All Joel Theriault wanted was to make a copy of a document. Stopping at several stores in Black Forest, Theriault soon realized there wasn’t a single place there to make copies.Retired from Lockheed Martin Corp., Theriault was looking for a business opportunity and stumbled upon a need he felt wasn’t being met. “I decided I wanted to open a copy center, but I knew I needed to do some research first,” Theriault said.Theriault visited the owner of Pack, Ship & More in the Safeway Center in Falcon to ask for some advice. He was told there wasn’t enough traffic in Black Forest to sustain a copy center business, but Pack, Ship & More was up for sale if he was interested.Theriault went home and discussed it with his wife, Moira, and the two decided to begin negotiations to purchase the business. Finalizing the deal in January 2005, the Theriaults became the owners and operators of Pack, Ship & More on February 1. The transition was seamless to the customers, with the exception of new faces behind the counter.The Theriaults weren’t content to carry on business as usual. “We have made several changes already, and there are several more we are planning,” Joel Theriault said. “Our computers are now connected through an Ethernet system, which is much more efficient.” They have also added a new color copier, a wide-format copier for large documents, such as home and landscaping blueprints, a new black-and-white copier, an additional point-of-sale station to speed up checkout for customers and 24 new post office boxes. Moira Theriault has also expanded the gift selection with unique gifts from around the world.Neither of the Theriaults are natives of Colorado. Joel Theriault is originally from Maine and Moira from Scotland. They met and married in Scotland while Joel was serving in the U.S. Navy. This August they will celebrate 35 years of marriage.The Theriaults have a son, who lives in California, and a daughter, who lives in Colorado Springs. They also have a teenage granddaughter, who lives with them and occasionally works in the store. “Joel and I are partners in life and partners in business,” Moira Theriault said. “We work well together. He’s great at the technical things and with customers. I’m the financial end and also like working with our customers.”The Theriaults have worked hard to improve Pack, Ship & More and to make it their own. “We are often here seven days a week, even if we aren’t open,” Joel said. “There’s ordering to do and lots of other paperwork.”That’s not to say that the two don’t kick up their heels once in awhile. Joel recently took a rare Sunday off to ride his trike (a three-wheeled motorcycle) with friends to Cripple Creek. “I build trikes, and really enjoy them but haven’t had much time to ride lately,” Joel Theriault said.Moira Theriault enjoys gardening and Scottish dance, and she and her husband are active in the Black Rose Acoustic Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to education, performance, enjoyment and the preservation of all types of traditional acoustic music. Moira is on the board of directors and Joel helps with the sound and organization of performances. She also plays the piano, and he plays the fiddle and mandolin. Their granddaughter also is an accomplished musician. “We are a very musical family,” Joel Theriault said.”We came to Colorado three years ago when Moira accepted a position with Agilent Corporation,” he said. “Moira was eventually laid-off, but we loved it here and decided to stay. Now we own a great business and really feel a part of the community.”
