We congratulate Kylie Bowe on being crowned the new Chowchilla Western Stampede Queen. Kylie was crowned Chowchilla Western Stampede Queen last week. She is now part of the Chowchilla Stampede Royalty for the 2015-2016 year. Kylie earned her title by competing in 
a contest based on sales of event sponsorships and raffle tickets for the Annual Chowchilla Western Stampede. Stampede Royalty and their court will represent the Stampede Committee over the next year at many events, including other local rodeos and community events. 
The Famous Cattle Drive down Robertson Blvd in Chowchilla began in March of 1958. Cowboys and Cowgirls drive cattle down the main street in Chowchilla as the official opening of the 3 days of old time rodeo action. Events include barrel racing, team roping, calf roping and much more. This 58 year tradition is part of Chowchilla’s history and serves as the official opening of the Chowchilla Western Stampede. The Chowchilla Western Stampede is held each year at the Madera County Fair Grounds in Chowchilla. The annual event attracts top roping contestants and visitors of all ages. Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning is proud to be a sponsor this historic event. We congratulate Kylie on her community accomplishment as the new Stampede Queen. 
Purl's Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning Blog: Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Chowchilla Western Stampede 2015
Friday, March 20th, 2015Angie’s List Super Service Award
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2015Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning
Earns Esteemed 2014
Angie’s List Super Service Award
Award reflects company’s consistently high level of customer service
Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning has earned the service industry’s coveted Angie’s List Super Service Award, reflecting an exemplary year of service provided to members of the local services marketplace and consumer review site in 2014.
“We are proud to have earned the Super Service Award from Angie’s List and to have earned an “A” rating based on customer reviews.” said Brian Driggs of Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning.
“Only about 5 percent of the HVAC, Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning companies in Fresno, CA and Madera, CA have performed so consistently well enough to earn our Super Service Award,” said Angie’s List Founder Angie Hicks. “It’s a really high standard.”
Angie’s List Super Service Award 2014 winners have met strict eligibility requirements, which include an “A” rating in overall grade, recent grade, and review period grade; the company must be in good standing with Angie’s List, pass a background check and abide by Angie’s List operational guidelines.
Service company ratings are updated daily on Angie’s List. Companies are graded on an A through F scale in areas ranging from price to professionalism to punctuality.
Angie’s List helps facilitate happy transactions between nearly 3 million consumers nationwide and its collection of highly-rated service providers in 720 categories of service, ranging from home improvement to health care. Built on a foundation of authentic reviews of local service, Angie’s List connects consumers directly to its online marketplace of services from member-reviewed providers, and offers unique tools and support designed to improve the local service experience for both consumers and service professionals.
Welcome Brian DaSilva to our team!
Wednesday, February 25th, 2015
Meet our newest employee!
Brian DaSilva – Installation Technician
Brian joined the Purl’s Sheet Metal in 2015 as an installation technician. He enjoys working with his co–workers and learning new things. Brian feels he has the opportunity to work with the best in the business! In his free time Brian enjoys working on his truck and playing guitar. He also enjoys spending his time with his girlfriend and his dogs. (Brian’s favorite movie is “The Sandlot”).
Lupercalia: The Origin of St. Valentine’s Day
Saturday, February 14th, 2015Many people may think of Valentine’s Day as a holiday essentially created by card and gift companies, but the truth is that the holiday has long-standing roots going back to the Roman Empire. The name “Lupercalia” has its origins in the word “lupus”, which means wolf, and the reason for this is that according to Roman pagan religion, the she-wolf Lupa nursed the two orphaned infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.
The Festival
The Festival of Lupercalia spanned two days each February, from February 13th to 15th. The festival was about fertility and was led by Luperci priests, known as “brothers of the wolf”. The festival was serious with intention (fertility) but was executed as quite a romp for both the priests and citizens of Rome. The process was this: two male goats and a dog were sacrificed at the beginning of the festival by the priests; two young Luperci were then anointed with the blood from the animals, and the hides of the animals were cut into straps. As food and drink flowed, the male priests would run around the city wearing nothing but thongs made from the animal skins, and they also carried a strap from one of the sacrificed animals. The strap was used to strike the palms of Roman women waiting for the priests in the city, as it was believed that being hit with the strap could help with infertility issues and a safe, healthy labor for women who were pregnant.
