Wow, this has really been an exciting time for our office!  After 11 years at our Church Street location, we packed up and moved to our new building on Falcon Avenue in Carmi.  It’s been  stressful, exhausting, fun, and a little bit scary.  With the move and all of the changes that go along with that process, I thought it would be the perfect time for my first blog post on our new website.  I have a couple of things I’d like to touch on in my first effort at “blogging”.

First, I would like to acknowledge that our old office building and location served us well for 11 years.  We made a lot of good memories from that office, and we’re going to miss it.  I imagine many of you will miss it, too.  For some of you, it may have been the only office you’ve ever been to for eye care!

But things change – and that change is usually for the better.  And there’s no question that our new office is better.  We have an actual parking lot now (what a novel idea!), so it’s going to be much easier for you and your family to park when you come to your next appointment.  Our new waiting room is much bigger than the old one, so your wait (which we do our best to keep as short as possible) will be more comfortable.  We have more strategically placed testing and exam rooms in the new office, so you’ll be able to move more easily throughout your appointment.  And our frame room is much bigger than it was in the old office, enabling us to display even more glasses and sunglasses for you to select from.  These changes along with other amenities will help make your next visit to our office much, much better.

Before signing off, I have some people I’d like to thank.  First of all, I’d like to thank the City of Carmi, who made the land acquisition and building process go as smoothly as possible.  Former mayor David Port, current mayor Jeff Pollard, Sandra Irvine, Mike Buckman, and the city council were all instrumental in the process and we wouldn’t be in our new location if it wasn’t for them.  I would also like to thank Jack Martin at First Mid Illinois Bank, whose advice and assistance was invaluable.  My father in law and brother in law, Chris and Ryan Mitchell of Mitchell Drilling, helped with site preparation and with the move itself.  Dan Drone also showed up the morning of the move with work gloves and a box trailer, and I will always be grateful to him for that.  Dr. Tim Roser and his wife Angela took a few hours of their precious free time out to help us with the move as well, and I am thankful for their help.  Holly Healy at the Chamber of Commerce office publicized our move for us.  My dad, Tom Taylor, did anything that was asked of him for two days during the move.  Bart and Megan King helped during the moving process also, and were a great deal of help.  My mother in law, Barbara Mitchell, had one of the most challenging (and most fun!) jobs – babysitting our three children while we were moving.  The good folks at Eubanks and Daugherty sent lunch for the entire moving crew.  All of these people helped tremendously.  I would also like to thank my staff, who humored me by listening to my dreams of moving for the past five years, helped with the design process for the new building, and put in long hours during the move itself.  I also want to thank my wife, Kelly, for letting me bounce ideas off of her and for just generally being supportive – even when I didn’t always deserve her support!  Last, but certainly not least, I’d like to thank God – through whom all things are possible.

I’d say that’s enough for my first blog post.  We look forward to giving you a tour of the new building at your next appointment to our office.  If you’re not due to have your eyes examined for a while, feel free to stop by before that if you’re in our neighborhood – we’d love to show you the new place.

Until next time –

Clint Taylor, OD