From the Desk of Mark Milanese

2017 Valiant Foundation Golf Event is a Big Success!

“Big Guy” Golf Tournament turns 21!

Click Here for the 2017 Golf Outing Photo Gallery

In 1997, Geno and Mike Valiant started the “Michael J. Valiant, Sr. Foundation” to honor their father and raise money for good causes… Since then, they’ve raised and donated more than $200,000 for Autism Awareness Advocacy, Carteret Specials and more.

The Valiant family hosts a golf event called the “Big Guy” each summer at the Cranbury Golf Club. Colleagues & clients of Valiant Home Remodeling unite with friends and extended Valiant family members  to raise money for worthwhile causes and have a great time.This year marked the 21st Anniversary of this successful event.

See you next year for the 22nd Anniversary!

Watch Home Movies of the 21st Anniversary Valiant Foundation Golf Outing

Meet the 2017 Players…

Photo Gallery of the 2017 Players…

Mike & Genare Valiant at the 21st Anniversary Valiant Foundation “Big Guy” Golf Tournament held at the Cranbury Golf Club on July 11, 2017

“Valiant” is defined by the dictionary as an adjective meaning “to have courage and determination.” When a person is “being valiant” they are being lionhearted, fearless, heroic, brave and bold. The Valiant Family who own and operate Valiant Home Remodeling truly knows what it means to “Be Valiant.”

Click here for MANY MORE photos, videos and memories of the 2017 Valiant Foundation Golf Event

Click Here to see the Google Photo Album~ Photos, videos and animations of the 2017 Valiant Foundation Golf Outing

Doug Brown Foursome at the 2017 “Big Guy”

BEING VALIANT…

Each of us could learn more about what “Being Valiant” truly means in business—and in life—from the Valiant family.

Sixty years ago, Genare Valiant fearlessly opened Valiant Home Remodeling on Roosevelt Avenue in Carteret, N.J., and three generations of the Valiant family have upheld the valiant traditions of their founder.  They persist to offer only the very finest solutions for homeowners throughout New Jersey.  They are centrally located to Cartaret NJ, Elizabeth NJ and Edison NJ.  Valiant Home Remodelers specializes in exterior remodeling, such as awnings, windows, doors, siding and patio rooms.

My friendship with this Valiant generation—Genare Valiant, his brother Michael and their cousin Anthony—started over 20 years ago when we met at a manufacturer’s dealer conference. We liked each other immediately, which shouldn’t be surprising, since their story and mine are very similar.

Both the Milanese family and the Valiant family have been in business for more than 50 years. That’s very rare in the home remodeling business, where most businesses fail within five years. The facts that both our companies have continuously used their own family name, stayed in business in the same location and used the same phone number as when their founders first started are all testaments to a firm commitment to craftsmanship and integrity.

Milanese and Valiant are alike in more ways, though. We both respect our clients and recognize they are our employer. We share the same commitment to solving problems for our clients. We offer the same goods and services from many of the same vendors. We develop long and loyal relationships with manufacturers. We counsel, teach and provide for our employees. We have paid our dues.

Beyond all that, the family business was always the fabric of our family life—it held us together, wove stories at our dinner tables and rolled with us wherever we went …

But the Valiant family story is very different from mine, too. My father mentored my brothers and me until his death at the age of 71 after our generation was already well-established. In 1996, Genare and Mike Valiant lost their father at the young age of 54. Mike and Geno were young, too. I remember meeting them like it was yesterday …

They were “Being Valiant.” They were bold and determined to be successful against all odds. They were courageous and brave to take over their family business at such a young age.

In 1997, Geno and Mike started the “Valiant Foundation” to honor their father and to raise money for good causes in their community. The family, through the Valiant Foundation, has heroically raised and donated more than $150,000 to Autism Awareness Advocacy and Cartaret Specials.

Each summer the family hosts a golf tournament called the “Big Guy” shoot out to memorialize their father, Michael, and to raise funds for the Valiant Foundation. Manufacturers, suppliers, dealers, clients and friends get together, but are not permitted to talk business. We have a great time, raise money for a fantastic cause and develop relationships with each other beyond business.

Each of us could learn more about what “Being Valiant” truly means in business—and in life—from the Valiant family.

This blog post originally appeared in DWM Magazine.