It’s been 20 years since Robert passed away, June 11, 2005. Sometimes I feel that time went by so quickly, but when I look back, it just seems so long ago.
Ridgewood Moving Services was founded in 1966, in a little office at the Elks Club in Ridgewood, with a truck and a couple of guys. The company provided all types of moves and employed every strapping young man that lived within the community, including Robert. Rob worked for the company for many years prior to us meeting in 1983. His aspiration was to own Ridgewood Moving one day.
Robert and I were married in 1985. I had a career in fashion and was very happy in that industry. In 1987, Robert and I bought Ridgewood Moving, under the corporate name of R. A. Myer Corp. Rob was always driven, ambitious, and went after what he wanted (including me =).
Shortly after buying the business, Rob moved headquarters to an office/warehouse in Ramsey, allowing RMS to now offer storage to their customers. He slowly built the business, adding more trucks and equipment. In addition to building the business, Rob and I were building a family. In 1988, we had our first daughter, Melissa, and then in 1990, we had Samantha. They were 16 and 14 when their dad passed away.
Rob also excelled in sports and was quite the athlete, especially baseball. He played on several recreational teams around the community, as well as having a Ridgewood Moving softball team that lasted quite a while. Rob loved all the Philadelphia sports teams: the Eagles, the Phillies, and the Flyers.
Throughout the entire football season, we would host Sunday parties with every TV on at full volume throughout the house. His love of sports was very apparent when you walked down into our basement, where you would find three large TVs all next to each other, watching several games simultaneously. Our family joke was when our daughters were young, you might find them downstairs watching Winnie the Pooh, The Care Bears, and The Little Mermaid all at the same time!
Rob also took care of his family and friends with overwhelming generosity, with no expectations in return. He was known for loaning money to employees, assisting with down payments to their homes, would do anything for a friend or family member, and was known for handing out RMS merch all around the town. Rob was a natural marketer, ready to give out business cards at any given chance.
Rob also had a sense of humor, which I would say was a mix between Rodney Dangerfield and Adam Sandler. He loved practical jokes, teasing people, and making us laugh.
It’s hard to believe that I have been running Ridgewood Moving longer than Robert. He created such a legacy and developed a strong hold on the community and employees. His larger-than-life character was Ridgewood Moving… he literally only packed RMS t-shirts when we went on vacations!
So, with that said, there really wasn’t a question in my mind whether I would try to run the company. I felt a sense of loyalty to the company, the employees, and my daughters who were relying on me. There were moments, believe me, that I said to myself, “What were you thinking!!” and cried behind closed doors. It took me a few years to learn the industry and to try to figure out my purpose as a woman with a fashion background running a moving company… but I did.
There is great pride within the Ridgewood Moving organization that touches me every day. It’s the kind of feeling that unites any great team sport or university: “We are Ridgewood!!”
The original owner laid the foundation, Robert built a strong brand, and I have created a culture of caring. We had different styles with the same goal in mind—to provide the highest quality of service to our beloved lifelong customers, create a positive work environment, and engage in the community. I celebrate quietly every year that Ridgewood Moving has been in business, each family we helped, each life we moved.
If given the chance to have one more conversation with Robert, I’d want to know how he felt about how I ran the business—if the way I led with heart, with grit, and sometimes fear was enough. I’d ask him if he ever imagined that I would continue running the company that he was so proud of. And I’d thank him for the foundation he laid, for the love he gave to so many, and for leaving something worth fighting for.
I’d want to talk about how he felt about our two entrepreneurial daughters, living in California—Melissa, hosting a successful podcast called Talk Dodger to Me (yes, she talks baseball), and Samantha, a designer who created a brand called Papa Sweater and opened a studio on Abbot Kinney in Venice, California.
And as I end the conversation with Rob, I’d reassure him that the Myer Girls are all doing well, have moved forward as he would have wanted, and cherish all the memories.
One of his favorite lines was:
“What goes around comes around.”
With love and legacy,
Cindy Myer
President, Ridgewood Moving Services
