June Contractor of the Month

This month Mercer Contractor, Chris Samson, nominated Louis Botelho as Mercer's esteemed Contractor of the Month. Samson explains, "I started here last June, and on three occasions, Louie has blown me away with his kindness."

For example, Samson first met Botelho while he was loading at a military base in Mississippi. Samson mentioned that he was having truck problems, and since Botelho was headed that way, he offered to  follow Samson him all the way to KY, just to make sure the truck was ok.

Then, last February, Samson was stuck in a snow storm. Botelho learned of the news and sent his father, who lived nearby, to pick him up. At the Botelho's home, Samson was able to take a hot shower, do laundry and get out of the freezing weather. In addition, Botelho arranged for Samson's truck to be parked a local mechanic's shop so it would be safe.

The two contractors are great friends now, forged by good-natured comaraderie that you just don't see everyday. Just a few weeks ago, Samson found himself again with truck trouble. He was working on the truck when his phone fell into a mud puddle. After trying to call for a couple of days, Botelho became worried. He went to the trouble to call Mercer's Louisville office and track down Samson's coordinator to find out if his buddy was okay. "I almost had tears in my eyes when he told me what he went through to find out if I was alright," Samson says.

"I appreciate friends like that. I was a law enforcement officer for twenty years, and I know that friends like that are hard to find, especially these days, " adds Samson. "When I went to thank him, he'd always say, 'Don't worry about it.' It's freinds like these that keep me at Mercer, and if there are more mercer guys out there like him, I want to meet them."