David met Wendy Conyers in 1961 on a blind date arranged by mutual friends David Spurling and Christine Burnard. Five years later in July of 1966 they married. Wendy gave birth to their only child, Keith, in December of 1970.

At this time Wendy was working at Bermuda Photo Craftsmen owned by her father, the late George Stanley "Bunny'' Conyers.

David was employed at Holmes Williams and Purvey in their Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Department. It was here that he gained most of his early business experience and he credits Sir John Plowman for passing on a solid business ethic.

G.S. "Bunny'' Conyers was a positive role model and mentor as well, imparting a strong belief in honesty and integrity.

His uncle, Jim Parker, was also a great influence on David, having raised him after both his parents passed away. "My uncle believed in doing your best every day. He was a real task master,'' reflects Mr. Rowntree.

By 1984, Wendy had left the family business and had taken on two gift shops, "Crackerbox'' on York St. in St. George's and "Hodge Podge'' on Point Pleasant Rd. in Hamilton.

David decided to leave H.W.P. and create his own business. Faced with the choice of naming this new enterprise, they merged the surnames Rowntree and Conyers. Hence the "TreeCon'' Agency came into being.

Fifteen years later finds Mr. Rowntree as president and general manager in his spacious office in their new facility on Cemetery Rd. He is an affable business professional and it is easy to recognise that he enjoys what he does.

Reflecting proudly on the progress of the company, he gives a brief history: "We formed TreeCon Agency in 1984 as a wholesale agency which primarily sold Ames lawn care products, Yardmen lawn equipment and KD Tools. A year or two later, we began selling high quality aluminium windows which was so successful that we moved into doors as well.

"In 1985 we purchased the distributorship for Karey Kassl windows. Working out of a container at Mills Creek, my son Keith and I would handle all deliveries with the family car and a small van. It got to the point that, at times, we would be bringing in five containers at once.'' The business continued to grow and by 1990 they had formed a limited liability company, changing the name to TreeCon Limited. They rented premises on Woodlands Rd. with a showroom, offices, warehouse and workshop. One employee was hired to assist with sales and sub-contractors were given the installation work.

During their time there they expanded the products lines with windows and doors and P.G.T. Industries, roll shutters and storm protection from Rolladen Inc. and sole distributorship of Hees/Armaclad entry doors.

Today Mr. Rowntree spends much of his time in sales and product development.

He worked with all of his suppliers to ensure that everything sold is durable enough to withstand Bermuda's corrosive climate. He is adamant that his suppliers be willing to modify their product and update them regularly.

"People want products that last. We get the manufacturers to adapt their product to our coastal environment, particularly the use of stainless steel.

We stand behind our products,'' he said confidently.

As a salesman he is able to interact with his clients. "I enjoy meeting people and dealing with them. When we get a call from a customer needing a quote, I'm one of the people who goes from one end of the island to the other to measure,'' he says with smile.

He also oversees the management team and shares a positive rapport with all 15 of his staff. They meet once a week to talk business and new concepts. Mr.

Rowntree believes in supporting his staff and often sponsors teams in golf tournaments.

He explained that is his company the pyramid system does not exist. Yes, he is the owner and the boss, but team members have equal responsibilities. "Each employee has special skills to offer our customers and we all get along like a family. We care about each other,'' he added.

When asked about his managerial style, Mr. Rowntree said, "The buck stops here. If a problem needs solving I do not hesitate to help find the answer.'' Mrs. Rowntree has also seen her businesses flourish over the years while she still maintains her influence as vice-president and secretary for TreeCon. Her energetic nature serves her well as she is kept very busy.

As a child, she had a picture for her future of getting married, starting a family, staying at home and volunteering as a pink lady. She laughs this off saying, "Well, I'm not a pink lady and I certainly do not stay at home!'' Explaining her role in today's TreeCon she continues, "I come in every day for about two hours in the morning to check on things and help were I can.

Then it is off to run my stores. What I find most challenging about our busy lives is finding time. I could use another six hours in my day!'' "When we first decided to open a family business, we were going to avoid anything that involved a lot of client service. David was going to help me manage our gift shops, but he didn't take very well to selling seashells! Then he began to bring in the lawn care products and later the windows and doors. he would have calls forwarded to me at the shops while he was delivering the products.'' Mrs. Rowntree feels that they are very lucky to work together in the atmosphere of a family business. It was the environment that she grew up in.

She explains: "My father, "Bunny'' Conyers, owned Bermuda Photo Craftsmen and would be up at two o'clock in the morning to go to work. I was taught that it is rewarding to get a job done.'' The third member of the Rowntree family is son Keith. At 28 years old he now plays a vital role in the company. He started at the age of fourteen, helping his father with installations and deliveries.

He now has many years of experience and formal overseas training behind him and, as such, he is one of the technical minds in the company, helping his father with research of new products and troubleshooting.

"I have been employed here full time for about eight years. I returned from college to help run the company. Being technically orientated, I take care of much of the problem solving, particularly on products with electric power,'' he said.

He is echoed by Mrs. Rowntree, comparing Keith to her father who was an avid handyman, "Keith was always following him around as he worked. He taught Keith a lot of things as he was always making something. I would have liked my father to see where TreeCon is today. He would have been very proud of Keith's accomplishments here.'' Keith is also a computer buff who maintains TreeCon's computer system. He also does consulting work in his free time.

"I enjoy working on any job that is technical today, electric locking systems are becoming very popular. This type of special hardware that we now carry comes under my supervision.'' 1998 saw a major expansion of TreeCon's product lines having acquired exclusive distributorship of Steelcraft, Rollanden, Hager, YKK AP, Pemko and Ingersoll-Rand with its affiliated Glynn-Johnson, L.C.N., Von Duprin, and Schlage products.

These new suppliers enabled them to expand their share of the residential market and branch out into the commercial arena.

The company marked a significant milestone with the purchase of a former Winter-Cookson warehouse at 1 Cemetary Rd. After two months of intensive construction and renovation, they moved to the new facility in February of 1999.

Family venture: David Rowntree with wife Wendy and son Keith.

MINI SUPPLEMENT SUP