Meet Barb, President & COO, 25 years at GOLDEN⁠ One day, when Sam Golden (co-founder of Golden Artist Colors) walked into the Earlville village office to pay his water bill, he met Barbara Schindler, the Village Treasurer, and he invited her to his art show at the Earlville Opera House. Following this warm invitation, Barbara began to learn more about GOLDEN, and ultimately decided to apply for the open Comptroller position, putting her finance and accounting degree to work. She left her interview with Mark and Barb Golden, understanding the two most important things at the company were to 1. Delight customers and 2. Provide opportunities and rewards for staff. Barb challenged Mark to a third objective, which was to make the company profitable, which in turn would help better accomplish Mark’s original objectives. And so, Barb was hired as the Controller, and three years later, in 2000, Barb quietly stepped into the role of President at Golden Artist Colors, ushering in a new chapter for the company. ⁠ Here are some of the wonderful stories about Barb that members of our team have shared about her. Karen retold a story about her first tax season at GOLDEN and how she needed to type (on a typewriter!) the W2s for each employee. Barb booked a conference room one evening and then she stayed late with Karen that night, going over every single line of each W2 to ensure they were correct. It was shared more than once that when a Manager departs the company, it’s Barb that steps in to fill the role until we find the right person to join the team. A leader who stays connected to staff, it’s not unusual to find Barb on the Filling line when we’re shorthanded. She’s a good listener who asks “and what else?” to dig deeper into a situation. She asks hard questions and provides honest feedback. She requests the numbers, drills into details, and follows up with employees when they ask her a question. She is rarely away from the factory for more than a few days at a time (even after a knee replacement). And when Mark Golden was asked if he could recall the moment when he knew GOLDEN would endure as a company for years to come, he replied “It was when Barb got here.”