JJCA 20th Milestone: Michael Speck

They say the new normal is to have had four jobs by the time you are 32. That means when someone hits a 20th anniversary, we think it is tremendously newsworthy. So it is that we begin a series of celebrations of our team members who are hitting this momentous milestone with Michael Speck, who began his career with JJCA 20 years ago in June 1997.

Two decades. 7300 days, plus a few more for leap years. That's a long time. Michael has worked directly on projects in at least 25 states and has pitched in on projects in several more. Maybe he'll get the 'all 50' badge in the next 20 years!

"Talk about longevity, Michael continues work with some of the same clients that he worked with in his first weeks at JJCA! John Albert with AHFD was program manager on his first project, and they continue to work on projects together today. And so here we discover one of Michael's secret weapons, a program manager who always looks out for his Owners, but also takes the time to be a mentor, teacher and friend. Michael says he'd be very pleased to find out 20 years from now that he'd managed to pass along a bit of John's wisdom to others."

Michael has seen his share of traditions develop at JJCA over the years, from the annual ornament contest - (he's won a few) to the annual barbecue anniversary celebration - (he's eaten a few sandwiches.) But the tradition Michael most enjoys is lunch. Yeah - we're guessing Michael liked lunch and recess best in grade school! But seriously, lunch IS a tradition at JJCA. On most days you'll find everyone who is not traveling gathered around the table in the "staffeteria" sharing a meal just like a family. Work hard, play hard, eat a meal together! That's the kind of balance that makes people want to stay at JJCA.

If you asked Michael what advice he'd give new recruits, he'd echo a bit of what everyone here at JJCA has learned from our participation in Strengths Finder: learn what you do best and then determine how to use those skills to benefit the JJCA team and our clients and their projects.

So Michael, what do you know now that you wish you'd known 20 years ago? Get ready...this is an "awwwww" moment. It's his wife, Becky. Michael had been at JJCA for about 10 years when he met his future wife. And he wishes he had met her in time for her to have had the chance to meet the elder "J" in JJCA, Ed Johnson. And if you were fortunate enough to have known Ed, Michael bets you'll understand.

Congratulations Michael.