Connect with Human Kindness
Connect with Human Kindness
by Katie Ladas
January 22, 2024
Heartworming story from the field
Written by Barry Victor, PROS Parts Founder and President
This month we want to stop for a minute and recognize human kindness. You work hard — caring for your customers, partners, and the team around you. It can be stressful, and is a lot. And then you hear a story that makes all of it worthwhile through an incredible act of human kindness.
I have been in the drycleaning and laundry field for more than 40 years. Throughout those years, I have gotten to know so many dedicated and interesting people. It is such an honor to be connected with all of you.
The new year provides an opportunity to reflect on what’s important in life. I’ve shared this story with some of you. My wife has a deck of gratitude cards. One of the questions she asked me was around what brings me joy. My answer – without hesitation – was in helping people. My thoughts were centered in the conversations I have with you and other customers and partners. My day is good when I know I have helped someone work through an issue or find them a part that helps ensure their work is not disrupted because of an issue with their equipment.
I was on the phone with a long-time customer a couple of weeks ago. He shared a story with me that completely warmed my heart. It moved me deeply and I wanted to share it with all of you. The world is divided and we hear so much heartbreak on the news. Sometimes we forget the beauty of humans, but even during tough times, that beauty is there.
The customer I was talking with mentioned that he had been out with some serious health issues. His kidney was not functioning. Then he shared that he is now back on his feet and recovering because one of his customers donated a kidney to him. Wow. I was awe-struck. What an incredible story of human kindness. I still keep thinking about this.
Donating a kidney to a business partner is an extreme act of kindness. One that doesn’t happen every day; and one that is critical to saving lives. We need those extreme acts of kindness. But not all need to be that enormous. What are ways that you show acts of kindness – to coworkers, family, friends or even people you may not know at all? It’s a good question to ponder and then think about ways to take action.
Our lives are filled with tough things, but they are also filled with human kindness. I’m grateful for each of you, and all that I have in my life.
As always, PROS Parts is here to help you with your laundry and drycleaning equipment parts and supply needs.
About Barry Victor
Barry founded PROS Parts in the spring of 1988. Before starting PROS, Barry worked in the sales and engineering departments of Vic Manufacturing, one of the largest manufacturers of dry cleaning equipment in the U.S. At Vic, Barry launched a parts sales division that supported dry cleaning equipment imported from Italy and Germany. In its early years, PROS manufactured dry cleaning machinery and then evolved into an industrial and commercial laundry equipment and dry cleaning operations parts supplier. Barry lives in Plymouth, MN with his wife. He has two sons, a step son, a step daughter and his dog, Sora.
