Gene Gilmour | Mgadraft

Gene Gilmore

October 2024 Spotlight Golfer

As a high handicap golfer (and for good reasons), I contribute this achievement to my formal golf training as a young teen. This training mainly involved sneaking on to the local golf course and playing as many holes as possible without being caught. After playing many “practice rounds”, we developed a 7-hole course circuit on which we avoided detection. For us this was an early version of “speed golf” and it was here and at that time I honed and perfected my lack of golfing skills.

I grew up in a Pittsburgh suburb and graduated from Pitt with an engineering degree and an MBA. So, as a “real Pittsburgher”, what did I do after college? … got into the steel business! I spent close to 30 years in and around structural steel bridge design and fabrication until a light went off … why not just start your own steel bridge business?

As a result of that inspiration, I got together with a bridge engineering pal of mine from Alabama, and we started a bridge design & fabrication company specializing in steel pedestrian & trail bridges, portable “erector set” bridges and steel decks for bridges. Since my partner’s family owned an empty production plant in Alabama, that’s where we started our business. For the next 5 years, I commuted weekly between Pittsburgh and Alabama as we grew the business. Ultimately, we had to buy another production plant in Alabama to satisfy that growth.

It was during that growth spurt I moved to Florida (due to spousal issues) and rented a little bachelor condo right on the beach in Jacksonville Beach. Here I met a lovely gal, Vicki, who would become Mrs. Gilmore in the future. In my search for the future Mrs. Gilmore, I dated a lady from Grand Haven who belonged to the GH Golf Club, and I quickly became her golfing buddy, but not much more. However, now I had a good fix on Grand Haven and the time had come to buy a home and give up my bachelor beach condo. Therefore, Vicki and I arrived in GH about 9 years ago and bought what would be my future retirement pad … future because I was not yet retired. In April of 2021 Vicki and I married at the Lightner Museum in St. Augustine, and she became Mrs. Gilmore.

But an issue we all face, age, was creeping in on me. Therefore, about 4 years ago I decided to sell my ownership share in my company … as I had finally concluded - it was retirement time. So, my business partner & I separated the business into 2 businesses, one in each of the 2 production facilities we operated. I put all my stock in the one business and facility and sold that business to a new owner.

However, my retirement plan did not exactly work out the way I had assumed. The new owner asked me if I could stay on as a contract employee and consultant for just one year and I agreed. I recently signed my 5th “just one year” consulting contract. Retirement continues to pleasantly elude me.