The Key to the City O n the evening of October 19th, 2016 The
time, my mother was relocating her mother to West Palm Beach, Florida. Because of this, she told my father, Why don’t you consider South Florida? He agreed, and they came down and hired a business broker who found a little telephone answering service called Ding-A-Ling. That’s how they got their start.” The Mayor continued. “Then they got the opportunity to move to Margate. They’re a great business here in Margate. They have been here a long time. About a month and a half ago my wife and I had a tour of the business, and I met your mom for the first time. She is a very special lady. She is still at work (92). I remember her saying to my wife, Behind every great man there is a great woman. (Laughter) It made me really think about that. When we were leaving, we walked into the lobby where you see a big award for your dad. I turned to my wife, and I said, What can I really do for the woman behind a great man who is also a great woman? So I started thinking about a key to the city... and here we are today!
City of Margate, Florida, graciously gave the key to the city to Dorothy Shooster. To honor the occa- sion Global Response asked everyone in the entire company to dress like Dorothy from the period of the 20’s through the 70’s, with hats and polka dots for the ladies and bow ties for the men. 1,500 staff members from Michigan to Florida, Call Center to Fulfillment, dressed to celebrate in her honor. A bus was hired to bring her and her friends from Sinai retirement community to Global Response. About 25 people aged 85-100 arrived with walkers and big smiles for the field trip. A red carpet awaited them as well as a show in the lobby and delicious food. To top off the pre-party event, a marching band was brought in from Coral Springs High School in full regalia. They marched down the small street in front of the main entrance! No detail was missed, for instance, cupcakes with edible photos of Dorothy were served for desert. With a tight schedule, the group boarded the bus and cars followed them to Margate City Hall. Upon arrival the Mayor Tommy Ruzzano and City officials welcomed everyone. A regular city business meeting was planned. There just happened to be a whole lot of extra people in the room. Once settled, a young girl was given the honor of sing- ing the national anthem. This was followed by the honoring of Pastor Dennis Grant and his late wife, Yvonne D. Henry-Grant, for their role in the community. Then came the event we all prepared for, the presentation of the key. The Mayor, a body builder, with a reputation for being the strongest mayor in the world said, “A while back; I got to visit Global Response and Michael Shooster, with the pink cast (broken wrist), and The Global Response Family. They are located in the south end of Margate. They are a huge corpo- ration and have been here for many years. They started out in Fort Lauderdale in Oakland Park. Let me allow Michael Shooster continue the story.” Michael, “My dad, lost his job and was on the unemployment line in New Jersey. At the same
Dorothy with the Mayor of Margate.
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