Making a full circle journey at Maclay School | Blake Dowling

Have you ever flown Silver Air? I think the aircraft we flew to Fort Lauderdale recently might have seen action in the Pacific during World War II prior to being in the Silver fleet. The prop plane noise is something special. The flight had the engine sound you hear in the movie "Airplane" that makes sure you have zero chance of catching some Zs onboard. But hey, they got us there safely, the Silver Bullet for the win.

Since I could not sleep, I did some window gazing and 2023 pondering. I started with the basics: I sure could use a Popeyes 10-piece box about now, then I advanced to higher level thoughts in my Zen like state: "is UF QB Mertz going to be a sleeper for the Heisman this year?" and even higher to "I am sure glad my wife joined me on this trip as Jeanne is the bomb.com for anyone that knows her." Then on to a recent invitation from my high school.

I was asked to join the Board of Trustees for Maclay in Tallahassee. Man, did that really bring back some memories. All kidding aside, very special memories from my 9th grade year. Having just moved to Tallahassee from LA (lower Alabama) I showed up at campus day 1 with my hi-top shoes, ripped jeans, and Tommy Hilfiger shirt in 1988.

The wardrobe was paired by a diesel-powered Southern accent, and I knew not one soul. 1988 me resembled some sort of maniac preppy hillbilly with an obsession for heavy metal music. So, the fact Maclay accepted me as is, was extraordinary as I will be the first to admit I my readings on the cool meter, or even the normal meter was far beyond low.

After a long first day that school put me on a path to graduate, and then to the University of Florida and then to launch my career which in 2023 has me in sunny (and very hot) Florida. Working in the Tallahassee market all these years later after my Maclay experience allows me to not only see some of my classmates from that era but work with them and their businesses. Very cool.

Life is funny sometimes (all the time actually), the ups and downs, but this invitation from Maclay comes around the time I am hitting 20 years back in Tallahassee since I returned from Gainesville and Atlanta. That's 20 years of getting married, getting un-married, running a business, working with some great not for profits like Treehouse and Big Brothers Big Sisters, getting Gator Football Season tickets with some old pals, watching them WIN a lot and then LOSE a lot. Such is the journey of life and football.

We all have those pivotal moments in life where the experience we have and the people we meet changes our path for the better. Maclay provided a truckload of those.

The school put me on the path to UF and all football humor aside, the guys I have had season tickets with for almost 20 years I would not know without Maclay. Specifically, because I went to UF after a weekend there with my Maclay friend Jay Smith, his brother Kevin was UF royalty, so much so that I changed my path from a lifetime of Roll Tide to one of Go Gators, in 48 hours. It was a heck of a weekend.

I will always be grateful for Tallahassee, for my high school experience, and for those persons that took a chance on Hillbilly Blake. The school’s focus on EACH student is what sets it apart. Dr. Spencer Stoetzel was the first friend I made, and I just talked to him today, 30 years later, that is cool.

Mr. Jablon, Mr. and Mrs. Obrecht, Mrs. Hathaway, Mrs. Carmada, Mrs. Moody, were all fantastic teachers, mentors, and leaders to me. Bonus, they were all still there when my stepson attended Maclay in recent years (Reid graduated 2017 and is now working in Tampa). Talk about an impressive legacy and an amazing life’s work for these educators and now friends.

Cheers to our roots, whatever they are and for remembering where you came from and saying thanks once you get to where you are going in life’s journey. Today, I wanted to make sure to do just that, so thank you.

I look forward to serving my alma mater, working with Head of School, James Milford and his impressive 2023 team as everyone is back on campuses around our state and nation. The Maclay logo says this underneath it and I think this is great advice for all of us, young and old regardless of your background: "Be Inspired. Be Determined. Be Unstoppable. Go Marauders."

Tune in to the Biz & Tech Podcast for James and I discussing all things education: Maclay School with James Milford on YouTube.

Blake Dowling is CEO of Aegis Business Technologies and can be reached at d-owlingb@aegibiztech.com

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Life's journey comes full circle with service at Maclay School