Momma Gray | Gray & Sons
Over the 37 years that Gray & Sons has been in business, I have been asked many times, "Who are the Sons? What's that about?" Back in 1980 my mother, Sylvia Gray, loaned my two brothers and I $50,000 so we could start a business (it was her lifelong desire for us to partner up) and so we opened a gold and silver buying store on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. And the adventure began!
Five years later my brothers left to pursue their own independent businesses, but my mother continued to help me until she passed away in 1989. She was my mentor, my chief critic, and my primary business advisor. She was the smartest person in business marketing that I knew. For example she taught me from my first months that if you spend $1000 on advertising and you get back $1001 you are ahead of the game, because if you leave an extraordinary impression on those customers then they will give you repeat business and refer their friends and family to you. She taught me this repeat and referral business will cause a cascade over the years and help me grow a flourishing and prosperous brand. And she was right - the sky's the limit!
My mother was not only a smart business woman, but she was a great cook. For many holidays throughout my life to the very end of her's, she had 25 to 35 people over at our house with enough home cooked food for 100 people! She would invite the single people, the lonely people, the people at school that had nowhere to go, and the local school teachers-- everyone that she felt she could give a place at the table to, that may not have had a place of their own to go.
My mom Sylvia also had a place in her heart for philanthropy and service to others. She led by example and when I was a child she took me to Sunnyland in Miami, a place for those with intellectual disabilities, and we gave our time as volunteers and worked with the children. The love that she showed the children, the playfulness, the hugs she gave in front of me was so inspiring, was so touching even at a young age it brought tears to my eyes.
Last weekend a 96-year-old woman came to the store with her assistant. She looked at me and said "You don't remember me?" I said "Help me!" and she said, "Your mother worked with my husband in volunteering for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in the early years. My last name is Drucker." We reminisced about the fund raiser that my mother ran and how momma and Ms. Drucker's husband worked tirelessly to create funds for the research that now is a gigantic institution here in Miami. Imagine, my mother's been gone for 28 years but still I am hearing about her and her good deeds, her good heart, and the actions she took to make a difference in the lives of those who were less fortunate. What an inspiration! Her example and influence is why I pay it forward to my family, friends, and various local charitable organizations. I love my momma, still, every day. Happy Mother’s Day!
Sincerely,
Gray & Sons President Keith A. Gray, Son of Sylvia Gray
