A tribute to my mentor, Phil Coakley. There were 3 men in my life who I allowed to call me Pamie…the first my dad, the second my husband and the third was Phil. That alone speaks volumes of my respect for him. Working for Phil was an adventure, a challenge and rewarding. He challenged you to be the best, do your best and work for the good of the company. He often told the story of a young man, Jim, who worked on the railroad and another young man, Joe, who worked for the railroad. They both were employed at the same time. Many years passed, Jim went to his retirement party and he received his obligatory retirement gold watch from Joe. They chatted and Jim said to Joe…”I don’t understand we started working the same day at the company and you are now the owner. I went to work every day and did my job. How did you become the owner?” Joe, simply stated….”you went to work on the railroad; I, simply, worked day in and day out for the railroad.” With Phil, you worked for him. He brought out the best in you and was always teaching you how to be better. Sometimes, I felt like I was at a track meet trying to catch up. As I completed one task, he was already setting up the next. We were like a well-oiled machine and we never missed a beat. Leaving my position at AAPCO was a decision I immediately regretted. After a short tenure elsewhere, I returned to ESE, a company he had partial ownership in at the time. I was so nervous to face Phil again. My decision to leave AAPCO was not received well by him. The first day at ESE he came to see me; opened his arms, and gave me a hug. Thank you for that, Phil. You relieved a very guilty conscience. Phil’s business plan is what everyone in the industry uses to this day. He was the one that encouraged me to get my own contractor’s license. “Pamie, you can accomplish anything you want.” Over the years, I have not seen much of Phil but I have missed his words of encouragement and sarcasm. Words to describe the impact he had on the construction industry fail me. He was a Giant; he was a pioneer; he was a wealth of knowledge and he was generous to a fault. Rest in Peace, Phil, anyone who walked with you was touched by your genius.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 17:47:11 +0000
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