SSAA Chairman's Report
June 2009 - SSAA Chairman - Jonathan Perrins
An icon of our industry has left us this month, Frank Cooney was the inaugural President of the SSAA, a founding member who was immensely proud of his number 2 membership. Frank was one of a handful of self storage pioneers in this country who first met in 1989 to discuss forming the Self Storage Association. He operated two successful self storage businesses in the Sydney area for many years trading under the name Stow Away Self Storage. After battling disease for some time Frank passed away peacefully on June the 1st aged 78.
Many people in this industry will remember Frank for his vibrant personality and sense of humour. Frank always had a joke to tell, there was no time that was not a good time to tell a joke. His wicked smile and impeccable sense of delivery ensured that everyone that was listening would end up smiling, if not laughing out loud. One of the early SSAA conventions was thrown into panic when the guest speaker was nowhere to be found minutes before they were due to appear on stage, organisers and committee members were frantically trying to contact them and work out contingency plans. Frank strode into the fray with a nonchalant, “not to worry, I’ll keep the members entertained while you try to track this guy down”. He then proceeded onto the stage and performed over 40 minutes of impromptu stand up comedy, incorporating many industry identities into the mix and leaving the audience in stiches until the speaker eventually arrived. Some members even commented we should have saved ourselves the trouble and just had Frank as the main speaker!
Frank was more than just a showman, he was a businessman of honesty and integrity. He ran a very successful road line marking business as well as his self storage operations. He was of an era where a deal could be done on the shake of a hand, and a mans word was his guarantee. He was also a philanthropist, giving generously, but unobtrusively to local community groups and charities. Most of all though Frank was a family man, he was much loved by his 2 children, their partners and his 4 grand children. He always made sure there was time for his family, finding that elusive balance between the demands of running a successful business and spending the time to nurture and enjoy his family life.
I think we can all learn from Frank’s life. Sometimes we are so caught up in the pace and complexity of today’s world that we forget about some of the simple principles that make our lives so worthwhile. We compromise on our family and friends, spending time on things that seem so important on the day, but in the grand scheme of life, probably could have been put off for a while. We get caught up in business processes, legal contracts, rules and regulations, and sometimes forget about the importance of dealing with people with honesty and integrity. E-mails and texts are sent madly from Blackberries and laptops when sometimes a personal phone call can resolve an issue so simply. The pressures and negativity of today’s business world can wear us down and distract us from the thousands of positive influences and events that surround us every day.
One of Frank’s favourite songs was, “always look on the bright side of life”, and old but true saying. We should all take the time to spend on the things we enjoy, the things that are important to us, our friends and our family, look for the positives rather than getting overcome by the negatives, concentrate on the things that you can control or influence, and don’t worry about things that you can’t.
