Experience and Optimism Cited in Selection
Condit’s leadership team made the unanimous decision to promote Donnie from his previous position of Project Developer and Estimator in late February.
“We believe that Donnie is best equipped to revive our operations rapidly once trade shows resume. Donnie has extensive connections to our industry and will be able to draw on these connections to get our capacity back quickly,” said CEO Mike McGowan. “In addition, Donnie has the temperament and positive outlook that I believe will help us rebuild this company.”
Read the full press release and learn more about Donnie below with a quick Condit Q&A!
Our Interview With Donnie MacDonald
1. What brought you to Denver?
We relocated from Wilmington, NC shortly after we had our first baby and decided to retire from the film industry in pursuits of a better family-friendly career path. We are fortunate to live in the mountains and try to take advantage of our local trail systems for hiking and any time spent outdoors. I am an avid snowboarder and cannot get enough days on the hill whether it be solo, with friends, or with the kids.
2. Tell us about your family.
Our daughter is the oldest of two, a Junior in high school, so the college planning starts now! She enjoys basketball and track, but this pandemic year has been tough on team sports participation options, she also takes classes in and loves photography.
Our son is the youngest and will be starting a new adventure in middle school next year. He has constantly rotating hobbies of anything outdoors, basketball, track, Lego and computer gaming exploits.
My wife has been an educator and now administrator at the same school both of our kids have attended their entire elementary schooling. She is an avid reader and spends lots of free time with our three rescue dogs and scheming how to convince us all that we just need “one more.”
3. What has been your pandemic “silver lining”?
Personally it has definitely been the extra time with the family, fixing lunch for the kids, trying to help with remote learning emergencies, etc. – all valuable time spent. Professionally, it has provided us with a unique opportunity to evaluate priorities as a company and get a different perspective of what is truly important, what could stand some updates, improvements or positive change.
4. What made you “get into” the trade show/events industry?
My college background is in design, and the discipline of exhibit design was glossed over as a career option that briefly piqued my interest. I then spent several years either designing or building creatively in film/TV, theater, and live events. During a short time in architectural millwork, I missed the creative collaboration that I crave. When I finally “landed” in this industry, I was thrilled at the prospect of the ever-changing challenges, material choices, technology and creativity we face with dimensional marketing. For me, it checks all the boxes and exercises both sides of the brain.
5. What were your first impressions of Condit? How have they changed over the years?
I, like most people lucky enough to visit our facility, was immediately impressed by the design and build-outs within our space. Upon first entering, it is made clear we have an amazing and innovative team at work within these walls.
I am most impressed about how our core team has weathered this difficult time we’ve all faced in the last year. Every employee has pitched in to do whatever it takes to push us through, with many volunteering to take on new and additional roles without pause or complaint. All of us are seem to have grown stronger as a result of a huge personal loss with Richard’s passing, while simultaneously dealing with the (temporary) loss of our beloved industry as we knew it.
6. What’s one piece of advice Richard gave you that you’ll carry into this new role?
Richard created the roles of Project Development as a way to expand the estimating department and put a focus on getting details with sales and design worked out at the beginning of workflow for more accurate pricing and handoff to Project Managers. His focus on protecting the companies interests while not sacrificing overall quality of product and experience is ingrained in all of us.
7. Where do you see Condit this time next year?
I see us all wrapping up our busiest season and taking a proud step back in awe that we are on track to the old “normal”. We are all exhausted yet cannot wait for the next big wave on the horizon!
To learn more about the Condit family, visit Our People page. To read more about our COVID-19 response, take a look at our pandemic updates.