Betty Palmer, DAR-ling of the week
Tell us about working in three family businesses and how those experiences help you in your role as a compliance coordinator.
My husband, Eric, comes from a family of small business owners. Working at Eric’s dad’s electrical engineering company as a kid, he developed the entrepreneur gene. I was raised in Detroit, the oldest of five, with my father working in the automotive industry as an hourly worker, supervisor and eventually a plant manager. I was the first to attend college in my family. After college, I was employed as a field rep for Chrysler Motors in the Atlanta zone office. My degree was business administration and management. Eric majored in chemistry and environmental engineering. My husband started an IT database consulting company three weeks before we were married. For the first couple years we were married, I did all the general “business” support for his consulting firm in the evenings or on weekends.
Eric’s customers wanted more from him. It was time to develop our entrepreneurial spirit as a family. Time for me to work full time for the family firm. We grew and expanded our first business from a one-man shop to 30 employees. Eric did the technical, sales and project work. I focused on the internal business operations involving planning, HR, accounting and finance. Most of our work was for manufacturing companies out of state and internationally. I had to research many aspects of business regulations and laws for conducting business and complying with state, federal and sometimes international regulations. We had two offices, one in Atlanta and the other in Boston. We had clients in the U.S., Canada, England and Germany. I had to learn many aspects of business as we grew.
We sold the Palmer Group in 1994 as the company was database-centric, and we wanted to go with newer technology. We then started Etech Inc., a small internet-based development company. We sold the company in 1999 to one of our customers who wanted to capitalize during the dot-com era. As a family, we decided to seek opportunities in Virginia or Florida where my parents resided. Capital One answered the call and moved our family from Atlanta to Virginia to start an internet group.
Once in Richmond, I provided external accounting and consulting services to small businesses as an independent, part time, so I could focus on raising my children. I have been exposed to a wide variety of clients and experiences involving nonprofits and small businesses. I have worked with benefit analysis (401(k) – compliance issues), IRS audits, sales and use, tax reporting, etc., for clients as well as our family companies.
I sought full-time employment opportunities when my husband left Capital One, and I eventually landed at VCU. Frequently, I draw upon my past experiences to formulate questions and to seek the answers in my current position with GRM. Every company and every customer has provided me an experience I can use in some manner.
What would we be surprised to learn about you?
We are a higher-ed family (Eric works at the University of Richmond). We are a family united, with opportunities at both schools. Our family has been actively involved with hosting international students both at the University of Richmond and VCU. We hosted two Bosnian business students from UR, becoming their surrogate family here in Richmond. On occasion, they have brought other international students to our home for holiday meals. Milica and Isadora’s families traveled to the U.S. at graduation and visited us at our home. Both students now live and work in Europe (Germany, Netherlands), and my children have visited them overseas.
Answering a call from VCU in 2015, we hosted an art student from China for her first American Thanksgiving with our family. We have maintained a relationship with her for three years, including spending some of the Christmas holiday at our home last year. Initially, our guest was limited in her language skills when she came to the states. Fortunately, a high school friend of my daughter was able to assist the conversation at that first Thanksgiving as she speaks fluent Chinese. Maybe we will travel to China to meet her family in the future.
I have found this to be very rewarding, to know these fine college students. It provides our family with expanded knowledge of different cultures and experiences. I have two daughters, one who just graduated in December with her M.L.I.S., and another daughter currently in engineering school out of state. I am proud to say that many of VCU’s Hyperloop team were friends of my younger daughter’s as they were on the same robotics team in high school. We have been attending robotics tournaments at VCU and other locations throughout Virginia and Maryland for over 10 years as both girls participated, and my husband and I volunteer for tournaments. I truly enjoy working in the higher-education environment – seeing the benefit of my labors at DAR providing scholarship assistance to our youth.
What would we find you doing when you have a snow day? A perfect weather weekend?
On a snow day, you would find me hiding from the snow and inside my home looking outside. I grew up in Michigan, and snow and cold is something that I would like to avoid. I would probably try to find a sports event to watch on TV, preferably a VCU basketball game.
A perfect weather weekend is moderate to warm weather, enjoying the outside. A perfect day could be on the beach, at the mountains picking apples in the fall or attending a Spiders football game. I enjoy long strolls and attending outdoor festivals.
Categories DAR-ling of the week