Cummings Properties Recognized by U.S. Department of Defense

Photo: Left to right: George Charos, chairman of the Essex County division of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve; Tim Parziale, Cummings Properties field division manager; Anthony McDonald, Cummings Properties carpenter’s helper.

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The management team at Cummings Center recently received a surprise visit from a U.S. Department of Defense representative who delivered his personal thanks, along with a plaque, recognizing Cummings Properties for being a “patriotic employer.”

As the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve representative and chairman for Essex County, George Charos advocates for reservists’ rights within the workplace. According to Charos, it is often an unpleasant experience involving litigation.

“I spend only about 2 percent of my time making visits like this one to recognize exemplary employers,” said Charos. “The military enjoys thanking companies that appreciate and support their employees.”

This rare recognition came after Marine Corps reservist Anthony McDonald, a carpenter’s helper at Cummings Properties’ Dunham Road campus in Beverly, nominated the Company’s management team based on his own experience.

“From the beginning, they really appreciated that I was in the military,” said McDonald, a Gloucester resident and a Cummings employee for almost two years. “Everyone on the management team is very military friendly.”

The award was accepted by Cummings Properties field division manager Tim Parziale, who hired McDonald.

“Anthony is a valuable part of our team,” said Parziale, who has been with the commercial real estate firm for 26 years. “On more than one occasion, he was given the opportunity to extend his scheduled reserve training, and we’ve given him the latitude to say yes with no notice.”

McDonald joined the Marine Corps reserves three years ago and serves as a field radio operator with the 25th Marine Regiment out of Fort Devens. He started out on the Cummings grounds crew and plans to work his way up to carpenter one day.

“The Company has always supported employees who serve. It’s simply the right thing to do,” said Executive Vice President Eric Anderson, who served as a Marine Corps reservist for eight years and was called to active duty two times early in his career with Cummings.

According to Anderson, Cummings Properties employs many active reservists and veterans. Company founder Bill Cummings was himself a United States Army reservist, and Woburn resident George Holland, Cummings Properties’ longest-serving employee with 38 years of seniority, is a Marine veteran.

“We want a citizen service,” said Charos. “It’s one of the things that makes America great. People do their service, and then go back to work in their jobs in their home communities.”

Cummings Properties’ 10 million square feet of prime space accommodates offices, healthcare facilities, laboratories, retail storefronts, warehouses, co-working spaces, executive suites, and more. With a portfolio of this size and variety, the firm can meet almost any commercial real estate need from 150 square feet to 300,000 square feet. Its in-house experts in design, construction, and property management offer “one-stop shopping” for leasing clients.