I am Lois and Ken Zelle’s younger daughter. As you know my father and mother started the business as Air Draulics. My dad sold hose and equipment out of his garage in the Northeast Philadelphia where I was raised. My parents did not have a lot of money but persevered in their endeavors to get their business off the ground. When they first moved to a storefront on Torresdale Avenue, my mother took me to work with her because getting full time care was way too expensive and I found ways to occupy my time. At the age of four, I went to the library and because I was alone the librarian took time to read to me and eventually I learned to read at a young age. My favorite books were Madeline which I could read many times over. I loved her adventurous spirit. Eventually I found art books. In the beginning, I just flipped through pages of famous art works and found joy in the splendor of each piece of artwork.   When I started school there were times I visited the library to escape in the pages of an artbook to read about each artist.   I longed to be able to draw and paint but I have limited skills but I loved learning about different artists and styles.   In school my favorite subject was history.   We are just a small part of a timeline to the existence of mankind and history does repeat itself.   We follow patterns that lead to familiarities of past events. In history, there is art and the times, and the artists tell stories through each piece of art.   One can look at a piece of artwork and find themselves in a looking glass. So when somebody asks me about one of my passions, I say photography because it is a form of art. My other joys these days are gardening, crafts, baking and cooking.

I officially started to work for the company in 1987, although I had worked while I was in high school during summer vacation and holidays. When I was younger I helped by doing filing and sometimes helped do bookkeeping with my mother. In those days we did not have computers and everything was done by hand.   Invoices, inventory and bills were all done manually. I went to college and went to a trade school. I always wanted to complete my college education and get a degree but wasn’t sure which direction to take and I made a mistake of going to school with a boyfriend who was jealous and made my college experience very difficult. It is the one thing I regret in life. But after working in the dental world, I decided to work in the family business. I started to work in the warehouse in the shipping department. At that time we repaired machinery(paint sprayers and high pressure washers), repaired and made hose assemblies while starting to involve ourselves in the adhesive business. We also sold specialty pumps and valves.   While working as the shipper, I also had to work with customers who came in and ordered materials at our counter. I learned how to make hose assemblies, and made minor repairs to equipment with the help of the repairman and on occasion had to fill adhesive cartridges. After years of running the warehouse and showing new employees how to run the warehouse in our small building on Annsbury Street, I moved into the office to work on invoicing and do the vendors bills to set up payment schedules.

In 2006, the company moved to Huntingdon Valley and I moved into the offices. I went from working on our purchases and invoices to customer service and sales.  Our little company has grown and I am certain that we will continue our growth. I have always been faithful to the company and I now work with our marketing department.

Other facts about me:

• I moved out of my parents house at the early age of 22. I love animals and have had cats and now have my second red and tan Doberman, her name is Maggie.
• I was married. I have always lived on my own. I bought my first house in 2000 after living in a few apartments. I now since moved from that house and bought a place in the suburbs.
• I enjoy a social life and have met many wonderful friends and I feel blessed because of them.