Today marks 6 years since we have lost someone that was a much bigger part of our lives than we ever realized. Someone who taught us leadership, the importance of friends and family and to appreciate and savor the good in the arts and in people. Josh Freeman was the owner of the company that changed our lives forever. That may sound like a strong statement, but almost 15 years later I have to say I firmly believe that.
We moved to the beach 15 years ago, a young couple with desire for something better. We were both able to get in with the Freeman Companies, at the time it was Sea Colony which then evolved into Freeman Communities, giving us experience in Marketing, Customer Service, and Construction. From that point not only did we meet amazing people who on some level are still in our lives today, but we gained perspective on the world around us and what we were capable of becoming. I became a mother and left the working world for a time, but Todd flourished and looked up to those who were the leaders among us.
Even after this world lost an amazing soul unexpectedly, we remember the lessons learned while knowing him. Little things but they mean so much. The photo he took of Todd & I with baby Nellie at 4th of July in Bethany Beach. The dinner we had with him and a couple others after setting up for a party, where we tried antelope, cuban cigars and 18 year old Scotch…some things that we never thought we would try. It is all in the experience. A couple months after his death, sitting in front of a big fireplace in The Plough & Stars in Old City Philadelphia, drinking Guinness in his honor and getting sentimental we decided to go across the street to get tattoos that simply say Live Better. Such simple words, yet they mean so much.
Cheers to you Josh!
Todd’s Remembrance from Last Year
15 Years ago I moved to the beach and got a job…. but I didn’t realize it then, but I didn’t just get a job I joined a family. Family defined as a group of people that shape you and your life, to push you and pull you; give you a pat on the back and a kick in the ass. People who inspire you in ways that are not even apparent till years later. This job Working for a Developer in Bethany Beach was more like College 2.0. The lessons were more difficult, the fun was richer and the net gain was exponentially greater for me and the company. In all this talk about corporate greed of today, I think back to the first corporation that I worked for – Freeman. “Corporation” was not a bad word back then, it was associated with culture. The corporate culture at Carl M. Freeman Companies was to never be satisfied with just succeeding and profiting, it was to educate, develop, and lead. To create leaders and entrepreneurs.
This idea stuck with me so much so that, five years ago I had it tattooed on my neck so it would be closest to my brain and to inspire the those that might follow me one day. Like I followed the leaders at Freeman. I owe a lot of these people a debt of gratitude, but today a special thank you to the man at the helm and in charge of it all – Josh Freeman. He may be gone from us for 5 years now but his legacy lives on in the culture of leaders he helped to create.
Thank you Josh.
All our love to Michelle and the family (of which I humbly feel part of)