You know how you walk into a space that’s new to you and get an immediate vibe?

Maybe it’s a warm vibe or a cool vibe (or “groovy,” for you old-timers), or even a get-me-out-of-here-right-now vibe.

The best way to describe the vibe I felt when I first crossed the threshold of the Falcon’s Creative Group office was enchanting. Hanging on the wall, a large, glowing Falcon’s logo drew my attention. It was beautiful and sleek, and it somehow suggested that powerful and imaginative things happen here.

After a short walk down a hallway featuring an array of circular mirrors, which was purposefully designed to draw you in, I stepped into an open space and saw the magnificent tree that looks like it grew straight out of the pages of a Tim Burton script. I knew this tree because I had been a long-time fangirl of the creative design studio that Cecil D. Magpuri started twenty years ago in Orlando, FL. I was very aware of the quality of Falcon’s work in the themed entertainment industry and wanted to become part of the team, and now here I am!

On my first day, I immediately noticed a different sort of atmosphere in the office compared to other places where I had earned a living. Employees aren’t clock-punchers who scatter in a million different directions when it’s time to go to lunch or go home. There is a genuine sense of camaraderie. We hang out with each other after hours, buy presents for each other, share food, do volunteer activities together, create silly Photoshops of our desk mates…the list goes on.

This tight-knit community can be attributed to Cecil, the visionary force behind Falcon’s. But as all success stories go, he didn’t do it alone. By his side the entire time has been his brilliant wife, Marty, a financial and accounting wiz who can also speak legalese, and Yvette Whittaker, a pragmatic and optimistic leader who is a nurturing role model, too. She is now our Executive Vice President of Operations.

To commemorate the founding of Falcon’s twenty years ago, I asked Cecil and Yvette to take a trip down memory lane, and they gave me a generous amount of time, which is par for the course around here. Generosity is ingrained in Falcon’s DNA.

When Yvette met Cecil for the first time in January of 1999, she was looking to get back into the workforce after giving the stay-at-home mom profession a shot. She craved the challenges that a fulfilling career would offer. With the help of a supportive husband, who always encouraged her to do what made her happy, and her wonderful parents, who could help with the young kids, Yvette started to seek opportunities.

Having begun her career in hospital pharmaceutical management, Yvette knew what it took to successfully navigate complex worlds, but she didn’t want to go back to the medical profession. Instead, she sought a fresh start, something unique, so she answered Cecil’s ad that was printed in the Sunday paper. The headline was “Office Manager for an entertainment company.” She thought, “Sounds like fun!”

During their initial meeting at a restaurant, Yvette formed an impression of Cecil. He was “super chill, friendly, and smart.” She felt comfortable around him and knew she could be herself. She was also impressed with Cecil’s imaginative thinking and logical thought process. Many times, those characteristics do not reside within the same body.

Cecil told her that a west coast media company hired him to start an entertainment division in Orlando. He said,“We are in the business of fun.” Yvette was hooked, and after a few weeks, she joined the company.

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