Hall of Fame Effort
Sunday Exclusive: Businessmen honored as role models
By Dayna Harpster dharpster@newspress.com
It’s no secret that the past year- the past few, even- have been difficult for many businesses.
But there are some that not only survive but thrive, due to some combination of determination, ethics, innovation, planning and forward thinking.
Junior Achievement honors the heads of those Southwest Florida companies for their support of its programs and as role models for today’s young leaders.
George Beasley and Theo Etzel join the Collier County business leaders named to the Business Hall of Fame since 1988.
“From our laureates, who are the top entrepreneurs in our community, students learn that it takes perseverance and innovation to become an entrepreneur,” said Victoria Stephen, president of Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida. “This is what the free-enterprise system is all about. With hard work and the right skills, they can succeed and take their place as the world’s leaders in the 21st century.”
Beasley and Etzel will be honored at a dinner Tuesday at the Naples Grande Beach Resort.
W. Theo Etzel
When Theo Etzel’s staff found out that he was about to be honored as a role model and entrepreneur by Junior Achievement, they came up with a ruse to get him into a common area of Conditioned Air’s company headquarters in surprise-party fashion.
It worked. Etzel, the 53-year-old president and CEO, was clearly pleased with both the message and its delivery.
The latest candle in his cake joins another this year: Conditioned Air was honored with the Uncommon Friends Foundation Business Ethics Award.
Both recent honors attest to the success of the mission statement of the company he has helmed since 1995.
“Not everyone out there likes our mission statement,” said Etzel. No doubt the pledge to provide products and services in an honorable way doesn’t ruffle feathers; it’s the “within an industry whose reputation is tarnished with mistrust and deceit” that doesn’t sit as well.
But it’s true, Etzel said. After working in real estate procurement for Days Inn and then owning a two-store Ben & Jerry’s franchise, he took his father-in-law up on an offer to grow the $2.7 million air conditioning company in 1995. Today, it’s worth $25 million.
Every employee has a placard on his or her desk that reads: “I’m responsible, I’m accountable, it’s me.”
Etzel is included in that number. In fact, “I don’t consider myself as the star player of this company. I look at myself as the coach,” he said.
In convincing Etzel and his wife, Kim, to move their young family from Atlanta to Naples, his father-in-law said, “you can learn the air-conditioning side, but we need you on the business side and we need a people person,” Etzel said.
He credits his mother for setting him on that people-person path.
“You trade heartbeats for dollars,” she told him- and regarding his employees, he knows “that’s something not to be taken lightly and without a lot of thought.”
His own respect for work-life balance allows him to play golf and pursue an interest he shares with his wife: travel combined with classes by well-known chefs.
From experience honed on college radio at Stetson University, from which he graduated, Etzel is still at ease in front of a microphone and does his own voice and in-person commercial work.
The year he graduated, 1980, was not the best of times either, Etzel recalled. He did a lot of knocking on doors.
“There is no substitute for perseverance,” he said. “That’s true in life regarding just about everything.”
“I am not the smartest guy you will ever meet,” he continued. “But I like people and I like to see people succeed.”
Tips On How To Succeed In Business…
While Trying
From Theo Etzel:
- Seek a mentor for whom you have the utmost respect. This would be a person who demonstrates excellence in life and specifically areas in which you are interested. You should seek accountability from that person as well so you can make sure you are on the right course. Then, later in your career, return the favor for another newcomer.
- Surround yourself with smarter people than yourself in areas in which you need help. Equip them with the tools to do their jobs and then let them do what they do best. Stay away from micro-managing the leadership in an organization. Collectively, they will raise the level of professionalism of the organization much higher than you can do alone. Overuse the words “thank you” to your team.
NAPLES, FL – On Tuesday, October 26, at the Collier County Board of Commissioners (BCC) meeting, BCC will recognize Conditioned Air as Business of the Month. Designed to be a joint program between Collier County Government and the Economic Development Council of Collier County (EDC), Business of the Month helps to recognize business owners who advance innovation through entrepreneurial activity within the community. Conditioned Air President and CEO Theo Etzel will accept the award.
(Naples, FL)—Conditioned Air’s Chief Financial Officer, Carol Papesh, has been named 
