A Tribute to Samba
It is with immense sadness that we announce the passing last month of Samba Corlett, one of our beloved office cats, at the tender age of 10 years old.
Samba was “hired” at Annex Pro at only 8 weeks of age, in 2010. Little did we know that his endearing and leadership qualities would make him an integral part of the family – first as a greeter of visitors and Chief Stress Reliever, but eventually becoming Office Supervisor. Even after his promotion he continued to run to the correct door when he heard one of the 2 unique bells (yes, he knew which sound meant the front door, and which mean the rear). Samba had made up his mind that his personal greetings were essential.
He did behave like an entitled son of the owner most of the time but despite the nepotism, he maintained a high degree of professionalism and performed his roles with passion.
Samba was smart and funny, followed directions (occasionally), gave directions (often) and was definite about how things should be done. For example, he provided input on numerous hiring prospects: if Samba sat on their lap, they were automatically in (he was not a lap cat). If he kept his distance, so did we…
He shared his duties with several dogs and another cat, but it was always clear who was in charge.
One of Samba’s few flaws was a case of “stepnophobia” (a fear of ladders – seriously, look it up). If you were a tradesperson silly enough to bring a ladder into our office, you didn’t have the privilege of meeting Samba – as soon as he saw a ladder, he hid out of sight until it was removed.
During his tenure at Annex Pro Samba gave plenty of useful feedback and provided suggestions on hiring, employee training, operations and even building structure. He was responsible for the policies on the employee manuals which included:
- Don’t leave a full water glass unattended on your desk
- Don’t roll back in your chair without first checking for greeters
- Don’t leave your open lunch unattended and if your lunch is chicken, please share
- Close all the doors gently, especially the bathroom, because the greeter might have (probably has) followed you in there
- Look carefully into every shipping carton before you seal it
- Make sure the inside “safety” doors are closed so the greeters don’t have access to the street
- Keep a spot cleared on your desk for the greeters to sleep
- Make sure you have treats
- Reserve 15 minutes of your day for belly rubbing of greeters
We thank everybody that reached out with amazing stories they shared with Samba, the best cat in the world, and an amazing employee. You will be happy to know that he didn’t suffer. He went to cat heaven peacefully, during a nap on a sunny weekday, contently “working” from home during COVID.
Samba will be missed by customers, vendors and our staff. We hope you had the pleasure of meeting him.
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