45 Years of Shaping the Naples Brand & Surviving the Hustle

Robert DiLella Jr.. You didn't have to redo everything. If you kept two walls, you couldn't--

Robyn Bonaquist. You could, yeah, you could do pretty much what you wanted. You didn't have to go up or anything like that. So anyway, yeah, and we lived there with the kids for almost 20 years before we sold that.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Because they were all Naples, right? Yes, yeah. They're all Naples, yeah. And then Alyssa has one or two? One, the little girl. And who has the other kids?

Robyn Bonaquist. Laney, who's the youngest, has two, a boy and a girl. And she's the one who lives here in Naples. She runs a preschool, actually two preschools, one on Livingston and the other one's out at Ave Maria.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Really? Wow, and she has her own and she does it. That's a big deal right now. Everybody needs to get in there. It's hard to find a spot for kids now.

Robyn Bonaquist. It is, and DHS No, DCF, makes it very difficult. Is that why, is that what it is? Yeah, because their ratio has changed. And so you need more square footage per child. And it just-- Oh, it's a space thing that a people think. Mm-mm. Really? It's a space thing, yeah. And so as you can imagine, in Naples, in your renting space-- Oh my gosh, it's crazy. It's just, it can't do it. It's just, it can't do it, yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, she does okay, but she's certainly not getting rich off of it.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, yeah, I know, I know, it's hard to do anything here like that. I know the real estate makes it very tough. And then that's why the program has to be so expensive too. It's hard for people to get in. Right. Because of that, people would have kids, yeah. My wife works in Arthur X.

Robyn Bonaquist. Oh, is that right?

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, they just built a center for the employees, they're a childcare center for them.

Robyn Bonaquist. They had talked to Lane about operating their childcare center, yes. Oh really? But she was, she didn't, she thought she was gonna be losing too much control. So she turned it down, but--

Robert DiLella Jr.. Well, it's interesting that they were looking outside, I think it was smart, because they're in the medical device business, not the childcare business. Of course, yeah. So that they were trying to get some outside help with. I wonder what they ended up doing anyway. I know that everything they do is, I have so much money, I mean, there's so much money that they just-- I can't imagine. Can't do anything with. It's incredible.

Robyn Bonaquist. What does your wife do for them?

Robert DiLella Jr.. She's a doctor that works in medical education, so she teaches the surgeons how to use the products.

Robyn Bonaquist. Oh, cool.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, so she works on cadavers.

Robyn Bonaquist. Oh, not cool.

Robert DiLella Jr.. For her, it's great, because they don't talk back. Yeah, there you go. She's a great patient dad. That's her whole world. I remember going to a lab that she had, because sometimes it'll do like a traveling lab, so I don't remember what city we were in, I went with her, and she had me bring some supplies in to the lab with her, which I thought I'm just carrying a box of devices or whatever it was, and we'd walk into the lab and up on a tray table, kind of like we used to hold the hairspray and hair color. The tray table was this human ass, literally like it was a butt and a cart of a leg. They were doing some procedure on that.

Robyn Bonaquist. No kidding.

Robert DiLella Jr.. It was covered, but there was blood on the sheet. And I looked at it, and I wasn't expecting to see that. They see it all the time, no big deal with that, but I was like, "Oh, wow." It really hit me, because I know that's what they do, but to them, they're sort of desensitized.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, it's just second nature to them.

Robert DiLella Jr.. But she's fascinated by the world, they're doing so much breakthrough stuff. How bad? Like the work that they're doing and the amount of money they can invest in to these new technologies is just fascinating to her, because it keeps them on the cutting edge. They're doing a lot of stuff that They're trying to get into the medical world, but the medical world is so tough to navigate with insurance. I can imagine, yeah.

Robyn Bonaquist. How long have you been married now?

Robert DiLella Jr.. 10 This will be our 11th. No, 10th year.

Robyn Bonaquist. Oh, no kidding, congrats.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, thank you, yeah. I've just gotten really interested in documenting the good souls of this community. We have so many great people here, and so that's what I've just been doing is to try to capture the goodness around us, the good people.

Robyn Bonaquist. We need that these days.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, yeah, focus more on what's working and not what's not working. Stuff gets more views, but doesn't matter, but to always have this is nice. So I married 11, yeah, married 10 years. And well, I wasn't gonna get remarried because my father, he had always said After I got divorced, he said, "You're not getting married again, right?" It wasn't a question, it was like an Italian father saying, you're gonna do what I tell you, right?

(Both Laughing)

Robert DiLella Jr.. And I said, no, I won't be getting married, I'm fine, everything's great, I don't need to, I'm good. And then I had been going to the gym and this girl was talking to me a lot from the gym. This beautiful girl, and I thought, well, she's talking to me. She's just really, very friendly and she feels sorry for me at the gym. I'm not very good at everything here, she's real athletic. And he was sick at the time, this was like 2014, he had a couple, he had a lot of stuff wrong, but at the time he wasn't doing well.

Robert DiLella Jr.. And he said, "What's going on with you?" I said, "What do you mean?" He said, "Something's up with you." I said, "What do you mean?" He said, "You got a girl or something." I said, "Oh, she's a friend, she's a friend." And we had been hanging out and sort of secretly dating. And he said, "I wanna meet her." And at the time, he was in that still house, that very little house, that same one, and still smoking. And with oxygen, Wally's got oxygen and he's still smoking. Oh my God. And I said, "Dad, I can't bring her here, "she'll get sick." She's allergic to the smoke.

Robert DiLella Jr.. He said, "I'll clean it up, I won't smoke." He said, "I'll get it ready." So he literally had the house cleaned, he opened it all up and he cooked this incredible, it was a great cook. Cooked this incredible meal. And we had it on the deck. And he had this like old 50s music on, as if he were recording her.

Robyn Bonaquist. Oh no kidding.

Robert DiLella Jr.. It was a beautiful night, yeah. Oh my gosh, what a great memory. It was perfect. And the next day he said, "When are you putting a ring on her?" No way. Yeah, and then a month later he passed, right after that. Wow. It was such a good, full circle, complete, it was blessing. And then, in fact, she was there the night that he, we knew, Dr. Schmano was there and, he was always involved. But the night that he did pass, she was there and got to send him off to heaven together.

Robyn Bonaquist. Aww.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, it was nice.

Robyn Bonaquist. That's a nice memory.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, so I'm grateful to Reinhold, the owner of Arthrex, because he hired her, to be here 11 years ago. And he was getting his haircut at the salon A couple years ago, and he went to pay. And I said Reinhold, this is what I'm saying, it's my treat because if you didn't have your company, I wouldn't have this great, my wife, who I am madly in love with, and who's the soul mate to me. And he said, "Well, I can cover it." I'm like, yeah, I know you can cover it. Yeah, I mean, me.

(Both Laughing)

Robert DiLella Jr.. I've been grateful to him and to her, especially because she's just been a blessing in my life. The second half of life, she's been really great.

Robyn Bonaquist. That's good for you. You deserve happiness.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, so that's what's been happening in my life. And actually, we are doing IVF and working on having a job.

Robyn Bonaquist. Are you really? Good for you.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, so I love kids, and I'm a little more sane now than I was back in the day.

(Both Laughing)

Robert DiLella Jr.. I think.

Robyn Bonaquist. Aren't we all as we get older? Yeah.

(Both Laughing)

Robert DiLella Jr.. So that's my latest story on what's going on in my life. And then I don't run into people. I hear about people every now and then, but I don't run into people. I just Especially when I saw your name, it was like, gosh, so much the fiber of this community, because there's nothing you've not been involved in. You've just been involved in so much.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yes, true.

Robert DiLella Jr.. So many organizations. There's so many people, have such a grip on the history in this town.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, I was on my way down here, I was thinking about it. I've been here for 45 years now, because I moved here right out of college. And so, as you can imagine, back in the day when the only vehicles you ever saw were white Cadillacs and white Lincoln Town cars. Yes, yes.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, it was before cars were cars, like before Mercedes even. Right, right. Mercedes just had started trickling in. I remember my dad buying a Mercedes in the account and he was like, I want to put it in the business. He goes, what do you need a Mercedes in a hair salon for?

(Both Laughing)

Robert DiLella Jr.. He said, well, I have to park it on the corner and everybody comes out of Port Royal and they see the-- There you go. Yeah, and then, yeah. So you've seen every ounce of the growth and the legends and the, who are some of the people that you think played a big role in having Naples be what Naples is?

Robyn Bonaquist. Well, your parents, and I'm not just blowing smoke here. I mean, they were, I mean, your parents were just awesome. And I think about all the times that we spent together. I mean, I was a kid when I moved here. I was 23 years old. And then people like I don't know if you remember, Glenna Hayhoe, that she founded Planned Parenthood along with Betty Butcher. That happened when I lived here. I don't think I was still at the newspaper then. I think I had left the newspaper. But, all those people that I ran across when I worked at the Naples Daily News, John Lunsford, the columnist. Oh my gosh, yeah, I remember him, yeah. He was a great friend and such a good guy.

Robert DiLella Jr.. I loved his stuff. I love what he wrote.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, he was always pushing the envelope. Yeah. Always tweaking some county commissioner or city councilman. Yeah.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Well, I totally forgot about that name. Yeah, John. Well, you had all the connections. I mean, the paper was, you were in media when I mean, that was everything.

