Lina Nissley
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Many residents of Monticello may have noticed a local boy riding a blue bike from store-to-store, offering to help with any handyman task that the shop has on their to-do list.
This hardworking boy is Chris Paden, a 12-year-old student at Jefferson Somerset, where he is an elementary student going into sixth grade in the fall. Chris and his family moved from Chattahoochee, Fla. to Jefferson County two years ago, and Chris has been looking to lend a helping hand in the community ever since.
The first establishment he began helping was Oh Happy Days, owned by Amy McDaniel, where he says he has been assisting for about a year. “I met Ms. Amy and we started getting along a lot and I started helping at her store,” shared Chris, who said he enjoys helping at the establishment. “Ms. Amy, she’s a good lady. And she’s got pretty neat stuff in her shop,” Chris said.
Chris lends a hand in any way he can, which usually ranges from taking out the trash to moving and organizing merchandise inside the various business owner’s stores. Among the many places Chris helps are Robinson Gunworks, Wag the Dog Thrift Store, Unique Expressions, Victoria's Boutique and Oh Happy Days Gift Shop. Chris says Robinson Gunworks is one of his favorite places to help out because he enjoys playing with two dogs that are often located at the establishment, though he says he really enjoys helping anywhere, “Robinson is fun, all of them are fun,” Chris said.
Mike Robinson, the owner of the gunworks shop, called Chris “a little entrepreneur,” saying that he was a very observant boy, as well as mechanically inclined. “He picks up on things,” Robinson said. “He’s a good kid.” Robinson also said that Chris is very kind and caring toward his friends and other children in the community, and he will sometimes take them out to lunch and buy them food.
Chris calls his handyman business “Chris’ Helping Hands” to represent his willingness and enthusiasm to help his community, “Whoever needs help, I’m there as a helper,” he said. When asked how people usually respond when he requests to help, Chris said it depends on whether the establishment is allowed to accept volunteers, and he is sometimes politely denied. “They'll say ‘no I’ve got it’ or ‘my lawyer won’t allow me to’ or something like that. But some of them say ‘sure!’” Chris said.
The residents and business owners within the community are very fond of Chris. Shirley O’Brien of Unique Expressions recently made Chris a shirt with the name of his business and a logo with two hands, along with his contact information. Chris said he truly appreciated the gift, “They made it for me and gave it to me. She asked me how I liked the shirt and I told her, ‘I love it!’ because, I mean, it’s a good shirt,” he said happily.
O’Brien shared she made Chris the shirt because he expressed an interest in starting his own business, and O’Brien thought the shirt would provide encouragement and be a good start for him. She also shared her appreciation for Chris, saying, “Whatever we need help with, he does it. I love him to death. He’s a good kid, he’s a very good kid. Everybody he helps out loves him.”
Victoria Randle of Victoria’s Classy Boutique also shared about her fondness for Chris, who can often be found helping out at her store.
“I think the world of Chris,” she said, adding that when she first met Chris last year, he walked into her store and asked for a job. She appreciated his assertive, outgoing nature and gave him a job helping around the store. “He has a great work ethic at such a young age,” she said. Chris also possesses a great sense of humor and enjoys making people laugh. At Victoria’s Classy Boutique, one of the mannequins was accidentally knocked to the floor, and Chris shouted, “Man down!”
Victoria shared the incident made her laugh. “He has a great sense of humor. He’s a very funny young man,” she said.
In his free time, Chris says he enjoys riding his bike around town (where he can be frequently spotted), fishing and constructing things, such as a seesaw for his little sister. “I built my little sister her own personal seesaw,” he said, explaining how he constructed the seesaw out of brick and a two-by-four plank of wood, using power tools to seal it in place. Chris also mentioned he is looking for more friends who will ride bikes with him.
Chris is the son of Econdra Scott and Tremaine Paden and he says he is the middle child of nine siblings. Chris says he and his family love to participate in outdoor activities together. “We’re pretty big on fishing. We love fishing, boats, four-wheelers, dirt bikes. Any type of ATV,” he said. Chris and his family attend First Baptist Church.
Even though he's newly a teenager, Chris has already made some plans for his future, including his ideas for his education, his career and the expansion of his business. “I mean I’ve got big plans for the business I’m starting!” Chris said, explaining his plan to rent a local building to house his handyman business. “If they let me rent it, I can have a couple friends come out, get their dads with their trailers, stack all the leftover stuff in there and take it to the dump. And then we could sweep it out and put a new door in,” Chris said. He further shared his idea, saying that his friends could become employed as part of his handyman business and together they would complete various jobs around town, depending on what needed to be done.
Chris said he and his business-partners would communicate through walkie talkies about the details of the job and then send an employee to the location. “We might have people on standby, we can talk through the walkie-talkie and then they’ll go to the location and then they’ll mow their yard and stuff like that,” Chris said.
As for his future career and plans for his education, Chris said he would like to join the United States Coast Guard. “I’m saving money for the United States Coast Guard because that’s where I want to go when I finish college,” he said.
When asked where he would like to go to college, he said he will attend wherever he can be taught how to be a coast guard officer, “Whoever teaches me to be a coast guard, I’ll go to school there.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.