug Council) when she came to Fresno to talk to us about her addiction and recovery.

I'm Back! But I'm lost for words...

It's been three plus weeks and I am still in shock over the party. Thank every one of you who came, sent cards, or called with regrets - and a VERY BIG thank you to those who helped put it together.

Now back to 1975/76: Regal 8 Inns are mushromming up everywhere, we needed help. Margaret and I could not promote it, built it and control operations without help. So we set up our better managing couples as area supervisors with 10 to 14 motels under them. They were to control the operation and do monthly inspections. This was proving out well. In addition, I needed help in the promotion and development end of the business. I was doing some limited flying on my own, but most of it was commercial airline which didn't always go where we wanted to go and not when we wanted to go. So the solution boiled down to another 'Dick Topper' or move him faster. The decision was to move me faster with a company plane and a professional pilot.

On a few occasions in the past I had used a young man named Roy Holtshauser on trips to Ohio, Connecticult and he was with us on our infamous flight across the Northwest where we were flying 'blind' through the mountains with instructions being relayed to us from commercial airlines flying above. This was when we made the decision to get a bigger plane that could go above the weather. Ray himself was based in Centralia, Illinois and gave flying lessions there and flew charter flights. This is where we parked our twin Commanche .His father flew professionaly for the State of Illinois and Ray needed experience to join him. (This is what he did after leaving us). So we hired Ray as our company pilot and he was also made supervisor or three motels to fill in his time when not flying me around.

We first purchased the Cessna 421 twin engine 375 HP, pressurized,with a ceiling limit of 24,000 feet and this put us above most of the bad weather. Later we bought a new 336 push/pull pressurized 1976 Cessna. A little slower (about 210 knots to 240 knots).

We usually held a supervisor meeting once a month which would start about midday on a Friday. Would you believe they usually ended up about 4am the next morning, and were known to keep going through the Saturday late into the night with just a few hours of quick sleep for everyone. We would go through every motel, discussing managers and specific problems. They were long sessions but they were also my training sessions for the supervisors.

Margaret mentioned that we had contructed a new office and warehouse and that is a story on its own. It was summertime in Illinois - and it always rained about every 6th or 7th day. I called out all the building contractors and gave them the plans and told them that I wanted it finished in four weeks. (We had to vacate the building we were in at that time). They took the plans, got together and came back admitting that it MIGHT be possible if it wasn't for the weather. I had not put in any rain days. I asked "can you do it if it doesn't rain?" and they answered yes. So I told them it would NOT rain during that period of time and if it did, it would only be during the night so there would be no lost labor. I got lucky! It rained three times during that four weeks (each time during the night) and we were in our new offices in four weeks. They couldn't believe it. Neither could I!!! (I quietly said thank you to above).

There came a time during our expansion when everything seemed to go sour. The inspections were not up to par, costs were rising, profits were starting to fall and the percentage of occupancy was slipping. I always did my best thinking while driving (Margaret hated for me to drive long distances, I always came back full of ideas and changes that she implimented!). So about this time I took off one day and visited about five or six motels, spoke little but observed a lot. I decided that the problem was attitude of everyone from the manager down. I wrote a memo and sent a copy to every employee and made them sign that they had read it. The subject was "have pride" and what it meant was for them to have pride in themselves, their family, their friends, their job and their future and self esteem. Where would they be without pride. All employees were required to write on any paperwork they submitted the words "I Have Pride". The effect was almost spontaneous and within a few weeks, things were humming and back on course.

My next offering will cover (1) Regal 8 Inns of California, how we got it and where it went and (2) internal problems and our decision on where we were going and how to get there.

See you soon, and have a good one...........

A personal transformation.....

Dick was reminiscing the other day and we were laughing about the way I was when I first went to work for him. I was a good worker, accomplished in the 'physical' things I did - i.e. typing, accounting, writing - BUT don't ask me to TALK!!! Shortly after going to work for Dick he asked me to make a series of phone calls to set up appointments for prospective managers. I literally froze. ME! On the phone with strangers! I waited until everyone had gone home for the evening, shut myself in an empty private office and stammered my way through the calls, sick to my stomach, and with clammy hands. I hated it. To say I got slightly better over time is about as good as I could say about my progress and I never got over the panic and nervousness of making calls even when we started to build the first motel in Carbondale, Illinois and I had to call the suppliers and contractors on a daily basis.