Robyn Bonaquist. That was, when I moved down here, I took the job as editor of what is now called the Neapolitan section. It used to be family living. And I was offered the job after I had flown down here, interviewed for the position. And about a week or so later, they offered me the job only to follow it up two weeks later with rescinding my offer. And because the publisher thought I was too young to be an editor. But by that time, I had already gotten a moving van. I had already resigned my position at the newspaper in New York state. So I just, when the editor called to tell me this, I mean, I just broke out in tears and I said, you can't do this to me.

Robyn Bonaquist. I mean, I've completely upended my life to move to Naples, Florida. And I guess he convinced the publisher that maybe I wasn't gonna be so bad after all.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Oh wow. So they could say then at that time, you're too young. Well, I didn't know this story, that's cool. And so then you, what was that like acclimating from, I mean, this podunk village, I mean, Naples was, this--

Robyn Bonaquist. Well, I moved from a really small town. I was living in Jamestown, New York, which is just south of Buffalo. And it was a tiny little town, population of 30,000 people. And the newspaper was actually smaller than Naples Daily News. Oh really? Because I was an associate editor there. And then, took this position with the Naples Daily News. And obviously, Naples was tiny compared to what it is today. But I loved it. I mean, it was, I met a great group of friends at the newspaper and it kind of mushroomed from there. And I was only there four years before I left. But I made all kinds of-- Four years? Yeah.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, I left there and I went to work for Marine Savings and Loan, if you remember that bank in town as their marketing director. And then from there, went to work for Weeks and Her Advertising on Marco Island. And then that was the start of my advertising career.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Oh, okay. And which other publications were you? So you weren't, no other publications, you were all advertising it?

Robyn Bonaquist. No, it was after the Naples Daily News, then it was the bank, and then it was working for, first Weeks and Her. And I took a position as a regional president for an agency out of the East Coast, out of Miami. And I only did that for about a year and a half. They were, shall we say, less than honorable people. And that's when I decided to go out on my own and open my own agency, which I've had for 25 years this year. Oh, one, you did that, yeah. 2001 was the year, what year did you-- Yeah, I opened in 2001.

Robert DiLella Jr.. 2001. How did you make the pivot from editing to advertising?

Robyn Bonaquist. I just fell into it. When I was working for the bank as their marketing director, Weeks and Her was the agency of record for them. And the bank got bought out by a large SNL out of Clearwater, and I was doing I was marketing, I can't even remember what my position was, some kind of marketing director for them. But that's when I had Alyssa, and she was little. She was only a year and a half, two years old, and I was traveling. Who were you born? She was born in 86. Six. 86. And so I was traveling all over the state of Florida because my territory was everything from St. Petersburg down through Marco Island, and then on the East Coast up to Booker-Raton.

Robyn Bonaquist. So I was just on the road all the time, and it was too much. So the agency that had the savings and loan before it was bought out, which was the company from Marco, offered me a job as an account executive Which I was terrified of because it was sales, and I thought, oh my goodness, I would be terrible at sales. But it turned out I wasn't terrible. And I was with them, that was my longest stint other than my own company. I was there for 12 years.

Robert DiLella Jr.. And so sales for them, you were selling B2B, or you were selling to--

Robyn Bonaquist. No, I was going out and finding, like developers, or businesses like yourself, convinced them that they needed us to do their advertising. Yes, correct.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Okay, so you were doing this traveling Alligator Alley was still Alligator Alley at the time, right? Yeah. And you moved across the other coast here?

Robyn Bonaquist. Yes, it was not the funnest of trips.

Robert DiLella Jr.. No, that trip was terrifying, yeah, before they built it up, yeah. So then you, were you living on Marco then?

Robyn Bonaquist. No, I was commuting every day from Naples Which was also a real treat because that was only a two-lane road.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Oh, to get into Marco, that's right.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yes, and then they started doing the four-lane, and of course it was shut down all the time. That was right when cell phones came out, or car phones. And I got a car phone, and it was glorious because when I was stuck in traffic for half an hour, an hour, I would just reach out and call my parents, call my grandparents, whatever I could get ahold of.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, because you were so much time in the car.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yes, correct.

Robert DiLella Jr.. I remember when dad got his first cell phone, and what a cool thing that was, that was just so amazing, I was like, oh my God.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, remember it was on the little pedestal? Yeah, yeah, that was installed in the car.

Robert DiLella Jr.. The transmitter had to go under the seat, and it was such a big deal, and it was a dollar a minute or something, he said, whatever, you got so many minutes. So Marco, for how long?

Robyn Bonaquist. Marco for 12 years, and then when I took that job as a regional president for the agency out of Miami, they moved me to Naples in an office downtown, and I was there for a year and a half, and then I had met this guy Who was a creative director from Indiana, and he had come down to Naples, and he was like the hottest thing since sliced bread. Everybody talked about this guy and how wildly creative he was, and I had met him and we'd become friendly, and we were At one point we were gonna open a magazine together, and then we decided that was foolhardy, because there were too many magazines in Naples. Then we were gonna open up a company to build websites.

Robyn Bonaquist. Neither one of us had any background in that, so that seemed rather foolish, and we finally left it that if I was gonna make a move, or he was, he was a one-man band at that point, we would let each other know, and when I left the company from Miami, I called him one day and I said, listen, I'm gonna do this on my own, I'd love to do it with you, but the timing's not right, I totally understand, and so we opened up the company not long after that. Yeah, yeah. And we were partners for probably 12 or 13 years But he had a lot of personal problems.

Robyn Bonaquist. He had demons, and his demons got the better of him, and so we parted ways, and then the poor guy He shot himself but didn't kill himself, and lived as a vegetable for two years, so it was just awful, just awful, and such a waste, because like I said, I've never met to this day anyone as brilliant as he was. He was just head and shoulders, and he was one of those guys that, I mean, creative speaks for itself, but he also had a very sound business mind, and a lot of creatives aren't like that.

Robert DiLella Jr.. My father, yeah, exactly, yeah, I know what you're talking about, they don't usually have both.

Robyn Bonaquist. No, and he was a mixture of both, but for the demons in him, we probably would still be partners.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Wow, yeah, that's something, I know there's so many, like they're so gifted, so talented, but they also, many of them are not those demons like that, they have that much of a gift Yeah, because dad fought that for a long time, but another one who was like that. What was it about him that For that era of creativity, what was it that he brought?

Robyn Bonaquist. He would come up, back then, the internet was just coming on the scene, so we weren't worried too much about website development, or any of the digital vehicles that are out there today. He was mostly a print guy, and television, and radio too, but print was really his strong point, and he would just come up with the most out of the box ads, but they were spot on, in terms of the business strategy behind them. So it was fascinating to see the way his mind worked, I mean, he used to, he'd work at his computer, he'd spit something out on the printer, and then he'd go outside and analyze it over a cigarette, was how he rewarded himself. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Robyn Bonaquist. But yeah, just wildly creative, wildly successful back in the day.

Robert DiLella Jr.. And back when you really had to create from create, because there was not as many tools as there are, you had to create creativity, you had to come from nothing, blank slate was blank slate. And then he passed in 20--

Robyn Bonaquist. He died I'm trying to think, he's probably been gone now about I'm guessing six to eight years, I'm not sure exactly.

Robert DiLella Jr.. But he wasn't an Naples guy, where'd you all meet him?

Robyn Bonaquist. No, he came here from Indiana. He and his wife came here from Indiana together. And they ended up getting separated for the same reasons, we got separated, and he moved back to Indiana, because he had And that's where unfortunately he passed, ultimately passed away.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah. When you got into the account executive world, what were some of the accounts you remember in the beginning, like your first--

Robyn Bonaquist. I remember the ones that made me cry.

Robert DiLella Jr.. No, yeah, never really.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yes, there's one gentleman who's still in Naples, I won't name his name, but yes, he brought, actually two, who brought me to tears, just because their delivery was kind of mean and nasty. But I mean, we've had some great clients over the years. We did a lot of work with Jack Antoremian, who's not with us anymore Did all of his advertising and marketing. And actually he was a client of mine, when I worked for Leaks and Her on Marco, because he was originally a marketing guy.

Robert DiLella Jr.. He saw Marco, that's right, then he came over here.

Robyn Bonaquist. Then he came up to Naples and did Fifth Avenue. We did a lot of great stuff for him, he really had a great appreciation for Burrell's talents and abilities. And even today, even though Burrell's not with me anymore And the creative direction, I mean, it's good, it's not wildly as good as it used to be when Burrell was here, but we're able to do some really fun, creative stuff. We've been a client of They've been a client of ours of Suave, and I don't know if, Dick Corus He's with them, and we've had their account for over 10 years now, which is unheard of in our industry. Generally it's a two year stint.