The Transition to St. Valentine’s Day
The Christian influence of the holiday came around the 5th century. The Roman Empire was still strong, but Christianity was rapidly taking hold throughout the world. It is believed that to try and remove the paganism from the holiday, the deaths of two men, supposedly both named Valentine, were added into the mix. During the 3rd and 4th centuries, a law created by Claudius II forbade young men eligible for military service to marry, because Rome wanted a strong army. The two men named Valentine were priests, and married young couples in secret. Both were found out and executed on February 14th, although in separate years. The Church made Valentine a saint (they chose one), and Lupercalia became St. Valentine’s Day.
Here’s wishing you and your loved one a Happy Valentine’s Day!
Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning NEW Barbeque Smokers
Thursday, February 12th, 2015Friday barbeques are a tradition at Purl’s Sheet Metal. Our team of employees, customers and invited guests enjoy the weekly Friday lunch at our Madera office. Every week there is something different on the menu. After searching for a BBQ smoker, we decided to fabricate our own. What started as a passion to create the best “smoked” meats for our weekly lunch, quickly turned into a prototype of the new barbeque smoker.
The food from our new smoker was so delicious, our employees and our customers started asking to order one for their personal use. After much testing and sampling of great meals, we came up with a well-designed prototype.
Each barbeque smoker body is custom fabricated in our sheet metal shop in Madera, CA. Each smoker contains a top vent, side vents, chrome plated steel cooking grill, meat hanging hooks, removable fire basket, and temperature gauge. It is assembled with care and precision in the USA in Madera, CA. We are proud to announce they are now available for purchase 
and special order. Options are available for special orders, so give us a call at Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning for all the details.
Employee Spotlight Bob Martin
Wednesday, December 24th, 2014
Bob Martin joined Purl’s Sheet Metal in December of 2003. Bob is in our Service Department and leads our dispatch team. Bob enjoys coming to work every day and the fact that you never know what the day may bring! He said he really likes the relationships he has developed with our customers over the years. When you listen to Bob work with our customers, it is easy to see why he is so good at his job.
Bob has seen many changes at Purl’s Sheet Metal. One of the biggest changes he mentioned was the move to our newest location in 2010. We went from very tight quarters to having enough room for everyone and some room to grow. In terms of technology he feels the best change has been the addition of computer tablets in the field. This allows our service technicians to take payments on site and communicate to Bob and the office directly through the tablet. Bob said he is proud of the fact it has made a big difference in the overall efficiency of our service team and increased our ability to get to customers faster for break downs.
Bob is the proud father of 6 children, and 15 grandchildren. The oldest granddaughter is 2nd year at UCLA and the oldest grandson just finished basic training for the Air Force. Just talking with him about all of his children or grandchildren you know instantly how proud he is of each and every one! He has been a very active volunteer for Special Olympics for over 12 years. He loves working with the kids and getting involved with the program. Bob enjoys spending time with his wife and the whole family. He loves to camp and spend time at Lake Tahoe.
Anyone 
who knows Bob also knows he is an avid sports fan and a huge baseball fan. When asked how he became a Giant’s fan, he said “I was born into it!” His mother used to listen to baseball games on the radio when he was young and he has fond memories of her shouting at the radio about Willie Mays… “Hit that ball Willie”. He has shared his love of sports with his children and grandchildren.
Bob said that leadership and teamwork are key at Purl’s Sheet Metal. He remembers the summer of 2009 when there were over 30 consecutive days of record heat above 100 degrees. Calls were flooding the office. Right in the middle of this heat wave, the computers went down for a couple of days. Bob, Melissa and our whole office were taking calls and hand writing tags as fast as possible. Our service technicians were working into the nighttime to try to get to every call. Bob said he was so proud of our whole team and the fact that we were able to take care of all of our customers in this crisis. He said he learned from this the importance of the entire team. He said he enjoys his job and appreciates the team environment and the big community involvement. He said Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning just feels like one big family.
