Celebrating 50 Years of Professional Glass Service

Established in 1962 with one shop in Seattle, Wash., 50 years later Glass Doctor still offers complete glass repair, replacement and services to the residential, automotive, and commercial markets. The company has grown to total more than 275 glass shop locations operated by more than 185 franchise owners in the United States and Canada. Glass Doctor began franchising in 1977 and in 1998 joined The Dwyer Group, Inc., an international franchisor of service industry companies. At that time the company’s corporate headquarters relocated to Waco, Texas.

But we haven't forgotten how our company started, and we certainly remember the people who made it possible; outstanding men and women like Larry Calhoun.

Larry Calhoun - the Heartbeat of Seattle

Sept. 15, 1973 was Larry Calhoun’s first day working at Glass Doctor^® in Seattle. Now, more than 38 years and three owners later, he’s still there at "the glass shop on wheels."

“I’ll have been here a full 39 years in September, and I’ve been married 42 years,” said Mr. Calhoun (pictured at right, center). “I don’t like a lot of change. If I’m contented with something I just stick with it.”

Larry Calhoun was 26 years old when he was hired at Glass Doctor. He had been in the Navy, gone to college, and graduated into a depressed Seattle economy. He couldn’t get a job in the height of the 1973 Boeing layoffs.

“Jobs were hard to come by, but I saw an ad for a glazier trainee,” he said.

Well, Larry got the job, and soon a man named Cliff taught him to handle auto and flat glass.

“He knew how to instill a work ethic in you,” Mr. Calhoun said. “He said one thing that stuck with me, ‘the best way to always stay in play is to be the one who gets the job done no matter what.’ I still like to tell the joke, ‘Even if I don’t know how to do it, I’ll make up a story on how to get it done.’”

But, Larry didn’t just get his work ethic from Cliff. Larry started working at the age of 14 after his father passed away. His family owned a gas station, so when his brother came back from military service to take over the business, Larry helped out.

Working hard wasn’t new, and Larry quickly honed his glass skills. Michael Gai, who took over the Seattle franchise in 2003, says Calhoun is a “rare breed,” and he trusted him completely.

“I didn’t know the glass business, but with Larry there, it didn’t matter,” Gai said. “I knew he had the knowledge, the character and the pride to always do a good job. Larry is the epitome of a truly professional tradesman.”

When asked, one of Larry's career highlights took place on the day of President Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993. But Larry's reasoning has nothing to do with politics. That was the day of The Inauguration Day Storm, a huge windstorm with winds up to 105 M.P.H. that struck the Northwest causing a power outage for three days.

“It was awful, but it was one of the few times where everybody pulled together,” Mr. Calhoun said. “There wasn’t the griping about this or that. It was just get out there, kick butt and get the thing boarded up.”

There was extensive damage, and the whole Glass Doctor crew worked around the clock on board ups in the Seattle area. Larry says it was a great teamwork experience.

Of course, franchise owners and service technicians have had to adapt to technical changes as well as storms in past 40 years.

“When I first started working in 1973, 90 to 95 percent of our work was single pane windows,” Calhoun said. “The transition to the high performance IG units has made the marketplace a lot more complicated. Techs need to be on their game to identify what they’re looking at.”

Calhoun kept repeating the importance of adaptation, especially after The Dwyer Group purchased the franchise.

After Michael Gai bought the franchise in 2003, he moved Calhoun out of the field and into the office. Once again, Calhoun adapted.

“Larry adapted,” Gai said. “He was always willing to adapt to help the company. He is the heritage of Glass Doctor.”

In the past 38 years, Larry has proved himself time and time again as a professional and reliable member of the Glass Doctor family, and we thank him for that.

50th Anniversary