Like Father, Like Son

Father Dave '13 and son Doug Heltzel '08 have both worked hard to become successful business owners in the trades they love with some help from York College. What makes them different are the paths they chose to achieve and maintain their success.

Dave, a self-taught woodworker, became a successful entrepreneur before Doug was even born. He started his first business, Heltzel Remodeling and Millwork, in 1975, performing small residential remodeling jobs and built furniture and cabinets. In 1988 he opened Susquehanna Cabinets, Inc. along with ten other partners.

"We successfully distributed cabinets along the entire eastern seaboard," he said.

In 1998, Dave brought to life Phoenixx Design Associates, LLC, where he designed television studios, film sets, theater sets and museums. Shortly after the inception of Phoenixx, he was asked by his friend Gil Jimenez of Gil Jimenez Broadcast Design to help out with a project at York College. This wasn't the first time – or the last – that Dave would be on campus.

"I donated my labor to construct YCP's first full-studio news set, including a weather hut and interview set," he said. "I worked on the project with great people – Dr. Tom Hall, Lowell Briggs, Bob Mott, Kristy Kelly and many others."

As the project at YCP concluded, Doug, a junior high school student, began to work closely with his father to learn the woodworking trade.

"The first skill I can remember learning was how to use a jigsaw correctly," he said. "It sounds simple, but back then, it was really cool to me."

Dave immediately noticed that Doug was picking up woodworking skills "quickly" and with "ease."

"I was able to show him all the nuances of an operation that most technicians have to learn on their own," Dave said. 

"By the time I graduated high school, I realized this could be my profession," said Doug. "But I also knew I wanted to be a business owner like my father."

Dave encouraged Doug to begin taking classes at York College, where he eventually settled in as a business major.

"If you want to work in the trades, a degree isn't necessary, but if you want to work as an administrator or owner today, it seems crazy not to have a degree in business," said Doug.

A few months before graduating with a degree in management, Doug started his own business, Artisan Building Services, where his father is a partner.

"As much as I dreaded finance classes, they were able to help me make sense of what was going on in the business side of the trades," said Doug. "And labor relations helped me understand the complexities of employing others. The more I think about it, just about every class I took gave me some business skill I use on a daily basis."

As Doug put the finishing touches on his degree and began to run his own remodeling business, Dave, who had more than 30 years of field experience, realized it was his turn to further his education to become a better business owner.

"During most of my career, I had so many obligations to my family and my businesses that it was hard to really pursue a degree, even though I really wanted to do it," said Dave. "When Doug graduated with an arsenal of skills he can now use in the field, I realized there was no better time than now for me to learn a thing or two."

Dave, who had a wonderful experience at York in the late 90s constructing the studio, decided he would begin pursuing a degree in fine art at the College.

"Any adult that thinks he or she doesn't need to continue his or her education is kidding themselves," said Dave.

Because Dave still needs to take care of his responsibilities as a business owner, he will take one or two courses each semester until he graduates. 

"I don't care how long it will take, I will graduate," he said. "If you want to sell, design, create or build in the new world, you have to think with the mindset of the new world. Education is the only way this is possible."