Three Kings

Maggie and Steve spent last night grouting the new tile backsplash in the kitchen. Maggie was less than amused at this turn of events. Mom was out on the town.

I went to a Christmas Party last night at the St. Francis Yacht Club. It was a company party. I do not work for that company and never have. I went with my mother, but she never worked there either. No. We did not crash. We were invited. In fact, my mom was a special guest and I was her date. It was a party for a company that still bears by father’s name.

The company is now known as MOC insurance. This was the 40th anniversary of MOC – but M & O were there before C joined. It started out as Maroevich, then Maroevich & O’Shea and when my dad joined, it became Maroevich, O’Shea and Coghlan. We are the “C” in MOC. My dad was self-employed for many years. As he neared retirement (and none of us was stepping up to the plate), he sold to/joined with his old friends Bud Maroevich and Kevin O’Shea. These were not just business associates but all went to the same high school and stayed in the general “hood.” They had known each other for years. My dad figured he could avoid being swallowed up by a huge brokerage and preserve his business best by joining with these guys. He was right. Sort of.

MOC is not a small business anymore. Bud’s son Van has taken this agency and made it a huge success. Even with the growth, though, they have indeed managed to preserve that small business feel. Van pointed out that the business was not just his dad, but also him mom. Bud and Gladys started this business, worked together in it for many years and eventually brought in O’Shea and Coghlan. Van graciously pointed out that without Mrs. O’Shea and my mom the business could not have succeeded. He is right, of course. These guys could do what they did because they had supportive wives at home, or in Bud’s case, a supportive wife in the office.

Eventually, Van took over and brought this business into the 21st century. Van started working in his dad’s office as a young man. I like to think he’s still young…..but I know he is older than I am. I know that because I have known this family all my life. His (much) younger sister Lori has been a great friend of mine since I can remember. She and her sister Tery have worked at the company all along, giving that “family business feel” some credibility. They make an effort to include my mom and Mrs. O’Shea because they know the family business includes these families too. It is sweet and genuine and likely a reason for the continued success. The next generation is joining in now giving promise to the next 40 years. From what I saw last night, it is a large group of people who work hard and actually like one another. Most of their employees never met any of the three founders but they are carrying on in the same spirit.

MOC does its part in the community too. They support children, in fact, they have supported Advokids, one of the non-profits I work with, and they even buy pants for a local high school baseball team. That is cool. I hate it when baseball players don’t wear pants.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary there was a giant cake adorned with a picture of all three founders, M, O & C. Apparently that picture is in the conference room in the office. It is also in a small frame in my mom’s dining room. We call them the Three Kings or The Three Wise Men. They were wise, all three of them. All are gone now, but their legacy lives on. It makes me feel good, but it also makes me miss my dad. He would have loved being there last night with my mom and with Bud & Gladys and Kevin & Jean. Nonetheless, I’m sure all three kings and one queen were looking down on the night with pride.