The Cannata Report’s 40th Anniversary Awards & Charities Gala is raising funds for diabetes research in McGuirk’s memory.
It is my absolute honor to remember and celebrate my friend and colleague, Mike McGuirk.
I first met Mike twenty-five years ago. I remember that first time we met like it was yesterday, Mike’s huge smile – that smile told you who he was before he said a word.
Mike was a grateful man. He was genuinely so grateful for what he achieved, and never stopped appreciating it. He was grateful for this business, and for the people who mentored him. He was grateful for the respect that he earned in the imaging industry, and he never took any of it for granted.
Mike was grateful for his family most of all. For his wife, Kelly, whom he loved deeply. For his sons and his daughter. Mike told me how grateful he was to give his daughter away at her wedding before he passed. That moment meant everything to Mike.
Mike knew this business stone cold, from the streets to the board room. He never rested on what he accomplished yesterday, he was always ready to reinvent himself, and he could read a room better than anyone. Mike’s compassion for his people set him apart because he truly cared about them.
ProCopy was our first major acquisition, and it changed the trajectory of FlexTG. Mike went out on a limb to do that deal with us. Mike told the truth; he gave me the good news when it was good news. He gave me the hard news when it was hard news. Mike was a person I could go to when I needed clarity, because he was real, every single time. He trusted me, and when there were material issues , he told me face to face. We could agree to disagree, we could hug it out, Mike would leave and make it happen with a smile – there were never any excuses from Mike.
As many of you know, Mike battled diabetes for years. He faced it with grit and humor, and he never asked for sympathy. Mike would come to our Presidents meetings in a wheelchair, contributing with a smile while he was actually suffering, covering it up and saying nothing — he was a One-of-One human!
I love him like a brother & miss him. I am grateful for him. FlexTG would not be who we are without Mike McGuirk. On behalf of our company, thank you, my brother & go Sun Devils!
Frank Gaspari is the CEO of Flex Technology Group.