A Couple in Business: Camp Friendship Turns into Successful Partnership Decades Later

Let me introduce us — I’m Ilene B. Greene, my husband is Ted Polmar and we are a married couple who run a successful business. Our story, however, I believe is unique. We met when I was 13 and Ted was 15 at a summer sleep-away camp outside Rhinebeck, New York. We were both born & raised in Brooklyn, NY and we were good friends that summer along with a great group of teens. As these things often go, over the next couple of years we all drifted apart, went off to different colleges, married, started careers and families…and divorced our first spouses. 

I started my own advertising and marketing company, MarketShare Communications, initially out of a spare bedroom. I was married to my first husband at the time and raising my children. I was able to make my own hours, meet clients during the day when the kids were in school and do my work at night and on weekends, yet still be an involved “mom” when they were home. Over time the business grew, I took an office and a partner and expanded to a staff of seven including graphic designers, promotional products salesperson and admin assistant.

Unbeknownst to me, Ted was following a very similar path, growing his company, Design Graphics, during those same years – and not far from where I was doing business. We probably passed each other many times, yet never actually met, odd in an industry where everyone knows everyone. It was February 2002 during a blizzard and I was heading to my car after leaving an appointment when I heard my name called. I looked around the parking lot and didn’t see anyone I recognized so I kept going. Heard my name again and a man approached me. He had a beard, was wearing an “Indiana Jones” hat and said to me, “Hi Ilene – what are you doing here?” He must have seen the look on my face which was, “Who is this guy?” because his next comment was, “You don’t remember me, do you?”

Turns out it was Ted from summer camp who recognized me after many years who had his own marketing & website development company just 15 minutes from where I had mine. We exchanged cards, he promised to call and we both parted. We soon made plans for lunch and met for lunch every month after that for over a year as we rekindled the friendship, caught up on each other’s lives and business experiences, and started to help each other out with a few projects from time to time.

Fast forward — after a year of rekindling the friendship and comparing business notes, we ended up dating, falling in love, merging our two companies and marrying. We truly are together 24/7/365!