On May 30, 2022, we celebrated 50 years as a company. It is incredible to see how much we have grown from those humble beginnings in my parent’s New York basement back in 1972. Over the years, we transitioned from an outcome-driven company to a process-driven company. A quarter-century ago, while we celebrated our 25th Anniversary, we recognized that you cannot always control the outcome, but you can always control the process. That process defines the mission of Kokolakis. It is not just about making money. It is about focusing on the fundamentals that impact the day-to-day progress of a job. Today, as we celebrate our 50th year, we have successfully and profitably delivered billions of dollars worth of projects on time and on budget while adhering to those basic principles.

Anniversaries, though, are also a “day of reckoning”. They are a fixed point in time when you tabulate the positives and the negatives of the past fifty years. You fondly recall the good jobs and nostalgically cringe when thinking of the bad ones. You measure how you used your time over that period. What you did right and what you did wrong. This is when you step back and measure, like an accountant, the value of every aspect of your work life and determine what was important. As I look back, I could not be prouder.

For the past fifty years, we have grown deep roots in our industry and our community. We have earned the respect of both our clients and our competitors. We have built a reputation as honest, hardworking, tough, prepared, and accountable professionals who love their job. It has never been about what we do. It is about how we do it. With honor and integrity. That is our foundation, our culture, and the only thing that matters.

I am humbled by what we have accomplished over the past five decades. While it is always important to look back, we must never lose focus of where we are headed. We didn’t come this far only to come this far!!

Cheers to the next 50 years!