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No matter what you accomplish in your life, the most important thing is to be willing to give back to the community and the people who have helped you.
Rather, it's to pay it forward, according to Anthony Mougianis.
"We all are influenced, every day, by the people we choose to associate with," the local businessman said while speaking during Wednesday's meeting of the Steubenville Rotary Club at the JeffCo Event Center.
"I learned a long time ago that for the first 40 years of your life, you work at making a living -- that's our focus," he explained. "And, in a sense, you are taking, you are taking and you are taking. Then, for the next 40, if we're fortunate to be given that, and beyond, our obligation, or at least my belief, is that you give back. Better said, you pay it forward."
Mougianis, who was the speaker at the club's biweekly gathering, discussed his philosophy toward life and offered an overview of his businesses and the work he and his employees do in the community.
"You can never pay it back, because the past is gone," he said. "The people who have helped us, our parents, our grandparents and the people who have influenced us the most might be gone, but we can pay it ahead -- we can pay it forward.
A 1976 graduate of Steubenville High School, Mougianis said he returned to the city in the early 1980s after having lived in Columbus for several years after college. He joined with his then-brother-in-law to start his first business, Alexander the Great Carpet Cleaners, in 1983.
"Coming back at that time was quite a shock," he said, adding that his father had held some doubts about how his time in the central part of the state would turn out.
"He was petrified -- he wondered, "Is he going to survive? Is he doing to make it? And, lo and behold, I made it and came back home," Mougianis remembered.
Among the lessons that he learned early on was the importance of being industrious, he added, saying that's an important thing for the younger generation to remember.
"I concern myself with the generations of the future, and the work ethic they are being taught," Mougianis said. "I know that my family gave us everything that we needed, but I can assure you that we had responsibilities. If we didn't cut the grass, if we didn't wash the car, if we didn't clean our room … those little tasks, I tell you, go a long way in life.
"I learned a great lesson the other day, while I was doing my reading and research. One of the greatest things you can teach a young person is to make their bed every morning," he added.
Mougianis now owns Apollo Pro Cleaning and Restoration; Team ATG, which specializes in cleaning acoustical ceilings and whose clients include Wal-Mart and Target locations across the country; and the recently opened Axios Paving. He said that success did not come easily -- it was the product of hard work and getting people to believe in him.
"I finally had the opportunity to start my own little business," Mougianas said, adding he was thrilled to see Lee Kinney, the retired local bank executive who helped him acquire financing and a longtime Rotarian, at the meeting. "Back in the mid-to-late 1980s when I started this little company, a handshake went a long way. Today, when they give money out, it doesn't work that way.
"To think that someone like this gave me, a no-name, the opportunity to create the business that we have today. Thank you, for giving me a chance, and trusting this young guy and that he was going to do the right thing. Not everyone has that chance."
A big turning point in his life came a little more than 20 years ago, when his father died. Mougianis, who was 42 at time, said he became more deeply involved with his church and in other organizations around the community. One of those groups was the United Way of Jefferson County. That set the stage for the period in his life of giving back.
That involvement, he explained, came through the efforts of Laura Meeks, the retired former president of Eastern Gateway Community College, and the late Suzanne Kresser, the United Way's longtime executive director. Their tenacity in asking for his help made all of the difference.
"How could you say no to those two women?" he asked.
That started a volunteer effort that has spanned two decades.
"The impact that these types of community organizations have -- those are the things that make our community great. These are the things that make a difference," he said. "We might not have all of the bells and whistles of some larger metropolitan areas. But we have Pittsburgh right up the highway -- we can be there in 25 minutes, depending on how fast you drive."
Agencies funded by the United Way, he added, have an impact on the lives of more than 20,000 residents of Jefferson County, he added.
"The second part of those 40 years is to give back," Mougianis said. "To pay it forward and to help as many people as much as we can. That's our obligation on this earth. You know, my dad used to say that you will never see a Brinks truck following a hearse. We can't take it with us, but we can help others while we are here."
Maintaining that sense of community is critical, he added,
"I think the greatest philosophy in the world is that you win with people," Mougianis said. "You don't win alone. We can't do this gig we call life alone. You win with people, and everybody is an experience, good, bad or indifferent. It's all part of what becomes a part of us.
"I'm so proud to be a part of this community -- I wouldn't want to live anywhere else."
(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is executive editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times. He is a member of the Steubenville Rotary Club.)