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You
could be anywhere right now, including retired, what keeps
you at Commodore?
I was absolutely bored with retirement. Just because I was
fortunate enough to retire, didn’t mean I was old enough to.
It was becoming painfully obvious to me that I still needed
something worthwhile to occupy my time…and I actually still
consider myself semi-retired because I’m only working five
days a week. What compels me at Commodore is the variety of
projects and the day-to-day interaction with all of the
younger employees here. Every day is different. Every
project represents unique challenges. I enjoy working with
people on an individual basis, rather than the 2,500 people
I’d see every day at the recreation center. It’s the
relationship end of the business that I like. Construction
is very different from the recreation business, but people
are the same. They want you to keep your word and follow
through. That’s what the warranty program is all about.
You’ve
raised a family. You’re on your second career and you’ve
been active in community service. What accomplishments in
your life are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of my family, my wife and my three children.
I’ve also enjoyed my work on the board of directors of GWARC
– a non-profit organization that houses, trains and educates
people with physical handicaps and special needs. I was on
the board for fifteen years and for my last three I was the
President.
What
are your favorite things to do when you have free time?
I have a few hobbies. Golf is top on my list. I’m a member
of a wine co-op. In a good year we average about fifteen
hundred bottles…that’s bottling, not drinking. And I also
like to cook.
What’s
your best recipe?
I don’t have recipes. For one thing, there’d be thousands.
But mainly, cooking is trial and error. I never make
something the same way twice. Food’s like life…why repeat
the same experience or the same recipe twice? Everything
evolves. I don’t get people who go back to the same place
for vacation every year. I feel the same about cooking. I
don’t ever try to make the same thing happen twice.
How do
you advise your children to balance their careers and
personal lives?
In my first career running the Wal-Lex, I had to schedule
myself to come home for two hours every afternoon, so I was
there when they got home from school. In business it’s so
easy to get carried away with day-to-day operations and not
make time for family. Children’s voices aren’t as loud as
customers’…they don’t make the same demands on you. So, if
you don’t make sure to have some type of daily contact with
them, you miss a part of your life that you never get back.
What
haven’t you done in your life that you’d like to do?
There
are three things on my list. One of them is to rent a Harley
in Miami and drive to Key West. I’d like to go to Italy
during the grape harvest and work at the vineyard – I’d like
to do it to see the whole process. And I’d like to meet my
granddaughter. She’s due in August, so I don’t have much
longer to wait.
Is
there one life experience in particular you can’t wait to
tell your first grandchild?
I’m not a storyteller. I’d rather tell her a joke…and lead
by example. But right now, I’m just looking forward to our
first meeting. A good joke-teller has to know his audience.
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