NFIB

High Achiever
03/ 27/ 2002

by Kathleen Landis

Nash Perrine is Up in the Air About His Work. And He Loves Being There.

"Where the ladder ends, the steeplejack begins," quips Perrine of his occupation. During his 38-year career this feisty Minnesota grandfather has painted, shingled and gold leafed over 100 church steeples, and painted 12,000 flag poles.

Perrine's work speaks for itself. He doesn't advertise, yet for 30 years he's maintained flagpoles for all of Minnesota and Illinois' National guards. Other clients include myriad school districts; municipal entities, and hundreds of churches.

Due to harsh winters, Perrine works only five months a year. He charges by the project and maintains that he always uses his last job as his next referral. At that, he takes three weeks off in late July to follow his other passion: rockhounding.

Dangers? You bet. How about painting an 1,100 foot TV tower? Perrine's one close call was a 35-foot fall caused by a broken rope. He credits his "Guardian Angel" for keeping him from major injuries.

Retirement is not in Perrine's future. "I'm still looking for someone to clone," he jests. Until then, for this guy, the sky's the limit.

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This article originally appeared in the March/April 2001 issue of MyBusiness Magazine, NFIB's member magazine.

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