Charlie believed in honest pay for an honest day's work. He kept the prices affordable throughout his twenty years plus in business and never took advantage of a customer. His company theme was "Videos with a Personal Touch". Charlie was a very personable guy and anyone that knew Charlie will tell you that he was always having a good time. Joking with the band during a function, showing a child what they looked like on camera, or even letting a bride and groom watch and listen to the video as it was created, were all aspects of Charlie's wonderful personality and it showed in his work and personal life. 

 

In the mid 1980's Charlie decided that he wanted to brush up on his videography skills so he enrolled in a video course at the Brockton High School Community Nightschool program. After just his first class, Charlie went to the administrator and asked for his money back, as he realized that he knew more than the instructor did and that the course would be a waste of his time. The administrator told Charlie that he would see what he could do, and call him later that week. When Charlie received the call, he was offered a full refund. He was also asked if he would teach the course and Charlie did not back down from the challenge. Charlie taught the course for 4 years, teaching people how to make the best use of their camcorders. It was teaching here that he would also make the acquaintance of a couple of new friends. These friends would soon be using the skills he taught them in class to first work for Charlie videotaping weddings, and second start their own video production companies. Charlie never minded creating his own competition this way, he always said, "There's enough work for all of us". As camcorders became easier to use and more forgiving in respect to the final product, there was not enough interest in the class to continue teaching it.

Charlie as a Mentor

In 1989 Charlie started taking his 14 year old son Tim with him to his functions. At first all his son did was carry his equipment to and from the car and fetch him batteries as he needed them. Over a four year period Charlie would teach Tim to also set up all of his video equipment, help him when prepping guests to do interviews, as well as allowed him to once in a while videotape a dance here and there. More important than learning about the equipment and the art of videography, he taught Tim how to interact with people in a professional but fun way and how to stay positive during the toughest situations. "Videos with a Personal Touch" was the catch phrase that Charlie had picked for his company and he did everything in his power to teach his son just what he meant by that. When Tim turned 18, he started doing videos for his father, always keeping in mind the philosophies that Charlie had taught him. Tim was involved in all aspects of the business from advertising to dealing with customers to picking out equipment. For more than the next decade, Charlie groomed his son to one day take over the business and in Charlie's final months he found pleasure in watching his son do just that. Because of Charlie's mentoring, his son now owns and operates the business that Charlie started more than twenty years ago. Video Visions Forever was a piece of Charlie, the company was his "baby", and it is staying in the family hopefully for generations to come.