In May/June 2013, Family Business Magazine featured an article on Day & Zimmermann (D&Z) and the family behind the organization.

While reading through the article, I learned a few new things. I didn’t know that D&Z were building the Gatun Lock System in the Panama Canal in 1908; in 1914, Hershey Foods asked D&Z to design the machines that wrap foil around the company’s famous Hershey’s Kisses; or that in 1961, Harold Yoh Sr. acquired Day & Zimmermann and folded his successful contract engineering firm into it.

100 years later, the Yoh legacy lives on. Through thoughtful planning, acquisitions and organic growth, the third generation Yoh’s, Hal, Mike and Bill have more than doubled sales growth since they assumed control of the organization in 1998.

All of these facts and history are relevant and help explain the success of Day & Zimmermann and Yoh today. However, what impacted me most about the article was the multi-generational legacy the Yoh family is building and leaving behind; not only to their family, but to their employees, their customers and the many contract employees providing services to Yoh and Day & Zimmermann’s customers every day.

Thinking about the Yoh legacy prompted me to think about my personal legacy, what legacy I’m building and one day will leave behind for my family, my professional network, my friends and my community. As a Strategic Account Director for Yoh, I hope my customers see me as a professional providing them with solutions to meet their day-to-day workforce challenges. I strive to not only teach, but to learn from my team and co-workers and help them grow professionally. I want to give Day & Zimmermann my best and brightest ideas and help solve problems and contribute to their ongoing growth.

Mike Yoh mentioned in the Family Business Magazine interview, “We don’t look at this like a collection of investments. This is what the Yoh family does.”

As the mother of four boys, I hope I leave each of them with a solid example of how hard work, integrity, perseverance, dedication and a sense of humor pays off in the end. I hope they’ll know that while work sometimes takes priority and although my time and attention has to be shared between four of them and this passion called “my J-O-B” (as we jokingly refer to my career) can sometimes interfere, that they are the reason I do what I do.

I’m proud to be a part of the Yoh legacy. As I continue to think about my legacy, I challenge you to do the same. What impact are you making in your career…your company…your community…your family? What’s your legacy? Why do you do what you do?

This post was written by Cindy Gurekovich. Cindy is a Strategic Account Director for Yoh. She is fairly new to the Yoh organization but has more than 25 years experience in the Staffing Industry. She is responsible for business development and account management for one of Yoh’s largest national customers. Cindy’s strengths include learning about and embracing her customer’s culture and designing workforce solutions to help them meet their goals and objectives.