Robyn Bonaquist. An agency will have a client for two years, and then either sales are down, or they just want the newest shiniest penny on the block. But anyway, they've been a client for 10 years, and their sales and marketing director, their VP, kinda lets us do what we want, within reason of course, but we've had great success with them.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Well, how have you been able to evolve? I mean, because the time span of the last 25 years have been incredibly hard, for a lot of reasons, especially in this market. It's been hurricanes and pandemics and recessions, and then internet and then AI, and just like so many things that have made it, some ways people say good for business, but some ways it's been a challenge for business.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, it was like when the internet first came on the scene, we outsourced all of our digital stuff that we did, and we did that for almost five years until I finally figured out, there's money to be made here, and you can't really make it for yourself when you're outsourcing it. And so we made the decision to bring it in house at that point. But I tell people all the time, the way I've survived is I just keep hiring younger people.

(Laughing)

Robert DiLella Jr.. That's great.

(Laughing)

Robert DiLella Jr.. What about Well, the worst, the first one was the worst, because we had a lot of hurricanes over the years that never did much, and they always threatened that, oh, this is the one, get ready. And then we had Irma Which was scary because we didn't know the first few days after, and it didn't do what Ian did, but we still didn't know this first year. It was tough to know what's life gonna be like. And then pandemic and then Ian, and then just like these blows to everything, like pandemic too.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, it's funny, the pandemic, I mean, hit us for a little while, but Florida didn't really shut down. Right, we were reluctant. We were maybe shut down for three, four weeks, and then we opened back up again. And then of course, and I do so much in the real estate and development arena, and you know what that did, Dr. Pompa, during COVID, I mean, it just skyrocketed. So we expected the worst when the pandemic hit, and it turned out to be kind of a nothing thing. And same for hurricanes didn't really affect us too terribly. What really affected us was the recession And, 07, 08, 09. During those three years My revenues in one year dropped 75%.

Robyn Bonaquist. And I had to lay off half of my team, and really struggled to survive. And had it not been for pumping my own personal money into the business, I don't know that we would have. But we were fortunate enough, we came out the other end. It was funny, before the recession, we would never take on a client that didn't have $250,000 a year or more to spend. And after the recession, it was like, oh, you need a brochure? I can do that. We kind of learned that we couldn't afford to be that picky in today's world. Yeah, yeah.

Robert DiLella Jr.. But getting through those times, I mean, going through, having to lay people off, it's just--

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, that's heartbreaking. Yeah, it is.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Nothing you can do, but you gotta do it to survive. You gotta get through it. Yeah, I think anybody who's made it through that, yeah, that was another tough one. I forgot about that, how could I forget this area was like, wow, all the empty houses. Oh, I know, yeah.

Robyn Bonaquist. We should have seen the handwriting on the wall when my housekeeper was buying lots and leave-by.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Right, right, yeah. You have so many publics in the hand, your cashier's handing to their business card. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I know, that time period. Who else What were some of the restaurants that you remember in Naples that you were, that were charming around in Naples once?

Robyn Bonaquist. Well, St. George and the Dragon. How could we forget that one? That was a fam fave. What were the two that were down where the Hyatt is now? Versailles and Masonjar, do you remember those?

Robert DiLella Jr.. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Versailles and Masonjar, oh yeah.

Robyn Bonaquist. Masonjar for the happy hour. Versailles for the fine night.

Robert DiLella Jr.. I forgot about the Versailles part, yeah, Masonjar. That was a drinking place, too, became like a bar.

Robyn Bonaquist. And of course, Pates.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Oh yeah.

Robyn Bonaquist. When it was on Fifth Avenue.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Pates. I forgot about that one, too.

Robyn Bonaquist. And even, oh, we used to take the kids there all the time. Pippins.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Oh yeah, Denny Phillips.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yes, with the salad bar. Yes, yeah. The unending salad bar.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, he had the salad bar there, and then the pewter mug had the salad bar up there. Right, right. Jim Kaiser, yeah, for the pewter mug. Which the building is still there. The pewter, well, the pewter mug is still there.

Robyn Bonaquist. It's up the street in a little strip center now.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, I think they're not longer here.

Robyn Bonaquist. And I've heard that they're gonna redo, or somebody's gonna redo pewter mug and reopen it.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Oh, really, that building there.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, that's what I heard. I haven't seen any activity there driving by, but that's the rumor.

Robert DiLella Jr.. It's amazing to me that these, like that Kelly's Roast Beef It's a chain. Build these, build out these big buildings that do incredible build out, and they were gone in six months or seven months.

Robyn Bonaquist. Well, we were just talking about that this weekend. If you think about, like that Uncle Julio's, the coastline center, Bahama Breeze. Like what the heck?

Robert DiLella Jr.. That kind of money, you just say we're just gonna, and we don't even have enough money to carry it for a year or two.

Robyn Bonaquist. I know, I know. When you think about the millions of dollars that went into building those places, it's crazy.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, yeah, that one in both those Kelly's restaurants. I mean, you've seen a lot of restaurants come and go, but those are the big names. You remember Truffles and Sheps Garden?

Robyn Bonaquist. Oh yeah, yeah. And what was it up on the North Trail, Plums?

Robert DiLella Jr.. Oh right, their version up there, yeah. Yeah, Plums and--

Robyn Bonaquist. It was another one, it starts with a B.

Robert DiLella Jr.. It was another one.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, something like that. Yeah, something like that.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, because it was, yeah, where--

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, it was on the corner of Red River and-- 41, and is it Vanderbilt? Yeah, I think you're right. I think it was up in that area. We've been fortunate over the years. I mean, Naples for a small little town has had a lot of great restaurants. Some have come and gone, but others are still here.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, yeah, or they evolve and come out with something new, yeah. What do you think Naples has gained and lost over time?

Robyn Bonaquist. Well, because I'm involved in the real estate and building industry, I don't have any problem with development in Naples. And I think Naples has done a great job of managing that growth. I mean, we don't look like Miami, and we don't look like any of the other big cities that you think about with the skyscrapers. So I think they've done a really, really good job there. I do miss the smaller town feel, like when I used to run around with your mom and dad. It was a different feeling then. I can go to a restaurant today and not know a soul in the restaurant. Back in the day, that just didn't happen. You knew at least 10 or 12 people. Every place you went.

Robyn Bonaquist. So I do kind of miss that. But I think we've gained a lot. What we've gained in terms of diversity of restaurants and shopping and all of that, and even the real estate, I think has been a good thing.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, what do you think fueled the biggest, had the biggest impact on the growth Or the desire for Naples?

Robyn Bonaquist. Everything's on the water. So development was just, it was a no brainer. And that's definitely what's fueled the growth in Naples has been the real estate development. I mean, if you think about, when I first moved here in the early 80s, you could buy a lot in Port Royal for less than $30,000.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Doesn't that hurt? I hate hearing that. I know. That's so painful. I know.

Robyn Bonaquist. Oh gosh, I hate that. It's crazy when you think about it.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, we have some old Naples Daily News ads for lots in Port Royal, around that, and then just look at you.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah. And when I worked at the bank When I worked at the bank at Marine Savings, they would not loan on waterfront land on Marco because it was a bad investment. And those lots were going for $8,000. Oh my gosh. With direct access.

Robert DiLella Jr.. It was a bad investment, they said, right? Yes, exactly. Oh, thanks. Oh my gosh. I remember I got a job at the Romata Inn, which was on Vanderbilt next to Wiggins Pass Park When we moved here in 77, washing dishes. And I had money for my 275 an hour that I didn't have any, because I was 12 at the time, so I didn't know where to put the money. I guess that's illegal now to work at the bank. Yeah, I think so. So my dad wanted me out of the house and he said, if you want something, you gotta buy it yourself, so go work.

Robert DiLella Jr.. So I didn't have anything to do with the money, so the real tour who sold us our house said, oh, there's these lots, which is now like Logan Estates or something there, which was almost felt like you're going to Fort Lauderdale, and you're right there. Then he passed the airport road, it was nothing. And I bought this lot for $3,000. And then when I turned 16, I wanted a car, so sold the lot and bought a 77 Monte Carlo. Oh, no kidding. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Robyn Bonaquist. I wonder what that would be worth now. I kind of want it. Yeah, don't go there. You're just depressed.

Robert DiLella Jr.. But it happens every five years, you go, oh, this property's that, well, that sounds like a lot, but then you see what it is in five more years, and you go, oh my gosh, it just never stops, because this is paradise. It's so hard for me to go on vacation sometimes, because this is like such a pleasantville. It's always been, even with everything, it's still--

Robyn Bonaquist. It's a nice place to come home to, that's for darn sure.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, I wonder about it. It's so, and a bigger appreciation for it, especially after COVID, the fact that we didn't have to close down, that we had some, we could do what we wanted to do, and that was a wonderful thing. Absolutely. So I Yeah, I'm happy dad moved this year when he did.

Robyn Bonaquist. And-- How old were you guys when you came?

Robert DiLella Jr.. 12, yeah, it was 1970, the rest of the year, Elvis died. I remember listening to that in the motor home on the way here to Florida, because we had to sell everything we had. We had a garage sale up there, anything you owned Record collection or whatever, we couldn't take it to the motor home. No kidding. We had to fit in the motor home. Wow. So we came here in the 31 foot Vogue motor home Chocolate poodle, standard poodle, moose, like chocolate moose. Abigail the cat and my two sisters living in that for six months at the Caribbean trailer park. No kidding, is that right? Yeah, yeah.

Robyn Bonaquist. And did he open up Robert of Philadelphia right when he came down?

