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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 49 "Alan enjoys working with young entrepreneurs in the community, sharing advice and providing guidance." – Greg Robinson COVER STORY INDUSTRY INSIGHT INDUSTRY INSIGHT young couple packed their baby daughter and their suitcases; invested $12 to fill the gas tank of their Nissan Altima; spent a few more bucks on a dozen bagels and drove to Cleveland, where they stayed in Klein's parents' apartment while they were in Florida for the winter. "Robert told me, 'Keep your apartment in Brooklyn. Try it. If you want to return to New York, you can always go back,' so he did it in a very wise way," Jaffa recalls. Six months later, the Jaffas looked at each other, with the question "You want to stay" dangling between them. ey stayed. "Of course, my wife and her mother had a house for us the next day," Jaffa wisecracks. Of the transition required, Jaffa says, "e reality is, while I did fall in love with Cleveland, it was very difficult to leave home. I fell in love with the business first." Of his son-in-law who started at Safeguard at the boots-on-the-ground level of field inspections and climbed all the way up to CEO, Robert Klein deadpans, "I gave Alan the two best things in my life: my daughter and my company." Today, Jaffa, 43, has deeply entrenched himself in his adopted hometown, where he is closely involved in the Jewish community and the corporate community, serving on several boards. His family is his first love. His oldest, the baby who migrated from Brooklyn to Cleveland with them, is 21 and recently got married. She and her two brothers no longer live at home. Jaffa and his wife reside with their youngest daughter in a home that on weekends is often graced by visitors young and old, who are there to be mentored by Jaffa or just share friendship and conversation. "Alan enjoys working with young entrepreneurs in the community, sharing advice and providing guidance," attests Greg Robinson, Safeguard's CFO. Jaffa revels in his life and knows he has much to look forward to at home and at the office, including all those great conversations. Although, he does admit feeling some trepidation about one thing very certain to haunt him down the road. "I'm sure I'll eventually see a blooper reel from my takes for the 'Java with Jaffa' videos," he says. "It's going to be very embarrassing for me and funny for everyone else, but I love doing those."