W E LC O M E TO T H E B U S I N E S S, J E R R Y • 31 EARLY DAYS When I officially started as a full-time wholesale salesman the Harold W Young training program consisted of two things. Looking up what the customer had bought in the past and finding out where they were located. We didn’t have any GPS or Google apps at the time. Finding the customer required an old fashioned paper map. My territory went as far north as Fort Kent, Maine, 100 miles north of Montreal. I was 22 years old and I’ll never forget my first big customer meeting. It was with Arthur Cook at First National Stores. I was so nervous. My knees were literally shaking. It was a big fancy chain and I was inexperienced. I was doing my best to look confident and professional but I think Arthur saw right through me. He said, “What do you have?” I answered, “Tie top bags of crystallized cream filberts—from Melville—28 cents.” “What does a case weigh and cost?” “It is FOB.” He took a card in his drawer that listed what he had to sell. No iPad or fancy spreadsheet. “Give me 200 cases.” I was higher than the clouds. I loved the feeling of making the sale.