Painting Consultants Then & Now Mark Brookner worked at the Lynchburg Foundry for eighteen years before finding work as a material handler at Mar-Bal in Dublin. Mar-Bal is a manufacturer of electric insulators, and Mark worked there till he was laid off from his third shift job in 2007. As it turns out, getting laid off was one of the best things to happen to Mark Brookner. Over the years, Mark’s brother had taught him a great deal about painting. So, with plenty of time on his hands, Mark started painting for relatives and friends. Word spread. His aunt told a couple of her friends, and soon the requests began pouring in. “Hey, can you paint my house?” It wasn’t long before Mark found he had regular work as a painter. The painting, however, led to other odd jobs. Folks would hire him to paint, then ask if he could also take care of other things. Through this process, Mark became a general handyman as well as a sometimes landscaper, doing mowing and various lawn maintenance. The main work, though, was painting. The layoff wound up lasting three months. Even after returning to his third shift schedule at Mar-Bal, Mark tried to continue painting during the day. But it was just too much. He told Mar-Bal “I appreciate the opportunity, but I’m going to see if I can make it on my own.” Though he started out working from his shed, he still needed to call himself something. Amy Adams, Mark’s cousin, suggested Painting Consultants. The name stuck. After working for somebody else for so many years, Mark felt it was great to be self-employed. Being self-employed, however, came with its own set of challenges. Doing the work was one thing. Getting the work to come in consistently was another, and managing people was yet another. There was also bookkeeping, insurance, estimates, and payroll that had to be earned before paying his staff. Mark had never dreamed there would be so much paperwork! As soon as he established Painting Consultants, Mark knew he would
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need help doing work. To this end, he first hired Joey Farlow from Pulaski. “I didn’t know him from Adam,” says Mark. “He called me and said he heard I was looking for help. I don’t know how he even knew.” Joey’s insight, however, paid off for him. He worked five years for Painting Consultants, and according to Mark, was a great help. Eventually Mark’s crew grew to include as many as five to seven employees at any one time, and the one thing he is really proud of is that he never had to lay anyone off. Steven Hutchens, for example, has been providing Mark with excellent help for over twelve years. Mark’s wife, Heather even helps out when an extra hand is needed for the job. “Heather has been a big help,” he says, “and not just with assorted paperwork. She’s a good painter!” Heather is Mark’s second wife. The two met when both would stop into the same Wilco convenience store for coffee on their way to work. Heather was working for Thermasteel, and her day started just as early as Mark’s. With such frequent meeting, they naturally began talking. Mark didn’t think he would ever remarry, having been single for a long time, but the couple were married in September of 2017. Both Heather and Mark have two children each from previous marriages, and Mark is very proud of his two grandkids. A good crew, however, wasn’t the only thing Mark needed to operate his business and grow. In the beginning, he used his personal, blue Ford Ranger pickup to get around. Though it already had a ladder rack, Mark had to borrow a thirty-foot ladder to get started. A little over a year later, he was able to afford his first work van. With a growing crew, however, Mark needed more than just one vehicle. Today, Painting Consultants has a great selection of vehicles to haul materials: five vans, a pickup truck, a cherry picker, and a bucket truck – enough to do whatever work comes their way. As it turns out, Mark’s fleet of vehicles hasn’t been the only sign of
Fall/Winter 2021-2022
