Friday, October 28, 1988 was my last day working at Manor Care as their in-house Architect. They were closing their Western U.S. office in Santa Ana after building several new Skilled Nursing Facilities in the Western US. Some employees were planning on moving to the Manor Care Headquarters in Silver Springs, Maryland. domain names For most, however, this was our last day with the company.
The next day, I woke up early and started cleaning out my garage and setting up drafting tables. Following in the footsteps of the Wright Brothers, Hewitt-Packard, Walt Disney and countless rock bands, I was going to be part of that great American tradition of starting my business in my garage. I made a small sign that said Gregg Maedo – Architect and taped it to the garage wall and by the end of the day, I was open for business.
As I lay awake that night I thought about the day and what it meant and as drifted off to sleep I wondered what the future would bring.
Today, 25 years later, Gregg Maedo + Associates, Inc. celebrates its 25th year anniversary of providing architectural and design services to its clients. As I look back and reflect on all those years, two things come to mind: how much I have learned and how thankful I am to all those who have helped me.
First, thank you to my dad and mom for supporting and teaching me to follow my heart, to do my best and to believe in my dreams. Thanks for supporting me to be an architect and inspiring me to use the profession to help others. I learned that dedicating my efforts to take care of our seniors gave me so much more back than I could ever give.
I learned how content I felt when I accomplished something by myself but how much more satisfied I felt and how much more fulfilled I was when I did it as part of a team. Thank you to all those teammates that surrounded me, that lead, taught, supported and mentored me.
Thank you to all our clients, those great people that give architects life and purpose. It has been a true privilege to serve them and to be part of their team to fulfill their dreams and aspirations by doing what I love to do, being an Architect. The size of their bank accounts were impressive but I learned it was the size of their hearts that drove them, and the amount of passion in what they did that guided them, that was truly impressive.
Thank you to all those talented consultants, contractors and all those other great collaborators that were part of our team. To accomplish something really special, I learned you cannot do it alone, you needed to surround yourself with good people. I also leaned that when you can call those people your friends, you have gained something so much more special and valuable than the success of that project.
As I look back on these 25 years, I stand in awe of and am truly humbled by the people who have been a part of GM+A. I know I would not be where I am today without the team here in the office, whose hard work and dedication throughout the years have made GM+A what it is today. To those with whom I have worked and who have helped me in achieving success and more importantly for supporting and picking me up when I needed help, thank you very much.
Sometimes when I look back through the years on all the people who have come and gone, and think about all the trials and tribulations we experienced together. The thought drifts though my mind that I may never get to work with them ever again; and I do feel a deep sadness. However, I’ve learned that the sadness I feel does give meaning and value to our time working together and what we accomplished remains and does not go away.
Finally, thank you to Gladys Makabenta for being a wonderful business partner. I remember the countless hours working deep into the night, waking up from a brief sleep under my desk early in the morning and all those around the clock all-nighters to get things done. During those moments of emotional, mental and physical fatigue, I used to wonder if all that time was worth it. I’ve learned that time is what is truly valuable but it is not lost if not wasted and it is possible to get back your time. Thank you Gladys for giving me back my time, thank you for allowing me to fulfill my life as a dad and to do all those other things that life provides.
As I look to the future, I reflect on how magical a journey it has been–from the founding of my business in my garage, to being able to add the A in Gregg Maedo + “Associates”. The projects successfully realized are a measuring stick for an Architect; however, I’ve learned that it is all the people whom I’ve met and worked with that really have made these last 25 years truly special……and to all those people, I say thank you.
Sometimes at night, I see their faces I feel the traces they’ve left on my soul Those are the memories that make me a wealthy soul
Bob Seeger “Travelin Man”
