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January 2010


My Life with Dusty


I was ecstatic to hear that Dusty is finally writing a book. I could write my own book about all the memories, good times and life lessons from Dusty but I will summarize this “short and sweet” as he puts it.


I was hired at Quality Research 14 years ago in January 1995 where I met the founder & CEO, Dusty Charern. Dusty was not your typical CEO. He was very approachable and had a very down to earth personality & relationship with his employees. It was not uncommon to see Dusty kidding around with the janitorial staff or the landscape crew. Dusty’s humble beginnings kept him keenly sensitive to treating everyone the same. He did not believe in arrogance or a class driven system. I could tell from the first time that I met Dusty that he was a very unique character. He had a very athletic build and always had something positive or funny to say. I was always impressed with how good his memory was regarding names of customers, employees and their family’s names. Even though it was something very small…it always made everyone feel special. Little did I know how significantly he would impact my life.


My Manager resigned about 6 months after I joined QR and I feared losing my job. I asked Dusty if I could stay and he said “of course”. He said that I could stay and asked what I wanted to do. I had previously worked in HR and told him that I would enjoy getting back into that area and he supported me from the very beginning. Dusty never over complicated anything. It was simple…I wanted to work and get back into Admin and he was very supportive of that. I began working closer with Dusty on a daily basis and began observing this very unique man. He had some basic principles that were simple yet powerful. I watched daily as he exonerated this positive energy and gave of himself emotionally, intellectually, spiritually. He lived his life by the principle of giving to others and it would pay off exponentially. He was never a monetary person himself, but received his joy by giving to others. If Dusty bought a watch he would go ahead and purchase several so that he always had several in reserve to give away (to include the one he was wearing). This was true of watches, cameras, books, music and pretty much everything (even his car). Dusty’s personal desires were pretty simple and his enjoyment came from giving to others.


I adopted many of Dusty’s beliefs through the years but the one that has provided me the most consistent value has been to “treat others like you want to be treated”. Anyone who ever worked for Dusty knows that this was his mantra along with love, care, peace, happiness and success (and a little luck always helped too). Dusty was always an enjoyable person to be around and full of life. I enjoyed daily conversations with Dusty and he was funny and loved to laugh. He could always laugh at himself, which demonstrated his lack of ego and made others want to be around him. Dusty was blessed with a unique personality and people of all ages, classes race, etc. love him equally. He might take something very simple that we often take for granted and make you stop and appreciate the qualities. I remember telling him once that his ex still loved him. He stopped, smiled and said “better she loves me than hates me” then laughed and left the room. I always thought that he had a way of taking a situation and “turning on the light”. He is one of those individuals that you don’t forget. It is seldom that I go anywhere without someone asking about him and remembering a funny or positive story about something that he did for the respective person or family. I have always been amazed that Dusty is loved regardless of where he is in the world. Regardless of whether he is in Thailand or the United States he fits in. I believe his concept of treating people equally applies universally. Dusty once told me that if he could have his wish that he would be born poor again. He loves the poor, the under privileged, the individuals who do not have an ego. His roots paved the way for him to relate and show love & compassion to these individuals. The help he has provided to others through the years is endless. I have watched him give away money, cars, jewelry, healthcare, airfare, tuition, electronics, vacations, homes, dinners, and much more. Dusty continues to live a very humble life for a man with his means. He spends less than 50% of his annual budget on himself. The gifts of love & life to others are what bring a smile to his face.


On a professional note, Dusty had this unique ability to make me want to work hard for him and please him. He didn’t apply pressure to perform but believed in me so much that I never wanted to let him down. He is an extremely trusting person by nature which reciprocates and makes you want to treat him honestly & ethically. I always said that there is no need to lie to Dusty as he would give you anything that he could to help you out. He understands and accepts personal deficiencies of others. Life is hard and we all have our positives and negatives. Dusty accepted that and just pushed me to be the best I could be with unconditional love and support. I have never wanted to work as hard for anyone like I did him. His belief was so refreshing and incentivized me beyond anything I had ever experienced. The power of positive thinking and reinforcement is alive and well in this wonderful man.


I have continued to work closely with Dusty beyond the acquisition of QR in 2003. Dusty had a strong appetite to learn and was a natural teacher and I am fortunate to be one of his life long students. He had a strong entrepreneurial spirit and fostered that amongst his young bulls (slang for his management team at QR). I was part of the inception of PeopleTec which was a baby born from Dusty & QR. The most critical item for me was that we incorporated his principals into the foundation and treat our employees well. There isn’t one day that goes by that I don’t go back and re visit his life lessons and they have yet to let me down. Dusty named the company and this is a constant reminder of what should remain important which of course is People. This is a timeless lesson and continues to help create an employee centric environment like we had at QR. Dusty often tells me that I am his star student so I hope that I will make him proud by executing his dreams in another successful company created by his template.


I have worked closely with Dusty on his burial plan over the past few years. I realized that this was just another way for Dusty to demonstrate his love & appreciation of the United States as symbolized through his tombstone. He spent the first half of his life Thai & his 2nd half as an American. Dusty is more appreciative of the American dream & privileges than most of us who were born here. He has taught me more about being an American than this little Southern girl ever knew.


If there is one thing that I would attribute to Dusty’s overall success it would be Love. Dusty always circles around to LOVE. He would often remind me “Love them and they will love you back”. I have seen some real jerks and Dusty would be kind to them. Watching them soften up and show positive behavior is amazing. I would think to myself, why is that so hard for the rest of us? He figured it out. Simple but profound. How many times have we all experienced hardship and then Love solves the problem. How easy it would be if we all adopted this mentality.


When I reflect through the years I summarize all the things that Dusty loves the most in life; big smiles, people, cats, fish, a humble person, giving a gift, helping others, a beautiful lady, golf, tennis, good health, Elvis, healthy food, a friendly competition, sports, a good steak, walking on the beach, watching a good athlete, a good massage, Wal-Mart, kids, napping, a lucky bet, reading, teaching, giving, learning, writing, praying and in all these includes Love.


So what did this wonderful Asian man teach me? He re-taught me everything that my Mother, Jesus and first grade teacher tried to tell me when I was 6 years old. Treat others like you want to be treated. And never forget that Love cures all. At 46 I am thankful that he re-taught me the greatest lessons of my life. I thank you Dusty for the front row seat on this amazing journey. My love, loyalty and appreciation to this great man are alive and well 14 years later.


Love & Care,

Terry