<p>I have known Maria for over 30 years. Yes, thirty years! That's because we are cousins. She has worked at Telly's since 1992. Maria is the Greenhouse Sales Manager. That means she is in charge of growing, ordering, watering, selling, signing, spacing, grooming, etc. every annual that we sell out of the greenhouse. This is a huge responsibility, but if you ask anyone on staff to tell you what she does, there's a lot more. Maria is like the glue that keeps everything together at Telly's. She does the scheduling, prepares the store for classes, decorates memorial blankets, handles all of the Christmas fundraisers. The list goes on and on. But, the best thing about Maria is that the entire staff loves her to death. She's like everyone's big sister - especially me. She keeps me out of a lot of trouble, mostly because I'm not terribly organized. Customers also find her extra pleasant because she tends to not use all the botanical names that too many of us often over exploit.</p>
<p>About 13 years ago I came to the greenhouses and announced that I had finally received my pilots license. I asked everyone if they wanted to be my first passenger in the plane. Maria willfully volunteered and a few minutes later we were flying over the greenhouses. Since then, we have flown to many greenhouses many times. She even let me take her three kids in the plane - at the same time. That's trust.</p>
<p>Maria is also our in store chef, having prepared many gyro sandwiches for us during the slow paced days of winter. Her children, Tony, Alex and Anna, and many of their friends, have always supplied Telly's with an almost infinite supply of workers during the busy season.</p>
<p>These are just some of the things big sisters do.</p>