RICHARD & JIM BOLIEK

WRITER: GARY CORSAIR

Twenty seven years have passed since Jim Boliek’s search for a sympathetic ear led him to a new career.

Jim loved selling luxury automobiles, but things were changing — a manager had asked Jim to bend the truth with customers. That didn’t sit well. Jim had built a reputation for honesty over 14 years. Jim needed his older brother’s advice.

But Richard Boliek, owner and president of Lake Glass & Mirror in Leesburg since February 1983, did more than listen. He provided an out, an opportunity.

“Basically, I came out here to talk to my brother,” Jim recalls, “and to vent. I told him about my situation and he said, ‘Why don’t you come to work for me?’”

That August 1987 conversation marked the start of a beautiful working relationship, though a beautiful familial relationship already existed.

“Richard and I have always been close. Early on, we hunted and fished together. As adults, we eat together at least once a week, and we’ve taken vacations together,” Jim says. “A lot of our life has been shared together.”

They’ve also shared considerable success.

“It was a much smaller business when I purchased it. But it steadily improved,” Richard says. “We grew by taking on larger community projects like schools, hospitals, and courthouses.”

Richard Boliek didn’t see his brother; he saw great sales manager

And Jim was a big part of the growth. Training Jim to oversee residential sales allowed Richard to zero on commercial work.

The ensuing years have proved the wisdom of hiring the honest car salesman.

“He didn’t have any construction experience, but I knew him probably better than anyone other than my wife,” Richard recalls. “I knew he was intelligent, and he had a real strong sense of honesty. And he understood that to have good customer relations both parties have to benefit from the transaction.”

Jim worked hard to transition from selling Cadillacs to countertops, mirrors, and glass doors, but he continues to appreciate the opportunity Richard gave him.

“I’ve never forgotten what he did for me,” Jim says. “He didn’t give me any special favors; he treated me as an employee. But he’s always been fair with me.”

Richard’s son Bert can relate. He’s Lake Glass & Mirror’s vice president, and he’ll run the company after Jim and Richard retire.

“If I had to describe my dad in one word, it would be ‘determined,’” Bert says. “And I remember once I asked him, ‘Are you an optimist or a pessimist?’ He said, ‘I’m a realist.’ He sees the world for what it is.”