For our latest Meet Us Monday post, we sat down with Joe Collins, who has been with Paddington Station for seventeen years! As General Manager and Co-Owner, Joe also provides tech support and other important administrative tasks behind the scenes.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in New Jersey in a little town called Budd Lake. Right before I started high school, we moved to Hawaii, on the Big Island. My parents wanted to move us somewhere new as the majority of my family had been born, grew up, and stayed in the same town their whole lives. I met the woman who is now my wife in Hawaii and followed her to Ashland when she went to SOU.
What is something about you that would surprise people?
I play ice hockey at a rink in Medford! We’ve had some organized leagues, but for now it’s more of a fun pick-up sort of thing and I’ll play any position but goalie. I started playing roller hockey when I moved to Hawaii.
What is the best meal you ever had?
We recently moved to a nice house in Ashland and have a really great kitchen and made our first Thanksgiving dinner with friends and family there. Everything came out so well! We’re vegan so we made tofu-rkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and sweet potato casserole with a ton of marshmallows. We tried to broil it with our fancy oven to brown the marshmallows and the whole thing lit on fire, so it was definitely the exclamation point on the meal!
What is your favorite time of year?
I would say Fall, just because I’m not a big fan of the heat and it’s nice when it cools down. I also like the trees changing and sending the kids back to school!
Where is your favorite spot in Ashland?
I would have to say my house! It’s right across from the Oredson-Todd trail system and is in a nice quiet neighborhood. We have a bunch of housemates and people are always coming over, so it’s a bit of a social hub for our friends.
What are some of your hobbies?
Besides ice hockey, we love to go rollerblading around and play some video games on occasion. I really enjoy hanging out with my kids and cooking too!
Tell me about your favorite pet you’ve ever had.
We had a really cool dog when we first moved here, named Indiana. My wife rescued him for me for my birthday and he was a mutt with lots of energy. He loved to play fetch and was a very good boy.
Who has been the most influential person in your life?
My wife, Sansa. We’ve been together almost twenty-three years and she’s actually the reason I’m here working at Paddington! She’s shown me how to be a good parent and role model for our kids. She has also always encouraged me to make better choices for my health and be a better person.
What is a mantra you like to live by?
“Perfect is the enemy of good.” I tend to try and do things a little too elaborately and I have to remember that sometimes you just need to do the thing. Even if you only do it 85% of the way, that’s good enough.
What is your favorite thing about working at Paddington Station?
There’s a good variety from day to day. You don’t really know what’s going to be happening or who you’re going to be seeing or what you’re going to be doing and that makes it exciting. Some days go by smoothly and quickly and other days take a while to get through, but I always love it when there’s a lot of customers in the store with their great energy.
