Thursday June 18, 2020 10:00pm
I am a Dorell and if you live in my hometown or within the 50 mile radius to Somerset County you would know Dorell & Son’s Locksmith. Flying under the common alias of Dorell Locks or Dorell’s as many would call it, this family business was a staple in the community for almost 70 years. To this day whenever anyone asks my name and I tell them, they ask, “Are you related to Dorell like the locks?” and I would proudly answer yes! I would especially answer yes when I was getting pulled over at 18 year’s old speeding down Route 22 in a blue sports car. Thanks to the lovely officer who was good friends with my Uncle Frank Dorell and let me go. Mom didn’t know, but I guess she will find out now!
The benefit of having a family business is being able to bring your kids in to learn and appreciate the trade. My Great-grandfather, Grandfather, Dad and Uncle were all locksmiths in the family business so I guess you can say it runs in our genes. From a young age I was always fascinated with construction and building being raised in the business. I was never the girl who wanted to play with dolls or dress up and if you know me now this must be very shocking to hear. Some of my most cherished memories are filled with me, my Dad and Kenny playing with Tonka Trucks and Lincoln Logs building all sorts of stuff.
As a kid I used to go on the road with my Dad all the time to all different job sites as he would teach me all about the business. At 10 years old he had me in the back of the truck teaching me to cut keys, pick locks and how to create a master system. For me it was a fun way to learn how lock mechanisms worked and I loved the quality time. For him it was pride in teaching his child the tricks of his trade and loved the quality time as well. For both of us well lets be honest, we were excited for the Friendly’s lunch equipped with a full ice cream Sundae in the middle of a long work day on the road.
Growing up like this should be no surprise that I went to College for Interior Design and have been working in the construction field since. I absolutely love what I do and I owe it all to my Dad. With out him taking the time to take me on the road and teach me all of the details that go into the building business I would not be where I am today. I have an absolute passion for what I do and truly feel that what I am doing is exactly what I was born to do.
Since my Dad has been retired for a few years now after selling the business I take every opportunity possible to take him on the road with me to my job sites to return the favor. Whenever I give him a call and ask him if he wants to take a ride with me he is more than willing to drop what he is doing to come along. Over the last few years I have taken him to some of my commercial office renovations, large tenant fit outs, exterior renovations and office build outs. Today I finally got to take him to my largest project to date and one that I am most proud of, 198 unit Multi-Family Community in Lopatcong, NJ. While he is very proud and impressed with the project himself, he is more proud of me in general. While onsite today he repeatedly kept saying, “I need to ask your Mother about the Mailman because there is no way you are my Daughter, this is amazing!”
Excited For The Day! 
Ready To Go 
Supervising The Roofers 
Like Father Like Daughter
One of my girls Jess and I usually take over our company Instagram account to complete a progress tour of the Autumn Ridge Multi-Family site and we were due for another update. Since Jess and I are both in the construction industry because of our Dad’s we wanted to proudly show off our greatest accomplishment to date. 4 weeks ago I had this crazy revelation that we should do it as a Father’s Day special and take our Dad’s for a tour! Since we called our Father’s the moment this idea came up they had both been preparing to be camera ready since. Thank you to our Mother’s for putting up with these shenanigans for the last month, we owe you!
Today while we completed our showcase of the Age Restricted building our Dad’s proudly walked along side of us in the pouring rain as we toured the 16 acre site. They were fantastic sports as they were asked to help us with various sketches to show the amenities along the way. I have to admit that today was the best day I have ever had at work and it is because my Dad was with me all day long!
My Dad has provided so much inspiration to my life and I would not be the person I am today with out the parents that I have. I come from a long line of hard working driven individuals who strive for nothing short of excellence. There will never be words that are powerful enough to express the pure gratitude and love that I have toward my Dad. Today I got to return the favor for all the years of taking me on the road to proudly show me all his jobs and of course, we completed it with a traditional work day ice cream break.
All the years of watching me grown up and taking me to work has finally paid off. He got to see his hard working successful Daughter hard at work doing what she loves. So at the end of a long work day today my Dad kept saying how proud he was but really I am the one who is proud of him.
Thank you Daddy, Happy Father’s Day!
