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Ken Kelk Owner
Choice Party Linens A
s a kid growing up in southern New Jersey, I learned that owning your own business requires hard work, determination and a will- ingness to put yourself on the line to get things done.
My parents owned a small gift shop at the Jersey Shore, where I spent many an afternoon helping to stock shelves. My first real job was at the grocery store next to my parent’s shop. Noticing that I was hardwork- ing and conscientious, my manager recommended me for a job as a driver/route manager for Wonder Bread. I worked this route every summer, earning enough to pay my way through Ursinus College.
After graduating, I left Wonder Bread to work in sales, selling fax machines. This was before you could just walk into Staples and buy one! In 1989, I answered an advertisement in the newspaper for Metro Party Rentals. As operations manager at Metro, I worked for my current partner, Norm Longman, and learned the ins and outs of the rental business.
In 1991, Norm and I opened Choice Party Linens together in a single garage unit in Colwyn, PA. Being the salesmen, making the deliveries and laundering the linens kept Norm and I very busy. Our first employee
80 November December 2012
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