In 1956, Jerry Godin returned to his hometown of Athol after serving in the Air Force in
Washington state for several years. Under the Gl Bill, he apprenticed in real estate under J. Altenor Mallet (a cousin on his mother's side), and within a few years he was able to open his very own real estate office in town.
For year after year, Jerry would sell around 100 houses a year- mostly to Athol natives or relatives. And if needed, Jerry would lend his commission to the buyer as a down payment.
In 1972, Frances Perkins returned to her hometown of Athol after spending several
Years in New York City working for Columbia Records (now CBS Records, but everyone in the office thinks she was the CEO of CVS).
It was quite a coincidence that in 1972, both Jerry and Frances drove identical navy blue Ford LTD's- the only two cars like that in Athol.
So inevitably, they noticed each other driving by and eventually they met.
After some time, Jerry asked Frances if she wanted to work in his real estate office. This is where the story takes a different tack.
In 1972, Frances obtained her real estate broker's license while Jerry transitioned away from real estate and towards golf.
In 1973, Frances took over Jerry's desk.
In 1974, Frances made herself principal broker.
In 1975, Frances took over the corporation and Jerry made his move to golfing more permanent.
Fast forward to 1989, Jerry and Frances got married, and she became Frances Perkins Godin.
In 2022, After 50 years of running the office, Frances is still here.
We still have a clientele of people who would never do business anywhere else in town.
P.S. Jerry's version is that his desk, title, and corporation were gone, so he had no choice but to play golf. 😉