There are reminders of the holiday season everywhere and both individuals and organizations are pitching in to give back this time of year. A local business, Santi Express, has holiday plans themselves to give back to the very community they serve. 

This Valley Cottage company aids the American Cancer Society with its holiday Elves program for community patients and families, collects food from its customers and then dontes it to the People to People "Move for Hunger Program." People to People is Rockland County's largest food pantry.

That's just the beginning of the long list of charities and programs Santi Express helps out. Santi Express assists the Rockland Family Shelter, United Hospice of Rockland, Home Aides Of Rockland, JCC of Rockland, and much more, not just during the holidays but year-round.

Owner Sheryl Santi Luks is a former Rockland Business Women's Network "Woman of the Year" recipient of 2006 and she also boasts a recent award for her reputable business with the 2010 recipient of the "Rockland Board of Realtors Affiliate of the Year" award two weeks ago. 

As well as having a big heart, they are also a very respectable business. If you need something wrapped, moved, stored, moved again, then unwrapped, and  the stress of moving in general is wearing on you, here are just the folks to help you out.

It all starts with an in-house estimate of what is to be moved, and ends when the final piece of your belongings are settled in your new place – boxes taken away and all.

Too good to be true? a 35-year-old moving, packing and unpacking, climate controlled storage company. Santi Express is a Certified Woman Owned Business Enterprise by the New York State Department if Education since 2002, and is not only the top moving company on the east coast, but countrywide.

Able to assist customers with their international moves as well as domestic, Santi Express serves commercial and residential clients, is the premier vendor of West Point, and is community-active.  Santi Express is affiliated with the Rockland County Board of Movers and Keller Williams Realty, and is one of two movers highly recommended by Coldwell Banker in Rockland, Orange, and Westchester Counties.

"It's hard enough to get a mortgage and close," said Santi Luks. "We take the stress out of moving."

A history of the company is imperative. In 1975, Sheryl and her late husband, John Santi, started a weekend moving business "by chance." "Rockland, in the 70s, was a step child of Bergen and Westchester County," Santi Luks recalls. "Then Rockland went through a boom."

Their first job, performed with a rental truck, was a special one, and it proves how commitment can lead to good things. "Our first commercial job was in December of 1976. A group of attorneys were moving to an office building in New City. We got the check," she says while laughing, "and we needed the check, but we needed to be incorporated." 

The business soon picked up, the Santis then bought their first truck, and were on the move. And that law office? They now represent Santi Express, a lasting relationship forged. "We are very indebted to the early folks and realtors who were and are very gracious with referrals. I'm very lucky with my staff, and people who continue to refer my business – being able to stay afloat (in touch economic times)."

Santi Express prospered, but the good times were interrupted. In 1985, John Santi passed away after a cancer battle, and Sheryl – a nurse by trade -- was on the fence about continuing the business. She summoned the courage to run it by her then five year old son, Evan. "He said to me, 'Daddy's name is on the truck.' That's all I needed to hear." It also gave her continued flexible hours to be able to spend time with her children.     

Santi Express originally had two separate offices; one each in Haverstraw and Suffern. In 2007, the company moved into a brand new, very comfortable and homey 11,000 square foot facility, and every square foot is needed, especially in the storage area. The size of the vaults on warrants much space, and this is proof that these folks, including Vanliner Insurance Co. Safe Driver Award winner Rich Shaffrey, are heavily relied on. The company has six trucks of varying sizes, and will be adding a seventh in 2011.

Sheryl Santi Luks has the support of many people, including some wonderful family members. Her current husband of 22 years, Ted Luks, is a big part of her life. "He is very supportive." So are her children from her marriage to John Santi, 33 year old Justin and 30 year old Evan, as well as stepchildren, 39 year old Howard and Rebecca, age 34. And 616 Corporate Drive in Valley Cottage, she is surrounded by a wonderful and very able staff. "It's like an extension of your home," Santi Luks affirms.

The next time you have to move, don't fret, stress or worry. Contact Santi Express and eliminate the stress. They'll treat your belongings like their own.

Clarkstown Executive Park, 616 Corporate Way, Suite 7, Valley Cottage

845-268-1600

www.santixpress.com