Claude Lachapelle describes the last two decades in the Coachella Valley as an example of the American Dream.

“I spent a winter here and I forgot to go back home,” said Lachapelle, who is originally from Montreal, Canada.

His brother was in the concrete resurfacing business so Lachapelle started knocking on doors to drum up business. That led to a  job not in Coachella Valley but in Bakersfield for a motel chain.

Along the way, Lachapelle met his wife, Linda, who joined him in the business, Econo-Crete in Palm Desert. The company specializes in resurfacing and restoring patios, pool decking, driveways and walkways, interior flooring and garage flooring.

One day Linda received a call from a Marriott Hotel.

“She talked with the manager there and they hired us,” Lachapelle said. “Since then, we have sold more than 80 projects to the Marriott Hotels.”

The company now has 15 employees.

In Canada, he was in the automobile business and was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1995. He moved to the Coachella Valley for his health.

“I decided to come to Palm Springs for the winters to help me out,” he said.

He loves the warm winters here and the dry air. He kept his house in Canada and goes there every summer, although this year he didn’t make his usual trip because of COVID-19.

He also has a boat that he keeps in San Diego, which he sometimes takes out three or four times a week.

The secret to business success is honesty and good service, Lachapelle said. 

“The American Dream is to come to America and make something big,” he said. “I’m very happy about the American Dream.”

It also requires hard work, Lachapelle cautions. 

Even after more than 25 years of owning the business, he still goes in frequently to help his employees.

“There’s always something that needs to be done in the business,” he said. “But we just love it. We’re very, very happy. “

In 2008, he became a United States citizen, and the life he has built is here in the state and country that he loves.

The people of the Coachella Valley have also been a key to a successful business and life.

“They have been very good to us,” Lachapelle said. “In the 25 years I’ve been here, I’ve been treated perfectly. I can’t complain about that at all.”