Robert DiLella Jr.. No, he did not want, he didn't want anything to do with the salon. He didn't want, we didn't want to own one. He just wanted to work, and the reason why I came forward, he wanted to fish and hunt. He wanted to do what he loved to do. He wanted to leave at five, not have a headache, just, just, just, and he was working Worked on fifth for a little while, and then hunters, I think it was called, or heads above all, one of those two.

Robert DiLella Jr.. That's where the name There was Bob Green who was there, so there were two Roberts who were there, and the one, they would say which Robert do you want, the one of Ohio, or the one of Philadelphia, and that's where the-- Oh, hilarious, no kidding.

Robyn Bonaquist. I had no idea where that came from.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, yeah, so that's how they knew the difference, and then he left there, and that's when Eva Kovacs, she was the-- Oh

Robyn Bonaquist. How do I know that name?

Robert DiLella Jr.. She was, she had the Modeling Studio As the tissue, like before spas were spas, she kind of was on the trend there, and opened that up, and he did the hair side of that spot, but she wasn't real good at managing the funds, and the FPL, he said, would come to shut off the power.

Robert DiLella Jr.. A lot of times, he had to take money out of the drawers, so he saw the handwriting on the wall, and then But he didn't want to do a salon, but at that point he was kind of, had to, because he needed to work somewhere, and Carlo Paterno, who owned the Coron building, wear immerses, and Melissa got her first haircut Loved my mom This old Italian man who loved my mom, and she sort of wooed him, charmed him, into giving this tiny little, it was like a three page lease And they had no credit, they had no interest rates of what, 17%, which was crazy at the time.

Robert DiLella Jr.. They had no money, no credit, and they had no money to build it out, and Carlo Paterno gave them a blank check, and said, pay me when you can to build it out.

Robyn Bonaquist. Is that right? Oh my goodness.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, and then they, he opened right away with just a chair and a card table that they had in there, but there was a thing, but on that corner building was And he didn't want to do it, but he had to, he didn't want to do it anyway, so he was still able to do what he was able to do, because he loved sitting in that corner window there, peering out over third, Yeah. around the third, and seeing everybody drive by, seeing Dewey Darduolo drive by

(Laughing)

Robert DiLella Jr.. And buddies, and yeah, so at the And then we lived, we left the trailer park to move to Vanderbilt Beach, which was like almost Fort Myers from, and that time, Of course, yeah. was way back out there, so And that stilled house, which was on the water, so he could go fishing, and all the rest of that, so, and yeah, that was the pre-Pelican Bay, pre-all that, everything that was up in there.

Robyn Bonaquist. Unbelievable.

Robert DiLella Jr.. That time, yeah, yeah. Just as much as we all saw who was here during that time, and then Baron Collier was the first, was the first, opened right as I went into high school, so that was like the first I was the first four-year class.

Robyn Bonaquist. Oh, okay, okay.

Robert DiLella Jr.. During that time. Yeah, so, then I couldn't wait to leave Naples, couldn't wait to get out of here. Did you? For school. Okay. And then worked for a little while at the Space Center, for, it wasn't directly at the Space Center, or a company that was a contractor with the Space Center, and the shuttle blew up, so then Dad had bugged me forever to come into the business, and I wanted nothing to do with it. I didn't want anything to do with it. To get him off my back, and I didn't have a job anyway, I came back in 86 the year. Was that right? Yeah, yeah. Oh my goodness.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Came back then, I remember that vividly, that haircut that she got That Don and Ronnable, and Don and that original--

Robyn Bonaquist. Ron, I forgot about him.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, Ron, Boston, yeah, he's still alive, actually. Is that right? Yeah, so a couple years ago, at a Naples High Wrestling match, yeah.

Robyn Bonaquist. No kidding.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, I think his grandkids Were wrestling I'm pretty sure that's what it was, his grandkids were wrestling, yeah. Yeah, one of the old, and Don was there, Don Antonocchio was there, do you remember Don?

Robyn Bonaquist. Oh, of course, yeah.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, he was there too. Some of the old school, old timers. What are some current restaurants that are on your list?

Robyn Bonaquist. Our all-time fave is Blue Provence. We love good wine, and they've got a fabulous wine cellar. The owners, Jacques and Lisele Carriotte, retired last year, and their sons are running the restaurant, but they brought back a chef that they had for years, who had left and gone back to France, because he had, I think his mother was ill. Anyway, he's back now as their head chef, and the food's wonderful, the ambiance is just I've done a 12. That's down by the dock.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, that's probably, probably one of our all-time favorite restaurants, but there's so many good ones, when you think about sea salt and Barbatella, and I mean, just in the Continental, I mean, they're just all over the place. There's no, Ridgeways, I mean,. God bless Tony, he's still there, blood on the way. Every time I go in there, I see him there.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, that's amazing. He's somebody we've been bugging to try to talk to him. Like, you gotta, I gotta, talk to him.

Robyn Bonaquist. I'm surprised he wouldn't do it.

Robert DiLella Jr.. I think he kinda keeps saying soon or something soon, he just can't put it up a couple of times, I know. Yeah, he would be good. At least it cuts his hair still, in which you gotta get him in here. And all I haven't seen in a while is Bill Barnett. I haven't seen Bill in a while.

Robyn Bonaquist. I haven't seen him in a while, either. I used to see him all the time at Cosmo's restaurant. Yeah, the little place on 41, like on 41 and fourth, I think it is. They've got great food there, and I would see him and Chris there every once in a while, but I haven't seen them for a while.

Robert DiLella Jr.. No, I haven't either. I saw him a couple times at the poker room. I knew he liked to play poker.

Robyn Bonaquist. I'd see him at the-- Of course he did.

(Both Laughing)

Robert DiLella Jr.. And I have a I do have, Zach, I just remembered this, I have a video of everybody at Mom and Dad's house for dinner, the Barnettes are there, and you guys are there. And Bill's telling stories, classic Bill on the back deck there, tells stories.

Robyn Bonaquist. Of course, yeah.

Robert DiLella Jr.. And Dad's cooking some seafood thing with a cigarette in his mouth, like he always did. And I was like, Dad, look what are you doing? Is the ashes dripping in the food, what flavor do you do? Yes, exactly. He's always had a cigarette, unapologetically. Yes. He just never--

Robyn Bonaquist. Yep, that was just him. That was just him.

Robert DiLella Jr.. All the way. I mean, even when they banned smoking from salons, because he would smoke in it when they didn't, and just imagine that, just smoking everywhere, and he would smoke right in there, whoever the client was, it didn't matter. If you want a great haircut, it's okay, you're gonna have to deal with my smoke deal.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, it was a different way of life back then, for sure.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Even the hospitals you could smoke, because Mom had She was out, they were out to dinner, the Spanos And the Sexton, David Sexton, David and Patty Sexton, they were all out to dinner, and they got up to leave, I think they were chow. Remember chow, the Italian restaurant?

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, yes, for sure.

Robert DiLella Jr.. And David, or no, the Spanos were going all the way, Mom went another way, and I don't know whether it was on Central or wherever, she looks down for a second, and looks back up, and the light had turned red, she went through the light, and hit Joe Spano.

Robyn Bonaquist. I remember when that happened, yes, I do.

Robert DiLella Jr.. And he was in the hospital, in bad shape for a while, on whatever floor there, and they were smoking, I remember they were smoking, visiting people. Oh my gosh, okay. So after that time, every time they went out to dinner, after that, David Sexton would say, I'm gonna head out a little early, I'm gonna leave the dinner a little early.

(Laughing)

Robert DiLella Jr.. Before Marlee leaves.

(Laughing)

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, some of the classic ones.

Robyn Bonaquist. I was just trying to remember Dave's last name last night, I met an attorney who was with Bon Schennekin King, and I knew that was Dave's firm, and I said, there's a guy, used to live in Port Royal, he was with Bon Schennekin King, his first name was Dave, his wife's name was Patty, and I cannot for the life of me remember his last name, and now I know.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, he's the OG, yeah, the original one. And the four of them would, because they were on the second floor of that building there, and Bruce Dean, the accountant And Russell's was there, and the men's clothing store, Mark Crisman But it was Chris Howard.

Robyn Bonaquist. Chris Howard. Chris Howard, yeah. What a wild man he was. Wow, wow. Oh my goodness.

Robert DiLella Jr.. I'm no kidding, right? I wonder if he's still alive. I wonder too, I heard of him probably in the last 10 years. Really? I ended up on the phone with him, or somebody told me, yeah, that he was up there, North Carolina, I think is where he was originally from, and went back there, but he was a character in the half.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, I remember Jerry telling me a story that he was in the car with Chris Howard, Chris was a passenger, Jerry was driving, and they were getting held up somewhere, and Chris says, "Take him on the right, "take him on the right!" And Jerry said, "That's why I still have a driver's license, "and you do not." He never did, no.

Robert DiLella Jr.. I don't know how he lived through all that the way he did. I know, yeah, talk about a wild man. Yeah, even my dad, I don't know how he never got killed or killed somebody, because they were drive wasted.

