For the last 29 years, Mr. Mark Pennington has been at the beating heart of Gardner/Fox Associates in Bryn Mawr, PA. In 1987, Pennington signed on with Brook Gardner and Mark Fox to start the successful construction management company. Mark’s role was principally to handle all business matters within the office that were not directly related to design or construction in order to facilitate the everyday functions of the architects and builders.  With Mark filling the gaps and handling all of the behind the scenes work necessary to run a successful business, Gardner and Fox were able to do what they do best: design and build.

Mark worked as the head of Human Resources, IT and accounting – thus Mark had essentially been the problem-solver of the office environment.  If wearing so many hats were not enough, Mark also lead numerous volunteer ventures and organized dozens of events for employees and vendors.  He made it his mission to make Gardner/Fox a wonderful place to work, and succeeded in establishing an employee base where everyone feels valued and appreciated.

In his final comments about Gardner/Fox before starting his retirement, Mark said he couldn’t have asked for a better place to work. In the ever challenging industry of construction, he was never bored. It was fun to see the amazing things that Gardner/Fox had designed and built over the years. Mark also said the most satisfying part of working at Gardner/Fox was being able to see employees grow in the business and raise families.

In his retirement (which he insisted is only a sabbatical), Mark plans on traveling to New Zealand, Patagonia, and Scotland. For now, his upcoming adventure is a road trip to the Pacific North West.

We wish you luck where ever you find yourself Mark! Thank you for the amazing job that you have done, and we’ll miss you here at GFA!