Affiliate Member Spotlight A Business Owner Bent on Helping Thousands

AFFILIATE

A Business Owner Bent on Helping Thousands

Roland Thoms, Varsity Painting CACM Affiliate Member since 2005

By Emily Stegman

Roland Thoms with his daughter Camille

If Roland Thoms ever tried to count the number of lives he’s touched, he may lose count after the first couple thousand.

First, he’d have to start with the 1,000 or so college students he recruited for a student painting program from 1993-2004. The program aimed to teach high achieving college students how to run their own branch of a house painting business for a summer. The internship allowed students to learn how to source business leads, hire staff members and manage the day-to-day operations of a lucrative painting business.

Kim Erlenwein went through the program with Thoms for the first time in 2001. “I was 21 years old, and in nine months I learned how to run my own business,” Erlenwein says. “I sold $150,000 in paint jobs, hired nine painters and earned $45,000 in one summer – and I never looked back.” She is now the Vice President of Varsity Painting’s Southern California division.

Thoms all dressed up at Varsity Painting’s 2010 Halloween Bash, which is one of the company’s main fundraising events for tumor research. Erlenwein said she has remained a faithful employee because of Thoms’ commitment to her success over the years. “One of Roland’s greatest attributes as a partner, boss, mentor, coach and friend is he will always continue to nourish your success and growth. He is a believer in great work Do you know a CACM Affiliate ethic, having fun and always challenging yourself to take it to the next level,” she Member who has an inspiring story says. to tell?

After nearly 10 years of successfully running the student program, Thoms established Varsity Painting as a more traditional painting contractor business in 2004. The Walnut Creek-based company now employs nearly 100 staff members (including three executives who went through the student program) and primarily serves multi-unit residential housing complexes. The company offers in-house color consultations, where digital color renderings are created for clients based on the colors they’re interested in. CACM is accepting nominations for our quarterly Member Spotlight, which is also featured in the Members Only section at www. cacm.org.

“Our main purpose is require lifetime monitoring, to provide a peace-ofincluding MRIs twice per mind painting experience year. by focusing on color, communication and care,” Thoms is committed to Thoms says. HELP FUND NF2 RESEARCH raising funds for tumor SmartBucket is Varsity Painting’s newest fundraising research in partnership In addition to the multitude program for tumor research. With your donation, you will with Advocure NF2, an of satisfied customers receive re-purposed paint cans that have been transformed advocacy group for the NF2 Thoms has served over into beautifully decorated flower pots, complete with packets international community. the years, he has also of flower seeds. All that’s left to do is, “Add dirt and water, Together with their business touched the lives of and watch a healthy life grow.” partners, Varsity Painting has countless individuals raised more than $100,000 and families affected by Learn more at www.smartbucket.org. per year for tumor research Neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2), through fundraising events a rare genetic disorder like their Annual Halloween that causes tumors, Bash, now in its ninth year. neurofibromas and schwannomas to grow in the brain, ears (Learn more at www.varsitypainting.com/halloween.) and spine. NF2 can also cause deafness and other serious and other NF2 patients will quality of life issues. This past March, Varsity Painting and Advocure NF2 launched a new fundraising campaign called SmartBucket. His daughter Camille was diagnosed with NF2 in 2004, when Camille’s brothers pioneered the campaign, which allows she was just seven years old, after doctors discovered she people to purchase re-purposed paint cans that have had a brain tumor roughly the size of a tennis ball. Doctors become beautifully decorated flower pots. (Order your were able to successfully remove her tumor, and Camille, bucket and support the cause at www.smartbucket.org.) now 15 years old, is a beloved big sister to brothers Carter Thoms says the goal is to raise another $100,000 for tumor (13) and Ashton (11). Until a cure is discovered, Camille research, meaning he’s about to touch even more lives.

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