Robyn Bonaquist. Again, a different time, totally different time.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, well, God bless them with some luck, because nothing ever happened, there was no Uber or anything like that. Yeah, because that's right, because Chris Howard couldn't drive forever. I didn't know him being able to drive.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yes, as long as I knew him, he wasn't able to drive. No.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, I've forgotten that name, too. I just got back I went to Virginia for literally one day, the guy who hired me at the Ramada Inn, David Boyd, this is his name, and he, when I was 12, I lied about my age, and he hired me to wash dishes at the Ramada, and he used to put me up on these crates so I could reach the dishwasher, because I wasn't tall enough.

Robert DiLella Jr.. He calls me the munchkin, and he has stayed with me through my life, and either by phone, we haven't seen each other for 30-something years, but he's always kind of been a mentor to me, and I got a message last week that he was in hospice, so my wife said You need to go see him and thank him for the life, because he shaped me in a lot of ways.

Robyn Bonaquist. No kidding.

Robert DiLella Jr.. So I got to, flew to Richmond, and then drove to Charlottesville And spent an afternoon with him to love on him, and thank him for the gifts that he gave me, and it was beautiful.

Robyn Bonaquist. Well, it was good that you did that. A lot of people wouldn't make that track, so

Robert DiLella Jr.. It's a lot about you. Yeah, I felt lucky to just be able to do it, because he had a really big impact on me, my life, and I just never, I mean, I probably said it to him over time, but just wanted to see him and let him know that he was a--

Robyn Bonaquist. That's awesome.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, that was neat. So that was Virginia. Where we were talking about earlier, because of the Charlottesville. You say your daughter might want to go?

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, probably Southern Virginia, because that's where her husband's family is from.

Robert DiLella Jr.. From there, okay, yeah. Yeah, so that was my Took me back to the roots again, anyway

Robyn Bonaquist. Of the peoples and all of that stuff. I'm sure.

Robert DiLella Jr.. So you're a grandmother of three?

Robyn Bonaquist. Three, two girls and a boy, two three-year-old little girls, and a one and a half year old wild maniac little boy. Oh yes.

(Both Laughing)

Robert DiLella Jr.. Isn't that the boy's job?

Robyn Bonaquist. Yes, I think so, I think so.

Robert DiLella Jr.. And anybody do or possibly do, or anybody in the marriage?

Robyn Bonaquist. No, if you remember JR, who was my middle one, he just got married after a seven-year engagement. He just got married in October.

Robert DiLella Jr.. They were engaged for seven years?

Robyn Bonaquist. Seven years. Together for nine, engaged for seven, and they just got married up in Fort Myers in October of this past year. I think they wanna start having children sooner rather than later, because he's gonna be 36 this year, and she's 32, so they're talking about it. And then my other son, Jay, the one that's the same age as JR He's been married now for about three years, and I think they're working on it as well. And then Deke, who's the, I don't know if you remember him, well, that's who was buying the car.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember him a little, like a long time ago, a little in that Psalms of Grown Man.

Robyn Bonaquist. So he's 32 now. I think, I don't know, he says he wants to get married when he's 35, where that came from, I have no idea. So no grand babies there anyway, and he's just traveling all over the world, and he's got his--

Robert DiLella Jr.. He's more of the freer spirit. Yes, very much so. Unless someone's telling me, yeah.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, very much so. I mean, he was on a reality TV show, he was on Temptation Island, as a wrestler. Really? And he's been an influencer, and now he's got a real job, and making pretty good money, so he lives in Miami.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Oh, he's in Miami, that suits him, I guess.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yes, it does, at least for now anyway.

(Both Laughing)

Robyn Bonaquist. Was he doing something with cars, or was he-- He just was buying and selling them like crazy. I mean, I think in a two or three year span, he bought and sold nine cars. He would buy them, he'd put some money into them, and then he'd sell them and move on to something else.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, that entrepreneurial spirit, and then like that freedom, yeah, okay. Yeah, whatever this car was that my son was looking at was really cool, like he had done some things to it that were fun

Robyn Bonaquist. You know, I was like-- Yeah, that sounds like Deeg. Yeah.

(Both Laughing)

Robert DiLella Jr.. And he played football too, did he play football?

Robyn Bonaquist. Yes, so J and JR were on the Naples High football team that was undefeated and won the state championship, and that was in, oh, I can't remember when that was. 2007 was the year that they won the state championship, and then Deeg also played football for Naples High School. Three years later, they didn't do quite as well, but, Naples was always such a powerhouse.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Oh, and they still are, I know, they just never, Barron has never been that, they've always been their stepchild.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, yes, if you were ever to go on Facebook and look up JR, he trolls them mercilessly during football season.

(Both Laughing)

Robert DiLella Jr.. They've earned the right, they can do it for life, yeah. The only game, so I didn't play football, I wrestled, but the only game of the year that, because we were, the first three years, I think we won two games, but there was a Naples, our home games were at Naples Field because we didn't have a field. Oh, right, right. So we only played Naples. It was always that they're feeling. They were great as they always are, and it was the closest game, because I think we lost by like an extra point. One of the sky, Phil Manhart, who I'll give-- Oh, I remember him.

Robert DiLella Jr.. For the rest of my life, dropped the extra point, the two-point conversion, whatever it was, he dropped a potential go-ahead thing. So Phil will never let that down, because we could have beaten Naples, but we didn't. Oh, no.

(Both Laughing)

Robert DiLella Jr.. I'd forever give Phil a hard time about that Because Naples was just our nemesis, always, they just always got us, and still are. Naples was just got us.

Robyn Bonaquist. JR had a running bet with my former sister-in-law, because she was a Barron grad, and then JR, of course, being a Naples guy, it was $1,000 that Barron would beat Naples that year, and never won, I mean, Barron never beat Naples. No, no, no matter what. JR tried to collect his money all day long, but I wouldn't let her pay him.

(Both Laughing)

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, that's just a bet I would never take, no matter what the years are. No. Different coaches, different years, just the, yeah, the coach now is the city council now, right? Kramer used to be-- Yeah, Kramer, -huh.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, he retired from coaching, but not from teaching a few years ago. And then he ran for city council last year or the year before and won.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Why would somebody do that?

Robyn Bonaquist. I don't know. Heavens only knows, yeah, not my cup of tea.

Robert DiLella Jr.. No way, I don't, yeah, it takes a special breed to do that. Yeah, because people get so passionately Indignant about things.

Robyn Bonaquist. They do.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Carry your part no matter what. Yeah, they do. Why would you do that?

Robyn Bonaquist. And there's such a sense, and I'm sure it's like this everywhere, but this, nimby, not in my backyard. I live here now, but, God forbid anybody else moves to Naples. You know, that kind of attitude.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Right, right. And dealing with all that, I just, I don't want to bet none of that at all. But Bill's somebody you have to look at, because I'd love to talk to Bill. I'd love to get Bill, kind of get his story about Naples and just I haven't, that's why I-- He would be a great one. I know, just to get him on, I'm thinking of him, because he was really, through it all, through a lot of stuff, and he did the same thing, he put politics, but he's good for that, though. Bill was, he was cut out for politics.

Robyn Bonaquist. He really was, yeah.

Robert DiLella Jr.. He was great at that.

Robyn Bonaquist. He really was, I think, had his family not put their foot down, I think he'd keep on running. I know, I know, he just never got enough. No, I know, I know.

Robert DiLella Jr.. But Zach, you'll have to see this dinner, because it really embodies this, I don't know who was filming, but the camera's on through most of the dinner. Is that right? Yeah, on that back deck. In the, yeah, it's gotta be 80s, somewhere in that time period where, the puppies, everybody had those, Tish and Johan Creek, California.

Robyn Bonaquist. Oh yeah, we had one of those.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Did you get one of those? Yeah.

Robyn Bonaquist. We had a loss up.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, the losses, right? Yeah. Gucci and Carmella and Peanut, some of the ones that mom and dad got, they were the three that they got.

Robyn Bonaquist. I remember that, yeah.

Robert DiLella Jr.. We had a puppy party there, like, oh, puppies over. Yeah, that's on the video, too, yeah. Have fun. You guys have fun. So, what would you say how the industry Like advertising, marketing What's the difference in those two, first of all?

Robyn Bonaquist. I mean, I lump them in the same category. Sometimes people think of marketing more as the actual selling of something, but when I describe my company, I say we're an advertising and marketing firm. We don't actually, for instance, we don't do sales for clients, and we've been asked that before., well, can't you sell it for me? And it's like, no, that's not what we do. We're all about ways in which to advertise your product, but you gotta sell it. That's your job. My job is to figure out the best way to advertise and market it.

Robert DiLella Jr.. So, what gets solved in that process? What's that process like?

Robyn Bonaquist. In terms of-- Well

Robert DiLella Jr.. In making it attractive, or whatever it is, that you're, whoever you're working for.

Robyn Bonaquist. Well, they always say that if you wanna be successful, you have to come up with your three Unique selling propositions. What are your top three? In your case, in your business, it could be the longevity that you've had in the marketplace, your creative talent that you employ here And maybe you're on the cutting edge of new techniques. And then a good agency will take those three things and they'll figure out the best way to advertise them, or to get that message out to the public. And we have so many different tools available to us now, digital, traditional media, guerrilla marketing, you name it. So that's what our job is.

