The numbers roll by as Aegis marks 25th anniversary this year | Dowling

Members of the 2022 Aegis teams, 10 years apart thankful and gracious to be of service.
Members of the 2022 Aegis teams, 10 years apart thankful and gracious to be of service.

Have you seen that movie "A Beautiful Mind" where the guy is all about equations and numbers and writing it all over the walls? I think my brain feels like that in recent years after the pandemic and everything else going on in our world; minus the part about me actually being brilliant.

Swirling around are the number of days of the Ukrainian War, numbers on gas prices, the numbers of the President’s approval ratings, and the cost of meat at Whole Foods. Shazam! Also, strange numbers in sports are out there like the low number of wins from the not so mighty Seminoles and Gators.

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Remember when they battled for National Titles and were both in the top 10. Sigh.

How about the days since my last haircut, days since I have mowed the yard (sorry neighbors), days since I was at my high school weight (Ha, inconceivable number).

Life can be broken down to a series of numbers is my point; if you are not careful you can get stuck in a perpetual groove of life tasks and digits.

Stop, celebrate the milestones

One must, as the wisest of sayings goes, stop and smell the roses. Even better, don’t just smell them, appreciate them, think about it and celebrate it with those you love.

I think anniversaries are top of mind when it comes to celebrating things so let’s dive into some. I have had the honor of working at Aegis Business Technologies for 16 years, and our company is celebrating its 25th year anniversary this year.

Members of the 2012 Aegis teams.
Members of the 2012 Aegis teams.

I would like to celebrate and thank everyone who has worn the Aegis blue and fought alongside me over the years especially the team right now that just dealt with the most challenging run of years in our lifetime and to former team members Pam and Brad who started the company in 1997.

Happy 25 to ya A-team then, now and always. To everyone reading this I hope you are also celebrating an epic work anniversary.

Notable anniversaries

Around the state of Florida, April has some great historic anniversaries. On April 2, 1513, Ponce De Leon landed in Florida, and then on April 3, 2006, the Gator basketball team won their first national title. Very different but both important milestones.

Moving on to April 12, 1981 the Space Shuttle Columbia launched beginning our space shuttle program; and if you grew up around that time I can almost guarantee reading that line gave you chills. On the business front on April 19, 1930 the first Publix opened in Winter Havenl.

The fact that they have over 1,000 stores now and are an example of excellence in their trade is one cool fact. Growing up with Brunos, Winn Dixie and Piggly Wiggleys that you don’t see much anymore (I do love the Pigwig in Apalachicola) it is even a cooler fact seeing how far they have come.

I have seen a lot of folks in the hospital this year, a lot of bad news, as we all have so I am going to make sure to celebrate everyone in my life and all their anniversaries now more than ever.

Prayers and positive thoughts to all in need and now some local shout-outs.

Reelin' in the years, in Tally

TC Federal Bank is turning 5 years old this year. Congrats to them. Big Brothers Big Sisters just turned 50, congrats.

Our friends and neighbors at Aegis, architects EMI just celebrated 50 years in business (nice article by Ms. Waters, congrats Brad and Vaughn).

My wife and I recently passed the 10-year mark (mucho love there for my eternal best friend).

I have also had season tickets for UF football for 15 years with some old college friends (love and respect fellas).

30 years ago I graduated from Maclay School. How is that even possible, Jay, Spencer, Devon, Nat, Hadi, Roland etc? My stepids had birthdays this spring too, Happy Birthday to now adults, Reid and Mallory. Mom said she does not have birthdays anymore so happy non-March Bday, Mary Gene.

No matter what anniversary you are celebrating, don’t forget to do it. Life is a zero-control, full contact, beautiful and concurrently frightening sport as you can see constantly in our lives.

Therefore, we shall end with a profound quote sure to bring teary eyed inspiration to us all. For clarity on the human experience, we look to the 1981 cinematic masterpiece, the film, "The Cannonball Run."

This quote from the movie sums up the best way to embrace the day, celebrate life, and truly smell the roses “If your gonna be a bear, be a grizzly.” The end.

Blake Dowling is the CEO of Aegis Business Technologies, the host of the Biz & Tech Podcast, and the author of the book, Professionally Distanced. He writes for several organizations and he can be reached at dowlingb@aegisbiztech.com

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: The year in numbers: Aegis celebrates 25th anniversary