Gekko Stefanovich-Top Dog
February 20, 1992 – September 2, 2007
Play, a Richmond-based consulting firm, mourns the passing of co-founder andbeloved colleague Gekko Stefanovich, who died Sunday, September 2, 2007 at the age of 73 in human years) .
As a business partner and family member, Gekko supported brother and sister team, Andy and Christine Stefanovich grow a small event production company (Opus Event Marketing) into an internationally recognized leader in field of innovation and creativity for business.
As a golden retriever mix, Gekko was not technically a member of the working breed, but enjoyed a thirteen year career at Play in the position of “Top Dog.” Rarely missing a day of work, Gekko kept her paw in many areas of the business, including operations, new business, accounts receivable, reception, HR and recruiting. Of her many responsibilities, she is most fondly remembered for her expertise and unwavering standards in organizational behavior.
When designing the move to Play’s current offices in Shockoe Bottom in 1999, Gekko was instrumental in achieving an open floor plan that fostered a sense of collaboration. During her tenure, Gekko insisted on an open door policy, and it was not unusual for any closed to door to be met with a gentle (but reproaching) scratch to preserve the spirit of openness and transparency that characterized her career.
Gekko’s legacy touched business partners, prospective employees and a creative community across the world. As the unofficial first stage gate in Play’s recruiting and hiring process, she was the recipient of numerous creative, lavish and delicious gifts and correspondences over the years. Dog bones, short films, portraits and even a custom-made, personalized dog bed have accompanied resumes over years.
Predisposed with a gentle nature and an easy smile, Gekko was also a shrewd business role model. True to her birth-right as a retriever, she famously addressed a past-due client with customary wit and tact. A personal shaggy dog story sent in the form of a fax resulted in the collection of $93,000 and a dog bone delivered by overnight express. Ever a sentinel to any delivery person, Gekko’s bark regularly announced the arrival of visitors, UPS drivers and postal carriers. On the rare days she was not in the office, teammates were known to do their best imitation to fill the void and maintain the tradition.
To the end, Gekko contributed to Play’s creative content and the perspective-shifting insights at the core the work. Her frequently postings to Play’s blog (thinkaboutitharder.com) are testament to the breed of thinking that Gekko inspired. She will be fondly remembered as loyal, playful, hungry and big-hearted by clients, partners, friends and the Play team alike.
Gekko is survived by her loving “people” – parents Andy and Jill Stefanovich and twin sisters Grace and Lotti. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Gekko’s name to the Richmond SPCA: www.richmond spca.org, (804) 643-6785
*This is posted on behalf of all Play teammates past and present. Gekko will be memorialized through her continual posts to our blog. As Robert said, "who knew heaven was a HotSpot".
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