Robyn Bonaquist. Figure out who you are, what makes you special, and then let's figure out a plan working within a budget that's generally provided by the client. Not everybody can spend $250,000 a year in advertising and marketing, but they might be able to spend 25. And so we take that 25,000 and we put together a plan for them and says, this is what we think you should do with your money.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Okay, so all channels, whatever that-- All channels, yes.

Robyn Bonaquist. Oh, I see. All channels.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Like even like a digital, like a Facebook spend or something like that? Correct. The same way that we included in that? Correct, yep. Okay. What is your dream client like?

Robyn Bonaquist. Because my background is in the real estate and development arena, that's what I did when I worked on Marco for weeks at her, because that was their forte. And so that was most of my client experience was in that arena. And then when I opened up my own company, that's where my contacts were. And so I love real estate and development High rises and master plan communities. And I just think it's so fun to take something from a piece of dirt to a place where people can live and love. And it's just really fun crafting.

Robyn Bonaquist. And from scratch, coming up with the name, coming up with the logo design, and then all the deliverables that you need in terms of brochures and websites and digital advertising and television advertising. And my company does everything under the sun in terms of advertising and marketing for clients. The only thing we don't do in house is very high end videography and very high end photography. But everything else we are capable of handling in house.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Videography would be for what?

Robyn Bonaquist. Well for instance, our real estate clients wanna do a video showcasing their community. And we will outsource the production of that. We'll write it and we'll art direct it and we'll even help edit it. But I don't profess to be a good videographer. So we hire companies that do that for us and then produce these beautiful videos as a sales tool.

Robert DiLella Jr.. And they're companies locally that specialize in just that. What, for what scope of businesses would you cover at this point? Not just real estate but for-- I mean everything.

Robyn Bonaquist. We've done hospitality, we've done tourism, we've done education Restaurants and retail. Really, really everything. I don't think there's anything. I'm not a fan of politics and we have handled political campaigns before. It's just, it's not an area that I enjoy. And especially when they lose,? That I feel responsible. But yeah, pretty much anything under the sun.

Robert DiLella Jr.. What have you found--

(Audio Cuts Out)

Robert DiLella Jr.. You're okay with hiring younger. What is your take on the generational gap and what these younger team members are like versus-- You

Robyn Bonaquist. Know, it's funny because I have a young man who I hired as an intern when he was at FGCU and I gave him a job when he graduated from there. And he's been with me five years now and he is my exit plan. I've made him a vice president of the company and we have a three year plan where he's gonna take over as president and then eventually buy the company out from me. I would say he's the exception rather than the rule. A lot of young people that I have hired his age just don't have the work ethic, that you or I had when we were younger. And I don't know why that is.

Robyn Bonaquist. I mean, I don't know if that was a function of their upbringing, but I would say that's the biggest difference these days. I don't find most young people to be very, to be go-getters.

Robert DiLella Jr.. How do you handle that?

Robyn Bonaquist. Give fire room.

(Both Laughing)

Robyn Bonaquist. Or you suggest their talents might be better used elsewhere. That kind of thing.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Where do you find, you get Where do you get people from? How do you get people to work?

Robyn Bonaquist. Like most people, I advertise them indeed. And then you wade through a gazillion resumes.

Robert DiLella Jr.. They come from everywhere.

Robyn Bonaquist. They come from everywhere. I mean, we've gotten to the point now, I don't hire from outside of the marketplace. It's just too hard to bring somebody in, relocate them to Naples, not to mention the expense Only to find out that they're not suited for your company or for the work at hand. So we've been pretty lucky that we've been able to hire, at least within a 40 mile radius. We will hire people from Fort Myers or Cape Coral, but gone are the days when I'm hiring from Miami or Tampa or even out of state. It's just, it makes it too difficult.

Robert DiLella Jr.. So you just clarify that in the, I don't remember that.

Robyn Bonaquist. Well, I just don't look at the ones that are from out of market.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Oh God, okay.

Robyn Bonaquist. Unless they clearly state in a cover letter to me that, hey, I'm relocating to Southwest Florida. They don't, I don't consider them. And I'm, maybe because I'm old school, I really believe that they need to work in-house A lot of agencies have folks that work remotely. So I don't know if that's because I'm old school or I'm too controlling, but I like having everybody under one roof. We're a small firm, there's only 10 of us. And so we're always running back and forth between offices and, hey, what do you think about this? Or how do you feel about that? And I think that makes them for a more cohesive shop when you have that.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, it makes sense. I think the collaboration, especially in creative world, is so necessary. I noticed that in the salon world, which has changed so much in the last 15 or 20 years, these independent suites and booth rental, where they're in a, they're all in the same building, but they're in their own little, it's like a flea market kind of for Harris County. Where there's no collaborating, there's no feeding off of each other's creative energy.

Robert DiLella Jr.. And there's something that gets lost in that, because there's not that literal internal sense of competition, but excitement over some new creation or some new breakthrough that they've created, or some great look that they've created, and to have that in-house collaboration for anything.

Robyn Bonaquist. I totally agree, Rob.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, it's something that's necessary. People have to be together. I know that opened up a lot with COVID, how many places went to that, but I think having people together really makes a difference. Also psychologically, I know, when a wife sometimes will work from home, they're allowed to do it one day a week, but she'd rather not, because it's just not the same. It's just not the, it's a different Yeah, it's not. Yeah, and then I'm also distracted working from home. I know that too, like the laundry needs to be done. Sometimes at the door, the dog needs to be walked.

Robyn Bonaquist. You know, there's something going on. Yeah, I totally agree with you there.

Robert DiLella Jr.. I don't know, people get a lot done doing that. I know it's the world we live in now, but a lot So who was the big influence in your life? Who shaped you?

Robyn Bonaquist. My paternal grandfather was an entrepreneur and a wonderful, wonderful man. He took over a family business in Muncie, Pennsylvania, that it was a company that made feed mills for farmers and equipment that had to do with the farming industry. And he took over this company that was failing and built it into an international corporation that had 1,500 employees all over the world. But he was the kindest man you would ever want to meet in your life.

Robyn Bonaquist. When he retired at the age of 72 or whatever it was, his employees put together a book for him of letters that people wrote and the stories that they told about how my grandfather One guy had gotten arrested for a DUI 250 miles away, my grandfather drove in the middle of the night to bail this man out and then brought him back to Muncie, just story after story after story like that. And so when I think of somebody that I wanted to emulate, he's definitely top of the list because he was a very good businessman, but more importantly, he was a good human being.

Robert DiLella Jr.. How would he describe you?

Robyn Bonaquist. What's his name? Deke. Oh. Yeah, Deke was his nickname. His given name was Harold Marshall Sores, but he went by, they nicknamed him the Deacon when he was younger, because he was a very serious young man. And that was shortened to Deke and it just kind of stuck. How would he describe me? I don't know. I was his favorite because I was the first born granddaughter. And so I definitely got a lot of favoritism that, shall I say, my siblings and my cousins did not.

(Both Laughing)

Robyn Bonaquist. But I was a good girl, so he didn't have many complaints about me. He died when I was, I'm trying to think how old I was, I was living in Florida. I was probably, he's probably been gone for 30 years now, a while. So he knew me as a young woman, but I did have Alyssa, I had Alyssa and JR, as a matter of fact, so he did get to meet them.

Robert DiLella Jr.. And you have, how many siblings?

Robyn Bonaquist. I have three siblings, two brothers and a sister. They all live here. And Naples, yeah.

Robert DiLella Jr.. And where are you in the, where are you in the-- I'm oldest. Of all? Yes. Oh, okay, so you're the first first.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yes, and I have a brother, Blair, who lives here now. He runs a big company in Pennsylvania. Got my grandfather's entrepreneurial spirit as well. My brother Rod, who lives here in Naples.

Robert DiLella Jr.. He's been here forever, he's been here a long time.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, he moved here not long after I did. And then my sister Valerie is a principal at Lorenzo Walker. She's a principal. You know who I am. Yeah, Oh my gosh. Yeah. Lorenzo Walker? Yeah, she's been there for, and of course they're closing it, which is unfortunate, but she's been there for, I wanna say two or three years, maybe a little longer. Wow. And her husband is also a principal. Used to be at Barron Collier. Not back when you were there, obviously, but, and he's now, he left the school district and came back, and he's now a principal in Immokalee at the middle school out there, so. A family of educators.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, and big-hearted ones too, because they're both in tougher spots in the way. Yeah. Yeah, between the two of them. Wow, oh, I didn't know that. What's Rod doing these days?

Robyn Bonaquist. He's actually, my mother's--

Robert DiLella Jr.. He's got one, all the women loved him. You said they had to look at him. Oh yeah, yeah, he

Robyn Bonaquist. Rod the God, when your employees dubbed him that, yes. Yeah, he's living with my mom and is primarily her caretaker. Not that she's like, enfeebled to the point where she needs somebody 24-7, but she's gonna be 91 in a couple months, and she doesn't drive anymore. She gave that up of her own volition, which we were glad about. And it's just nice, because he cooks for her. He cleans for her. That's beautiful. He takes her to her doctor's appointments. That's awesome. Yeah. Has she been here as long as you have? Yeah, she and my father, they vacationed here. When I moved down here, they were always coming, because my grandparents were the first ones here.

