Don Fawcett Jr. is the embodiment of hard work—even though he never would have predicted it when he was a young boy. “My father was a workaholic,” he replied when asked what it was like growing up in the family that started Dependable Cleaners. “I thought to myself, ‘I’m never going to work as much as he does.’ For most of my working life I was as much of a workaholic as my father, but I always made sure to make time for family, hobbies and giving back to our industry through DLI and NEFA.”
Don started working with his father, Don Sr., at Dependable Cleaners when he was 15 years old. He started by doing odd jobs around the plant and eventually worked his way up to running the company. Don recently passed the job on to his daughters, Christa and Carlyn, after instilling in them his father’s appreciation of hard work. “He has been a mentor to me personally and at work. He’s the reason I started working at Dependable Cleaners,” Carlyn said, and Christa agreed.
One of Don’s favorite sayings is “Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn!” When asked where he first heard it, Don smiled, shrugged and said, “I don’t know, I think I read it in a book somewhere.” But then he added, “I went to Norwich University in Vermont, where the slogan was, ‘I Will Try.’ It really taught me that there is nothing you can’t try. And if something doesn’t work out, then what can we learn from it?”
When it comes to his daughters’ roles in the family business, Don is very proud of Christa and Carlyn. “Of course I’m going to think of different ways that certain things could have been handled,” he said. “But the business is in their hands now. I’m so proud of them. They are very hard workers.” Like father, like daughter!
Don teaches everyone around him that the glass is always half-full. A positive mindset has given Don and his family the drive to be the best they possibly can be. Happy Father’s Day to every #DependableFather and father figure out there!
