A TRIBUTE TO OUR FOUNDER AND DAD: TOM BECKHAM

With my recent blog in honor of Mother’s Day and our founder/ mom, Merry Beckham, and with yesterday being Father’s day I wanted to continue this new tradition and honor my Dad. I always take Father’s Day to reflect on what an incredible dad my siblings and I had. Dad was my coach… in EVERYTHING and he was my very best friend! Even though he wasn’t a great athlete, he would pitch to me and catch passes from me. People talk about their Dad not missing games, my Dad never missed a practice, much less a game! He took me to every sports event imaginable. David and I especially treasure those times!

When talking to Amy she remembers the amount of love Dad showed her especially since they shared a birthday. She said “every year he made sure to make me feel special on this day. My dad had a goofy personality and had the biggest heart, I miss him every day.” Dad did everything to support us kids and kept us laughing along the way. He was a prankster and a jokester but he knew when to get down to business and he taught us to never compromise our integrity. That if we succeed or fail we do it as a team, this is especially true with Kingsgate.

As I said in my last post, which you can read here, my mom gave my dad the encouragement to get Kingsgate off the ground, but my dad had the industry knowledge and the customer relationships to make Kingsgate successful. My siblings and I LOVED working with dad. Except when David strolled in late and had to walk by Dad’s office… that usually meant a broom was going in his hands to sweep the warehouse floors.

Amy remembers how dad told us from the beginning what he expected from us. She especially cherishes those times Dad yelled out her name at the office when he needed something. I think the only hard part about working for our parents was that we never wanted to disappoint them.

I similarly remember Dad telling us how he wanted us to grow with the company. He trusted me to grow into my role as the leader of the company, he wanted and expected me to ascend to that role. And he taught me how to be a leader and a hard worker. Dad was the first one in and the last one out… no one outworked my dad. And as importantly, his commitment to excellence and the highest integrity remain rooted in all we do. I remember him saying, “there are people that may not necessarily like me, but no one will ever say I screwed them. We will always honor our word.”

I’ll end with my favorite “Tom story”… we were fishing on his boat in Naples and had just started talking about us kids taking over the company and I asked what advice he had… he said, “you’ve been running the company for a while, you know what you’re doing. Just make sure the taxes are always paid, and if we have anything left, make sure we give back.” Dad’s legacy is his commitment to sharing his successes – financial and otherwise. He was convinced that the company’s greatest successes were a direct result of my parents giving back to their church, their community and those close to them who needed a hand up. He was the most generous person I have ever known. I am beyond proud to call him my Dad!

Thanks, Dad, for everything you did for our family and for Kingsgate, we wouldn’t be here without you! We miss you every day.

Here’s a poem Amy wanted me to share that reminds her of our Dad.
Dad:
Remembering you is easy,
I do it every day.
Missing you is the heartache
That will never go away.
I Love you, Dad!!!
-author unknown

All the Best,
Jeff Beckham