Things you may not have known about Gaspard, Inc.

June 16, 2021

My father, Robert E. Gaspard founded his company in 1954. He was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. His family was also manufacturing Vestments and other clerical needs (Gaspard and Sons), for churches all over Canada and the USA. In early 1954, my father wanted to start his own company and move to the US. He originally wanted to be in Chicago, Ill, however, when he found out the cost of doing business in Chicago, he turned his interest to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. When he moved to Milwaukee, he first started The Robert Gaspard, Co working out of his home with only 3 or 4 employees. My father was the only salesperson, and he would visit churches between Milwaukee, Chicago, and the surrounding areas. In fact, I remember him telling me that in the winter he would visit churches on his motorcycle! As his business continued to thrive, he quickly outgrew his workspace at home and found a building located near downtown Milwaukee where he continued to grow his business and was home for the Robert Gaspard Co. for over 21 years. I have fond memories of that old building as I would often go to work with him. Although very young, my father taught me lessons in business and I would often do small tasks like sweeping the floor, emptying out the garbage, or helping make boxes for shipping finished items. Doing those things, he would give me an allowance on a weekly basis, and I could spend it any way I wanted. However, they had a soda and a snack machine. Where I would take sodas or snacks to eat and drink. What I did not know was that he was keeping track of what I was taking and when it came time to get my allowance he would say, "Ok this is what you had earned this week, but you had five bags of chips and seven sodas. You must pay for those, so here is what is left of your allowance." I quickly learned that nothing is for free.

In 1978 our family moved to Brookfield, Wisconsin because my father was building a new home for The Robert Gaspard, Co. In 1979, the Robert Gaspard, Co moved to its permanent home located at 200 N. Janacek Rd. At that time there were a total of 10 employees, in which, most of them were with the company for many years and he did what it took to get them from Milwaukee to Brookfield. Since there were no city buses transporting passengers to Brookfield at that time, he purchased a passenger van and decided with his cutter to pick up and drop off the ladies Monday through Friday (Milwaukee to Brookfield is about 18 miles). My father knew that without his crew The Robert Gaspard, Co. would not exist. He was a good man in that he treated everybody fairly and with the utmost respect.

About 1983 – 1984, my mother started working in the business with my father. She started in the production area to learn what each department did, and later worked in Customer Service assisting customers with placing their orders. In 1991 my father passed away and my mother continued to run the business. In October of 1996, my mother asked if I wanted to come work in the business and I gladly accepted. She had me start as she did by working in all the departments from cutting, fusing, stencil & applique, embroidery, sewing, pressing, quality control, and shipping. Once I understood what and how things were done in production, I then started working Customer Service and attended several conferences displaying the items that the Robert Gaspard Co. produced.

In 2004 my mother had decided to retire, and I had decided to purchase the business and continue my father's legacy. It was after my mother retired that we decided to change the name of the company to what it is today, Gaspard, Inc. In 2009, my daughter Ashley, started working for me as we had opened a gift store, The Giving Tree. The Giving Tree was a Christian gift store that offered a variety of Christian gifts from baptism, wedding, first communion, confirmation, bereavement, home décor and more – Inspirational Gift that Celebrated life. Ashley continued to work in The Giving Tree after school and in 2014 she asked if she could work in production for Gaspard, Inc as an assistant production manager. Today, Ashley is now the Production Manager overseeing the entire production floor. The Giving Tree had closed its doors in 2017 and my wife Raechel Gaspard and I recently reopened The Giving Tree in Downtown Oconomowoc. As they say, location, location, location.

In July of 2020 my stepdaughter, Madison, started working for Gaspard, Inc. and she is our textile cutter and our shipper.