Our Story in the Eyes of Our Daughter
To understand how true this statement is, one must know a bit of our history. You, reader, should know this article is being written by Rits’ loving daughter and employee.
Rit proudly graduated Mohonasen High School in 1972 with a general /grade diploma for training in electrical, heating and cooling. Post high school he worked as an electrician until joining the United States Air Force. Rit was sent to Electric Power Productions School due to his existing skills. He received 680 hours of schooling for electrical power generation. Rit ran and maintained generators and prime power planes until 1976 when he returned to civilian life, continuing his work as an electrician. In 1978 he became a service technician for, what was then, the largest heating & cooling company in the area. The last three years of his time here were spent as a Service Manager and assistant to the Owner.
In 1991, Rit founded his own company. The Bryant Corporation asked him to serve on the Partners in Development Group. Rit was one of ten in the Northeast whom helped design equipment based on real world needs. Rit has since served in a group whose input is used to reach ac Hudson Valley Community College and BOCES.
Ours is a business built from the ground up.
I remember the beginnings vividly. It started with my Father telling us he was going into business. My sister (Erin) and I offered our own childish suggestions for business ‘names before we decided on Rit Fonda Heating & Cooling. We used our home to start and create an office in our dining room. My father responded to calls at all hours. I admired him for getting out of his own bed to bring someone else comfort. My mother left her job to tend to the office, now in the basement. We all shared the responsibility of answering the phone with the business name, taking messages when needed. Soon we were ready to hire employees, whom we treated like family. As we grew, we moved to local buildings to support a metal shop and fleet of vans.
Ten years ago, we made the big move, selling our house, moving to a perfect location. This property had a large building with a smaller building attached that would be renovated into the office.
Our goal is to serve our community with efficiency and a smile. I will never forget how proud I was of my father for making this choice, and of my mother for joining him. The original intent is never far from mind doing business with honesty and integrity. Exactly as my father envisioned years ago; he took a leap of faith resulting in our very rare family run business here to serve our community.