Robyn Bonaquist. My grandparents moved here in the 70s. And so we, as kids-- Oh, that was the connection. That was the connection, yeah. And so, as kids, we would visit them all the time in the wintertime. And then when I moved here permanently, my parents, of course, were coming down to see them and me, and they ended up buying a condo up in North Naples, as my father used to say, right at the height of the market.

(Both Laughing)

Robyn Bonaquist. He claims that the market literally crashed the day after he bought his condo.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, and that's how my timing's always been all I can do. Yeah.

(Both Laughing)

Robert DiLella Jr.. So, and then For, when did your other brother come here? Because Ron has always been here.

Robyn Bonaquist. So Rod came, right, Rod came not long after I did. Valerie followed after that. And then my brother Blair, who had been coming down to visit all the time anyway, he finally bought I'm trying to think, it was probably Six years or so ago, down in Royal Harbor, and he's been flooded now twice with hurricanes. He's not had the best luck. So he got flooded by, I don't remember which one it was. Yeah, I can't remember the name either. Had two and a half feet in his house. His mattresses in his bedroom were found floating and landed on top of the kitchen cabinets, countertops. Oh my gosh.

Robyn Bonaquist. He put the house back together again, gutted it, did everything, only to have it flood the next year, so he's just now done that for the second time. He says that if it happens again, he's probably gonna, because he didn't raise the house, he just did the old 50% rule and was able to put it back together to the point where it was livable and lovely again. I think if it happens a third time, he's probably gonna go up, much like your dad's house.

Robert DiLella Jr.. It's crazy, all the years we've had those, never had them in the last--

Robyn Bonaquist. Never had storm surge, whoever heard that.

Robert DiLella Jr.. It was a joke to me, I never said, get your life raft devices out if you're staying. Yes. I just laughed at them, I never thought I could ever. And then these last few have just been a mess and just really done so much. At the village I remember that Ian The cars in the parking lot, no, the boats in the parking lot and the cars in the bay.

Robyn Bonaquist. Right, right, yeah, it was crazy.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Hopefully that's all done for a while.

Robyn Bonaquist. We were so lucky, if we'd had another hurricane this past season, I can't imagine what it would have done to Naples property values.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, I know, I know, I just, yeah, it was enough. We needed to stay away for a long time.

Robyn Bonaquist. Needed to break, first of all.

Robert DiLella Jr.. What are some of your, well this is a better one, this is sort of a fun one. If your life were a movie, what would the opening soundtrack be?

Robyn Bonaquist. This is so corny, but what comes to mind immediately is sound of music, and don't ask me why.

(Laughing)

Robyn Bonaquist. I have no clue, except I think I always wanted to be Julie Andrews, in the middle of the Alps, twirling around in her dress. Yeah, I don't even know why that came to mind.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, okay, that's great, that's awesome, I love that. Books that have had an influence on you, or books that you're reading or listening to lately?

Robyn Bonaquist. I'm a voracious reader, I read at least two books a week, sometimes more, I pride myself on the fact that I don't read anything of any social significance. I read to be entertained, my life is enough for me, and all the stuff that's going on around us, and in this crazy world of ours. I would say, recent book I read that I just loved, and I recommended to all my friends, was The Five Final Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride. It's about an elderly gentleman who gets diagnosed with a terminal illness, and he decides that he's gonna make his final days count And these are his Five Final Wishes, it was an awesome book, very inspiring.

Robyn Bonaquist. Kind of like a la Tuesdays with Morrie, if you remember that book.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yes, okay, oh good, okay, put that on my list. I also compile lists, everybody that I talk to on here too, of the books that people enjoy. How about podcasts, any podcasts that you listen to?

Robyn Bonaquist. I really don't listen to them, and here I sit for an hour and a half with you. I really don't, I don't know why, it's just something that's not really on my radar.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, they're not always online, I just, every now and then I'll find them, but I'll have a regular that I go to, I just sometimes, but I listen to books. Do you read actual physical books or Kindle books?

Robyn Bonaquist. Kindle books, yeah, yeah. I listen to books on tape, like if I'm driving along, I listen to them on different distances occasionally, and I do enjoy it when I think about planning ahead and finding a book that I'd like to listen to. But most of the time it's--

Robert DiLella Jr.. It's real reading. Yeah. I know some people call me cheating when I listen to another book.

(Laughing)

Robert DiLella Jr.. I'm not really reading, I'm listening to it. I also keep a playlist on Spotify of guests' Music. So what is your go-to music?

Robyn Bonaquist. I listen to Spectrum Radio on Sirius, and that's a mix of old and new. Yes, I keep telling my husband that he's gotta get out of the Tom Petty era.

(Laughing)

Robyn Bonaquist. It's like trying to bring him new songs every once in a while, like hey, you might like this one. My all-time favorite song, all-time favorite band, is "Love Shack" by the B-52s. I cannot sit still when that song comes on. And it's funny, I've got nieces and nephews and obviously children getting married, and they always know that they have to play "Love Shack" for mom at the reception.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Oh yeah, that's great. There is something about that song, it just makes you move inside, yeah, I get it. We were at a wedding this weekend, yeah. That was on the playlist.

Robyn Bonaquist. JR, my son JR DJs on weekends a lot. Oh, really? And he has a real job, but he DJs on weekends, and he was DJing a party at Iles of Collier Preserve on Friday night, and he played "Love Shack," and then he took a little snippet of it and he sent it to me, he said, "This is for you, Mom." That's awesome. And I said, "Well, I hope they had enjoyed it as much as I enjoy it." And he said, a woman came up to him and said, "How on earth do you know that song?" And he was like, "It's my mom's favorite song." So yeah, I know that song.

(Laughing)

Robert DiLella Jr.. That's cool, he's doing that, I love it, yeah. I used to do that too many.

Robyn Bonaquist. He's a little bit of his dad in him, now.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, he's got that side, okay, okay. Any other songs on your playlist that would go down as--

Robyn Bonaquist. I'm trying to think of what else I... I mean, I listen to a little bit of everything. And I do love the older stuff like Fleetwood Mac and some of those old bands that are still around, but maybe not as relevant as they used to be, and James Taylor, and I'm trying to think of the people that I've seen in concert, Earth, Wind, and Fire. Have you seen them in concert? Yes, several times. And they're coming to the Hertz Arena.

Robert DiLella Jr.. I heard that, somebody told me that.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, in April they're coming, middle of April. We're trying to get a big family group together to go. Jim hates Earth, Wind, and Fire. He's a rock and roll guy, so if the Rolling Stones were playing, he would be there. But JR just loves Earth, Wind, and Fire. We're thinking about, and my mother loves them too, so we're thinking about making sure she has a wheelchair and trying to get her to that. That would be super fun.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, I love that. I've heard a while back that they were touring and that they were gonna be close by too.

Robyn Bonaquist. We did, my niece just got married in Isle of Marada two weeks ago, and there were 10 of us family members that did a flash mob thing to September by Earth, Wind, and Fire, and I don't know if you've ever seen it on YouTube, but there's this, do you remember, there's this whole routine to, we only did a minute of it, but in the middle of the reception, the DJ knew we were gonna do this, and so we did this flash mob, and my niece just thought it was the coolest thing.

Robert DiLella Jr.. You got it choreographed and everything?

Robyn Bonaquist. My sister was a dancer in college, and so she choreographed this whole one minute segment for us.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Oh, it's probably out there online. Hopefully not.

(Both Laughing)

Robert DiLella Jr.. I wanted to see if we could dig it up and see if we could put it out here.

Robyn Bonaquist. No, well, I was in the back, so you'd probably be saved because I'm not nearly as coordinated as my sister.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Okay, we'll have to do some investigating, see if we can dig that out. Yeah, that'd be great. She's still a principal at VOTEC right now. Another sunsetting the high school program there. Yes, which is really-- I know there was such an uproar to keep it, and they still are not doing it.

Robyn Bonaquist. No, and I guess the reasoning is they need the space for the adult ed classes. And my sister and a lot of people who went through the program were like, but what about the kids? Because a lot of these children probably wouldn't have made it through regular high school. Right, yeah. But yet they excelled at Lorenzo Walker.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, that's such a great pathway. Why are you giving them things that they're not gonna use anyway? Exactly. This is like the perfect place for them, yeah.

Robyn Bonaquist. Well, if you think about, I serve as an executive officer with the Florida Home Builders Association, and their biggest cry is for skilled workers, people in trades, and Lorenzo Walker, that was their deal. That's what they did. They did a fabulous job at it. I think the county's really gonna miss that program.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, I'm really surprised. It's not like they don't have the money for stuff. It definitely seems like they got money. That was helpful for us too, because people aren't going to college They're gonna go to a trade school. So those people are making more money now sometimes than these people getting degrees.

Robyn Bonaquist. My husband and I talk about it all the time. Had we to do it all over again, I don't know that I would have pushed all five of my kids to go to college. I think several of them would have been better off learning a trade, and they'd probably be running their own companies now, because they're all smart. Our son Jay went to school and got a degree in criminal justice. He did not want to be a cop. He did not want to be a sheriff's deputy. It was just kind of foolish when you look back on it.

