January 13, 2006

Ken Kistler
Beverly Kistler &
Kistler Buildings, Inc.
P. 0. Box 395
Fogelsville, PA 18051

Dear Ken, Beverly and Kistler Team:
My Andy is an athlete. A rather serious athlete in both participation and observation. That said, if given a choice between joining me on a horseback ride and choosing a new china pattern, he would be speaking of floral design vs. gold trim etching in less than an hour! He is neither keen on riding horses, nor country living, yet he moved to the country and had a little barn built with some really nice amenities, and even tossed in a nice hayshed, for his Renea.
Andy's desire to foster my dream did not go unnoticed. I personally know of a fair number of horse riding women who just might entertain having their teeth extracted if it meant having their beloved horses outside their door. In fact if given a choice, most of the horsewomen I know would choose an adequate run-in shed over boarding . . . Even if they were boarding in the most extravagant of barns! We are passionate about all of our animals, but when the subject turns to horses I am told our faces brighten and we become downright giddy, (or annoying - says Andy, busy selecting a new china pattern) with our impassioned conversations.
So, in my mind anyway, when it became my good fortune to have a barn built, it was not only a matter of parting with hard-earned money, it was truly all about building a dream. Then came the excitement of seeing the dream materialize before my very eyes! It could easily be said that for this horse woman: Building a barn was as close as I will ever come to 'buying' and securing not only a dream, but peace of mind. My kids are, at long last, in my backyard.
Ah, but peace of mind does not always come easily. Not everything in this incredibly rushed world always goes as planned. Often there are miscommunications and misunderstandings; but usually, before I allow myself to get all-uppity regarding the faux pas of another, I try and recall a miserable humid day in a rural Alabama when I entered the gate of the cemetery (long before 'pre-arrival-heads-up' cell phone days) with a solid 35 car funeral procession stacked-up behind me, only to see my dad walking unbelievably fast toward the hearse I was driving. He truly had the reddest face I had ever seen and the words he spoke were unthinkable: "Renea, they have opened the wrong grave. Would you know anything about how that could have happened?" Not exactly. But 1 had made arrangements with the family so the mistake - to the tune of a very visible and incorrectly placed gapping 6' hole - was resting squarely on my young shoulders. No sir, things don't always go as planned, but when all is said and done and built and enjoyed, in the barn-building-department anyway: My Andy and I remain ever-so pleased that we choose Kistler Buildings, Inc.
Andy and I wish to acknowledge every single person that drove a truck, put a nail into our barn and/or hay shed, plumbed or electrified, moved the earth around, or answered the telephone, or planned any of it... We humbly and sincerely say, "Thank you." Further it is our intention to report to anyone who might listen - our good fortune in choosing Kistler Builders in the first place - and most especially for having a field representative, in this case Michael Coco, whom we feel was just as careful spending our money as we were. Mr. Coco represented us well. He represented your company well, and perhaps most importantly, he represented himself well. We considered Kistler because our friend Susan Verbonitz was so entirely pleased with both her barn, and with Mr. Coco; we choose Kistler because we toured Susan's barn and met Mr. Coco for ourselves.
We are aware of the many barns across America that are easily ten times the size of ours; indoor arenas that are larger than our barn and pasture put together - with more money spent toward their 'horse dreams' than Andy and I will most likely ever have in our lifetime. Even so, we never once felt that anyone in your company seemed to mind that you were building us the smallest barn, only that you were building us the very best barn. Again, "Thank you." In our minds, and based on the awed commentary we have heard so far, mission accomplished. You built the very best barn money could buy - within our budget - and for that we are truly appreciative.

Sincerely,
Ellen Renea Massey