2014 Coats for Kids Drive ~ Thank You Parties!
Tuesday, December 23rd, 2014
This week Purl’s Sheet Metal wrapped up our 2014 Coats for Kids drive with pizza parties at St. Joachim and Lincoln Elementary schools in Madera. The pizza parties gave us the opportunity to celebrate with the classes who collected the most amounts of coats for The 2014 Coats for Kids drive.
We had a great time at the schools and had a chance to take a class photo to send home with each of the kids. Brian Driggs and Kurt Davidson of Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning took a moment to thank for the kids for their part in bringing in 435 coats. All of the coats collected stayed in Madera County and were distributed by our local Salvation Army Office. Mr. Driggs also talked about the importance of helping others in our community and how we can all make a difference. During the party he also announced that most of the coats collected had already been given to kids in need.
What a great way to celebrate successful Coats for Kids drive in Madera and we look forward to another great year in 2015.
Merry Christmas!
Coats for Kids 2014 – We THANK YOU for your contributions!
Wednesday, December 17th, 2014This week Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning wrapped up our 2014 Coats for Kids drive. We had a great time working with our community and collecting coats. We are proud to announce we collected 435 coats! All of the coats collected will stay in Madera County and will be distributed by our local Salvation Army Office.
We want to thank our customer
s and friends who brought in both new and slightly used coats for this drive. Thank you to the teachers, parents and students at Lincoln and St. Joachim Schools! We were overwhelmed by the donations and generosity. Huge thank you to our local Salvation Army for all the great work they do! All of the coats collected will be given to children who need them most.
Russell Sigler Award for Sales Excellence 2014
Tuesday, December 16th, 2014Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning received the Russell Sigler Award for Sales Excellence for 2014. Co-Owners Brian Driggs and Kurt Davidson were honored to accept this special award. This award is given to a few select dealers to recognize sales excellence. It recognizes companies that embody the same commitment to hard work, dedication to success and high integrity as Russell Sigler. This is a distinct honor to receive this award. Since 1952, Purl’s Sheet Metal has conducted business with the same high standards and commit
ment to excellence as Russell Sigler.
Russell Sigler started his company in 1950 after being inspired by Dale Carnegie and Napoleon Hill. Russell was called into service in 1941 and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1946 and then worked as an engineer. He attended classes from Willis Carrier, who is the founder/inventor or modern air conditioning. His startup capital was provided by a savings bond and war bonds he had sent to his parents to help out at home during the war. His parents put those bonds in a savings deposit box to save for him.
Always a believer in positive thinking, Russell wrote himself a letter in 1949, stating that he expected to “earn 1 million dollars by 1980 by establishing air conditioning contracting business to install and service the best air conditioning systems at competitive prices.” Not only did he meet that goal, but by 1970 the company was already recording sales of $8 million dollars. His next goal is to reach $1 billion dollars in sales in 2017 when he will also reach 100 years of age. Russell Sigler Inc. is currently comprised of 29 locations in 6 states.
Christmas Light Parade 2014
Tuesday, December 9th, 2014Purls Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning employees and their families had a fantastic time at the 2014 Parade of Lights in Madera, CA. The 21st Annual Madera Light Parade was held on Thursday December 4, 2014. The annual light parade is a tradition in Madera that begins 
the Holiday Season with a spectacular Christmas celebration of lights. Each year the event is coordinated and hosted by the Madera Kiwanis Club and the Downtown Association.
The light parade began 21 years ago as a procession of farm equipment and tractors down historic Yosemite Avenue in Madera, CA. Today, the parade route continues down Yosemite Avenue and still includes tractors and harvesters as well as fire trucks, cars, semi-trucks, flatbed trailers and just about anything else you can put lights on. There is only one qualification to enter … each vehicle must have a minimum of 100 lighted Christmas lights. Madera residents lined the streets of Yosemite Avenue and cheered for their favorite entries.
Purl’s Sheet Metal entered the parade again with their fleet of antique fire apparatus decorated and loaded with Purl’s Sheet Metal employees and families. It was a great evening for us to bundle up and barbeque hot dogs, drink hot cocoa and sing some Christmas carols. The Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning fleet includes, 1979 Crown Fire Coach Pumper, 1951 American LaFrance Pumper and 1948 American LaFrance Aerial Ladder Truck.
