Lee Taylor
12/29/2007
1:33:08 PM | I will always remember Dan Hodgson as one of the brightest and most dependable sources of truth, humor and roofing skill, on the face of the earth.
I met Dan when I joined Centimark as a Project Manager in February 1994, and I don't know how things are nowadays, but when you started with Barry, Eugene and Sherman back in the 1990's, and you didn't know nuthin' about roofing, you joined a crew for a few months and gained an understanding of what you would be selling.
On my second roofing project, I got assigned to a spectacular tear off a completely underbid, nasty job with weak decking at the Steak and Ale in downtown Atlanta.
Dan was the foreman. His extra cool brother Wayne, the guilty underbidding Tech Man, Travis Kreitner and I were the core crew. We enjoyed mostly beautiful weather during April 1994, but when it rained, it rained hard and we got a little water in the building at the tie-in at least twice. We blamed that on Travis. With his penalty labor, and my free labor, I still don't think Dan had enough advantages on his side to bring in a profitable job!
What Dan did was make the job a lot of fun. We worked 12 hour days, laughing most of the time (the Hodgson brothers should have had their own comedy/variety television show) and when we stopped working we had a great time at Flamingo Joes and Daddy D'z.
The City inspector showed up on a Friday morning and cited our job for lacking a permit. It was Freaknik Friday, and in 1994, Black College Spring Break was a sensual delight of Cadillac's, SUV's, Boa Constrictors, and plenty of booty shakin' out of the back of convertibles and souped up Ford Fiestas. Dan sent me, on foot, with my personal checkbook, wearing smelly tear off clothes, southward on Peachtree Center Avenue to City Hall, to get a permit. In the middle of Freaknik's Fly Friday Funkfest, I kinda sorta stood out - but what a scene! I made it back with a permit, and put it on an expense report we roofed the rest of the afternoon to the sounds of Ice T and Dr. Dre, the rooftop view of total gridlock downtown and the sights of Atlanta's bygone 3 day mating ritual, Freaknik! Can you imagine the banter between Dan and Wayne that day?!? We laughed our asses off.
Dan and I spent 100's of hours together taking great care of our biggest client in Valdosta, the South Georgia Medical Center. His roofing skills were only matched by his leadership skills. The reason that South Georgia Medical Center kept sending us business is because Dan Hodgson charmed the entire hospital - from the executive suite to the housekeepers, for 4+ years. They loved Dan in Valdosta and Dan and I enjoyed spending our time away from home taking care of those terrific clients we also went out drinking and eating probably 200 times together, and we spent countless hours digging the music of Rage Against The Machine and Govt. Mule. When I left Centimark in 1999, I knew that Dan would go on and do great things with his career.
I got word that Dan suffered a heart attack at way too early an age on the day after he died. The first words out of my mouth were "I loved that guy." I last saw Dan when he, Wayne and I gathered for the 10 year anniversary of the Steak and Ale roof job in May 2004. We met at Daddy D'z for some smokin' BBQ and if we knew where to find Travis Kreitner, we might have even invited him. Dan was hilarious as always, but the most remarkable thing about that day was learning about his new family, his lovely wife and the new children in his life. His legacy since joining Centimark is one of leadership, stellar service, and friendship to 1000's of people who came and went in his life. His legacy as a Father and a Gentleman is an example to us all.
Dan Hodgson "unforgettable.'
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