Standing up and talking in front of people was even worse and I'll never forget being taken to a NewComers meeting in Carbondale and after the meal, they announced that they were going to go around the table and wanted each newcomer to stand up, give their name and where they worked, and their husband's name and where he worked. I was about half way around the table and by the time it got to me, I honestly thought I would throw up in front of everyone. I stood up, said my name was Margaret Topper, I worked at the Best 7 Inn and my husband's name was John!!! Somehow my fuddled brain recognized I had goofed, so I simply announced that 'he worked' and sat down. I absolutely could not remember where (and you all know we worked together).

Obviously this girl needed help, so when I joined BPW, I found that they had a class to help with public speaking. The first 'speech' I was asked to give at that class wasn't too bad, as we were allowed to read it and had it on the podium in front of us. I got terrible marks though on my deportment. Just because I was hunched over the podium and hugging it. I was doing this to stop myself from shaking so bad I couldn't read my paper. I did improve and ended up winning the local prize at the end of the year, going on to win the district award and competed for the State Award.

If any of you are interested, this was the speech: The subject I was given was RESOURCEFULNESS.

We have all heard so much lately about Natural Resources and how we waste and misuse them, and of course they are referring to such things as the land, air, water and raw materials. But have you ever stopped to think about how we human beings also have Natural resources and how we waste and misuse them?

We were given eyes, and if all we use them for are to see the faults in other people, or see the things we desire, or would grab or steal from others, - and fail to see the beauty of a winter tree against a sunset sky, or the majesty of a mountain, or the trust in a little dog's eyes, or friendship when it comes to us in a shy smile, then we are not using our resources.

We were given ears, and if all we use them for are to hear the plain, spoken word, or the harsh sounds of rock music, and we don't use them to hear the orchestration of birds singing, babbling brooks, and the wind in the trees, or we don't hear the magic of a child's laugh, or love when it comes to us in a quiet spoken word, then we are not using our resources.

And we were given Intelligence, and if this is simply a matter or learning our ABC's or the 1-2-3's, and Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world, and we don't use it to learn about ourselves, and what makes us tick, and thereby become better human beings, or we don't use it to learn about our fellow man, and thereby become more compassionate, then we are not using our resources.

And we were given Imagination - and if this is turned into daydreaming, of being a movie star, or a millionaire, or President of the United States, and not used to devise ideas to save your boss money, or to get along better with your fellow worker, or to improve your marriage, raise your children, write speeches, then we are not being resourceful.

We were given Humor, and if the only thing that makes us laugh is slapstick, pie in the face, other people's accidents, and we fail to see the humor of a kitten's antics, or in a quiet witty remark, or we fail to see the humor in ourselves, then are not being resourceful.

And we were given Love, and if love is simply a matter or receiving and getting away with things because we receive it, and is not a matter of giving, caring, sharing, generosity, compassion and just plain loving, then we are not being resourceful.

And most of all we were given God, and if all we use Him for is to turn to when we want something, to berage when we don't get it, and to curse in anger; and we don't use Him as the source of strength in our every day lives, or the source of peace when things do go wrong, and as our Friend who we share all our joys and all our sorrows with, then we are most certainly not being resourceful.

I can remember a couple of years ago, my husband and I were flying to a small town in Nevada, and anyone who has driven through or flown low over Nevada, knows of its barreness, emptiness and lack of productivity. And yet as we approached this small town, it was an amazing sight of lush green fields of crops and vegetation. I can remember my husband looking down and saying, now that what I call resourcefulness.

I hope that when the good Lord looks down on my - and you - that he doesn't see an empty, barren, non-productive piece of humanity, but sees an oasis of productivity, energy, awareness, compassion, understanding, imagination, sensitivity and love. I hope He can say "Now that's what I call Resourcefulness.