Tucked away in the Northeast corner of the country, a regional RV distributor is proving once again that a small company can think big and compete in the aftermarket distribution of parts and accessories to local RV dealers and campgrounds.

It seems like only yesterday that Keith Doty was spending his days as a member of the quality assurance management team at the Pratt & Whitney division of United Technologies in North Berwick, Maine. Doty had a friend that owned the Walnut Grove Campground in nearby Alfred who had asked him to look into getting parts for him because the larger distributors had shut off low dollar volume accounts.

As part of his responsibilities at Pratt & Whitney, Doty regularly purchased various parts for the large defense contractor and knew quite a bit about quality. A quick search of the Thomas Register and Doty had identified and purchased exactly what his friend needed.

While still working at P&W, Doty started purchasing more parts and began his new venture with a single cabinet in his garage. Word spread and he quickly had another customer, Bunganut Campground, also in Alfred, Maine.

Working out of his house, with an office in the bedroom, Keith quietly went about the business of building a business. He had an excellent role model, his Dad. The elder Doty, also named Keith, ran a successful electrical contracting business for 42 years. Doty said, "He was my coach, my teacher, and the biggest supporter when I decided to start my own business."

Employing old-fashioned business ethics that he learned from his father, Doty quickly built a business that was demanding more of his time and forcing him to choose between big business and his own business. No contest here; he walked away from Pratt & Whitney in 1992 and never looked back.