Robert DiLella Jr.. And you don't know what you really want in life at 18. You're not going to make a decision for the rest of your life. No, of course not. I'm not sure some math nerd. Otherwise, yeah. So yeah, that surprises me about Naples, especially with the shift it seems like in the marketplace and Naples needs those trades so much.

Robyn Bonaquist. I just was at, I was in Orlando for four days, not my favorite place on earth for the International Builders Show. And we had an economist from the National Association of Home Builders speak to the group, and he was saying that there are over 200,000 unfilled positions in the construction industry right now. I mean, it's just crazy.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, yeah, and where are they gonna come from and pushing these other courses and programs. Yeah, and really that, I remember that going through the process when they were talking about the high school, about getting rid of the high school there. I didn't realize that she was the principal there too.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, and she loves it there. I mean, she loves the students and they seemingly love her. She's talking about, because she's probably, I don't know, five years from retirement Whether or not she might go into a true administration Or what her, she's gonna stay with the school district, but she just doesn't know what the next one is.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Oh, from here, yeah, okay. Anything that is going on in your life, because there's nothing you've never been involved in over the time that wasn't giving or contributing or on some board or some, I mean, every association that's been an association you've been involved with forever. You do that, you give so much to so many for so long. First of all, why do you do that?

Robyn Bonaquist. In the beginning, well, when I worked for the Naples Daily News, it was kind of expected Because we were covering the heart ball. The heart ball, yeah. Remember when Bill Barnett used to do the auction for the Cancer Society? All of those, I was writing about them as the editor. So that's where I got exposed to a lot of it. And then it was just fun. It was fun to be part of it and to feel like you were giving back. Now, I don't do too much with the big national organizations anymore. As I said, I do work with the Florida Association of Home Builders, or Home Builders Association.

Robyn Bonaquist. And I do that because I read an article years ago, if you're gonna volunteer your time, volunteer where it can do you some good. And obviously, since I do so much in the real estate and development arena in terms of advertising and marketing, it made sense to get involved with an organization like that. And then I'm not here for six months out of the year, because I'm in Pennsylvania, primarily from May through October. So I've gotten involved in some non-profits up there that I can donate my time to. And it's just like I say, it's nice to be able to do things for people that use--

Robert DiLella Jr.. You still do that up there when you're on your vacation. Yeah, it's been forever.

Robyn Bonaquist. Can't say no, I guess.

Robert DiLella Jr.. So you've built an exit strategy? And you have a prodigy that you're working with?

Robyn Bonaquist. Yes, and it's a, I plan on retiring from day-to-day activities in two years. I'm 67 now. Did not wanna be 70 years old and tottering around on high heels. So decided I would do that. And then it's a five-year buyout where I'll still be working with him and helping guide him. And he can use me whenever he needs me to make pitches or to bounce ideas off of me. And it'll keep my hand in something. I can't imagine sitting home and eating bonbons all day. Yeah, you can only read so much. I've taken up golf, but I'm a really lousy golfer. So that's not something that's high on my list.

Robert DiLella Jr.. How did you create this exit strategy? Was that we're coming married to an attorney, helps a little bit? How did you create an exit strategy like that?

Robyn Bonaquist. Jim definitely helped me with the paperwork and everything. And we talked a lot about what that might look like. Plus my brother, the one who owns the manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania has been going through this in his own mind. He's just 18 or 21 months younger than I am. So he's at that point in his life where he's thinking about it too. So that was helpful bouncing ideas off of him. He's probably farther along the process than I am, but he's got a much bigger company. He's got a $20 million a year business. Mine's a million and a half. Far cry from 15 or 20 million. So yeah, and I've been involved in groups before, CEO groups where they talk about that.

Robyn Bonaquist. So it's been something that's been in the back of my mind for a long time. And I'm getting to the point now where I really love what I do, but I can also see myself not doing what I do. So that's okay.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah. And this You can slowly shift, but still have your hands in it for a while. Correct, yeah, correct.

Robyn Bonaquist. Plus Jim is not gonna retire for probably Last time I asked him Three to five years. So it doesn't make any sense for me to be sitting home eating those bonbons if he's going to work every day.

(Both Laughing)

Robert DiLella Jr.. The bonbon life. Yes, exactly. Is there something people should know about you But don't?

Robyn Bonaquist. I don't know. I think, I think I am, who I am and what I am. I mean, I consider myself a pretty genuine person. I love people, I love meeting people, and I try to be a good person. So no, I don't have any like, like deep secrets or, things that people think, oh, I didn't know that about her. I mean, I'm kind of like just here.

(Both Laughing)

Robyn Bonaquist. Kind of an open book.

Robert DiLella Jr.. How about a hidden talent? Do you have a hidden talent?

Robyn Bonaquist. Oh God, I wish. I always wanted to be a really good dancer. I'm not, I have no rhythm. I always wanted to be able to sing, I could not. Karaoke is a joke when I do that. So no, I mean, I write well, but that's not a hidden talent because I was a writer for years. And, arts and crafts. I do some arts and crafts, but nothing that I really excel at. I think I do everything average,? I'm an average, I think I'm an average mom, I'm an average wife, I'm an average business woman, but, I do enough to get it done.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Oh, so humble. Yeah, I don't know. You just, you built a legacy of a lot. I mean, you're a big part of this community, just your family alone, and then--

Robyn Bonaquist. I think that's probably my greatest accomplishment, truly, is my family. I'm from a very close-knit family. My brothers and sister are my best friends.

Robert DiLella Jr.. I've always admired that, I know you were.

Robyn Bonaquist. Yeah, we're a very, very close family. And we still are, everybody has their ups and downs, and we're no exception, but, and we, both Jim and I have instilled that in our kids. And we are blessed that, we are a blended family But our children truly think of each other as brothers and sisters, not stepbrothers and stepsisters. And, my daughter was the maid of honor at her sister's wedding and vice versa, and my sons have been best men at their brother's wedding. And so that's, I'm very, very fortunate that way. And I'm really, really proud of them and their relationships with each other.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, you've given a lot. If you weren't doing what you're doing today, what do you think you'd be doing?

Robyn Bonaquist. Oh man, I don't know. I really don't know. I don't, I could never, much like your mom, I was not a, I was never gonna be a stay-at-home mom. I love my kids to death, but the thought of being there, 24-7 with them, I just, I couldn't do it. I think I would have gone stir crazy. And I have the utmost, respect for those who do do it, because I think it's the hardest job in the world. And maybe that's why I couldn't do it, because it is the hardest job in the world. So I don't know what I'd be doing if I wasn't doing this.

Robyn Bonaquist. When I first got into the newspaper business I interviewed at a radio station and was offered a position with the radio station, but I had already accepted the position with the newspaper that I ultimately went to work for in Jamestown, New York. And I often wonder, like, would I have ever gone the broadcast route, radio and possibly television? I did try out for, do you remember WNOG? Oh, of course, wonderful Naples on the go. Yes, yes, and they had their own television station. They came to me and said, you know what? I think you'd make a really good anchor., would you wanna try out for it? And I said, yeah, sure, I'd love to do that. Of course, the vanity kicked in.

(Laughing)

Robyn Bonaquist. So I went to the interview and they had you, read off a teleprompter and I did okay. I wasn't great, but I did okay. And then at the end of the interview, I went, ooh.

(Laughing)

Robyn Bonaquist. I think that was the kiss of death.

(Laughing)

Robyn Bonaquist. I think that's why they didn't give me the position after all. Was that over Palmer? Yes, yeah, in the local studio. Yeah, yeah. It was Dave, what was that guy's name? Oh, Dave Osborne, was it? Dave. Was it Dave Osborne?

Robert DiLella Jr.. I know what you're talking about, yeah.

Robyn Bonaquist. Tall, thin guy with kind of reddish, blondish hair. Anyway, he was the one who conducted the interview for me. Obviously, television was not my future either.

(Laughing)

Robert DiLella Jr.. I have an old commercial that they made, that Dad made, and the outtakes. At Palmer, they made it there at Palmer Cablevision. Is that right? 1981, yeah, Tish Creek is a model. And Pat Rambosk is one of the models, and it is so cheesy. It's so 80s, it's awesome. Is that right? Yeah. Bet it is. Big hair, the hair's gray. Yep. Robert will do your hair, like if the dish is making them sound like the sex goddess or something, it's gonna kick.

Robyn Bonaquist. I had some big hair when I went to Robert of Philadelphia Back in the day.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Yeah, that was the, yeah, get it out there, yeah. All right, last finale question. What do you love about your life?

Robyn Bonaquist. Well, other than my kids, which I just waxed on and on about I think what I love about my life is that I get to live in Naples, Florida, which is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. And then in the summertime, I go to this tiny little town in Pennsylvania, which is the second most beautiful city in the world, as far as I'm concerned. And I just, I feel very fortunate that I have two places like that. And then I have family who loves both of those places as much as I do. Yeah, beautiful, thank you.

Robert DiLella Jr.. You're welcome. That was fun.

Robyn Bonaquist. Well, thank you for having me. And I feel like I have the Rob Dillella story and that I could go home and report to Jim. So here's what I found out today.

Robert DiLella Jr.. Right, right, the scoop, the last 20 years of life, yeah.