About Us
The name Panda Inspections is a bit different, but comes from a wonderful story. The owner, Donald Keyser, went on a mission trip in 2011 to Jamaica. The purpose of the trip was to help build a new home for a very elderly widow who was the caregiver to her great grand daughter. Their home was literally falling apart and sliding down the side of the hill they lived on.
If you haven't been to Jamaica, just know this wasn't the white sand beach area. It was up in the mountains in the St. James Parish not far from Marchmont Square. It was summer, it was hot, and dreadfully humid.
The home was built from the ground up with help from the others from the mission group and two local builders. Wood logs were used as the pilings, the floor was framed and laid out, then the wall framing. The roof framing was next, but there were no ladders and nobody was volunteering to get on top of the wall framing to start framing the roof. This is where Donald stepped up, he volunteered to climb the wall and do what was needed. As you can see in the picture, the wall was not supported well, and was not anywhere close sturdy. Up the wall he climbed and started working.
You have to know, building codes in the US do not apply outside of the US. These walls were held together by a toe nail at the bottom, temporary scabs of wood in the middle, and "one big nail" at the top as the local builder said to do. You can see this in the pictures below. To say any of it was safe, well nobody said that at all. The job needed to get done though.
Right about this time, the Pastor (Pastor Mike) came walking down the road next to the house. As its summer in Jamaica, he was very hot, and soaked in sweat, as was everyone else. As he was coming down, he saw Donald climbing around the framing. He got to a clearing and Donald noticed him. Pastor Mike then pointed at Donald in his sweaty glory with a huge smile and said, "Kung Fu Panda."
Donald was confused, but said "OK Mike, Kung Fu Panda." Work continued for a couple hours and then everyone went back to the church they were staying at to clean up and have dinner. After dinner, the group got together for stories of the day. This is where Pastor Mike shared about Donald. He told everyone how Donald was climbing up the walls like King Fu Panda climbed for the dumplings (If you don't understand, go watch the first Kung Fu Panda movie, you won't be disappointed). Everyone enjoyed it, and then the name stuck.
Everyone started calling Donald "Kung Fu Panda". It happens the Donald is also a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, so after showing his skills off to the local kids the name stuck even more. Donald kept going to Jamaica on more trips for over a decade. To this day, down in the Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica, and a few spots in the US, there dozens of kids and adults who know a guy named King Fu Panda. They might not know that his real name is Donald, but that's ok with him. He still lives up to the nick name getting the job done when the need arises.
April Employee of the Month
Donald is April's Employee of the Month! For being the best employee this month he deserves some attention. When he's not doing home inspections, he enjoys crushing things, like this coconut. Donald loves sharing his martial arts knowledge about as much as he enjoys crushing fruits. As the employee of the month he will get one day paid vacation and a pat on the back. A soft one though so he doesnt crush anything.
Congratulations Donald!
March Employee of the Month
Aubrey is March's Employee of the Month! After finding out that children can be employee's so long as they dont actually do more than 15 minutes of work ever, she is officially an employee (at least for March). Why does her dad, Donald, do home inspections you ask? That smile is why, and that is why she is March's Employee of the Month. She will get 1 day paid vacation and some candy because she likes that better than a pat on the back. Congratulations Aubrey!
February Employee of the Month
Donald is February's employee of the month, only because his daughter Aubrey is too young to be an employee without somebody complaining about child labor laws. She's really an awesome daughter, keeps Donald on his toes and a smile on his heart and is constantly teaching him the importance of patience. One day she'll officially be an employee, but for now Donald will do the honor of being employee of the month for her. Here they are at the 2023 Martial Arts History Hall of Fame Awards in Orlando, Fl. They both like to break things and breaking them together is always more fun! As employee of the month, he will get 1 day paid vacation to spend with Aubrey and a pat on the back! Congratulations Donald!
January Employee of the Month
What a great way to start of 2023 than to be Employee of the month! Here's a photo (while not a great one unfortunately) of Donald training hard to improve his abilities for inspections by practicing with a drone. The ability to use a drone to be able to inspect areas of a home that are inaccessible is a huge help to homeowners and potential home owners wanting to know the most about their home. He will get 1 day paid vacation and a double pat on the back! Congratulations Donald!
December Employee of the Month
Donald is this months employee of the month. He's the only employee, so we believe the voters for this accomplishment were a little bias. Nonetheless, for all the hard work that he has done he is awarded the last Employee of the Month award for 2022. He is looking forward to a busy and exciting new year. He will get 1 day paid vacation and a pat on the back. Congratulations Donald!
November Employee of the Month
Kiara is this months employee of the month. She has worked diligently to keep Donald's feet warm while he was doing office work, and scared off a few butterflies while off on a walk. She gets 1 day paid vacation and an extra biscuit. Congratulations Kiara!
October Employee of the Month
Donald is this months employee of the month. After spending months to train, get licensed, insured, certified, and start his new business, he deserves at least a smidgen of credit. It'll probably be the last time, but he's ok with that. He will get one day paid vacation and a pat on the back. Congratulations Donald!
September Employee of the Month
Britney is Septembers employee of the month, and the First Official Employee of the Month for Panda Inspections Inc. Sure, Panda Inspections hadn't event officially started business in September (Officially started business October 1, 2022)
If it weren't for Britney's encouragement though, Donald possibly wouldn't have gotten the hours upon hours of studying, the state home inspector licensing, InterNACHI certifications, or any of the "official" stuff that you have to do in order to start a business.
She was fire under Donald's butt to get it done and the comforting wife when he needed a break. No other person deserves the first official employee of the month designation than Britney! She will get one day paid vacation (all ready used it up 100x over by now) and a extra long hug.