Michael Spitzer:
CLASS OF 1981
Harrisonburg High SchoolClass of 1981
Harrisonburg, VA
Michael's Story
Quick Life synopsis -
After graduating HHS, I worked 40 hours a week and paid my way thru JMU with a BS in Chemistry.
48 hours after graduating JMU, I headed to Florida in my 1969 Beetle with $100 to my name and everything I owned in the backseat.
Got my first job as an Environmental Chemist in Miami Florida in May 1985.
Spent alot of time SCUBA diving, boating, swimming and enjoying the tropical lifestyle.
By 1992, I thought I had learned enough about the Environmental industry to break out on my own.
Some other partners and I went solo and started Precision Environmental Laboratory.
A combination of fresh ideas, long hours, and luck made us the largest testing lab in Florida in 7 years.
Among our most high profile jobs was acting as advisors for the two (2) films -- TRUE LIES and THE SPECIALIST that were filmed in Miami in the early 90s.
In 1999, we were approached by a large British Corporation who acquired us.
I "semi-retired" in 1999 and started doing independent Business Consulting for a variety of businesses including the music industry where I was artist manager for guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen for a few years.
My wife and I also had the opportunity to travel during this time.
We have been to all...Expand for more
of Europe and also Asia (China, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, etc...etc..etc..)
Now I look at South Florida today and realize it is no longer the same Tropical Paradise I came to 25 years ago.
The orange groves, cattle and horses are mostly gone -- all replaced with concrete, asphalt, and urban sprawl.
When I moved here in 1985, this was still the "classic old Florida" with maybe 1.5 million people living between West Palm Beach and Key West.
Today, there are 5.8 million people living here and it feels more like Los Angeles than the South Florida I used to love.
The urban growth and demographic shift is not slowing down... 250 new people move here every day.
So much like Rambo in the 2008 movie, we are working on coming "full circle" in life.
Since we have had our fill of "big city" living and would prefer to never have a neighbor within 1/2 mile of us every again, we searched and searched for a suitable piece of property to relocate.
We recently acquired 100+ acres of secluded mountain land near the Valley and look to move back to "God's Country" sometime in the next 1-3 years (as construction and the economy permit).
That about sums up the last 25 years in a nutshell !
Nuff said.
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