The Offer Mike Horgan Couldn’t Refuse
It wasn’t “The Godfather” movie, but Mike Horgan knew an offer he couldn’t refuse. It came from his dad Ed back in 1994 – a call to join the family business, Horgan Sales & Service. Mike answered the call, never looked back, and the rest is part of H&S Protection history.
As one of the owners (along with Steve Garritson) of H&S, and operating out of the Stevens Point, WI office, Mike didn’t initially set out to join his father after he graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Instead, he took his business degree and went into the grocery industry. “I was in management training, and the pay and hours were terrible. When I got the chance to move home and my dad made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, I was fully on-board and excited,” he said.
Initially, there was a time Mike wasn’t thinking about getting into the alarm/security industry. “I’m not really an alarm guy. I never have been. I’m a business guy. When the opportunity came to work with my dad, I knew it was right. We’ve always gotten along great. That part alone was worth it. He is still around the business and we get coffee and talk shop every week. I’ve never regretted the decision to move my family back home.”
Horgan Sales merged with Sentra Protective Systems (Garritson’s company) 11 years ago. When he took on the position with Horgan Sales, Ed put Mike on a 2-year plan to learn every facet of the business – customer service, sales, bookkeeping, etc. “It didn’t go quite as planned, but it ‘went’,” Mike laughed.
“The transition from dad to me went so smoothly that I didn’t even know it happened. I found out I had officially taken over months after the fact; when I read about it on our web site. I thought, ‘Uh, okay’,” Mike chuckled.
His favorite part of being an owner is seeing people develop and grow professionally. “We hire people with a good idea as to what they can bring to our team. But we also learn their strengths over time and cater to them. I enjoy seeing people succeed – they’re the ones who make the true impact on our company. Give them the tools and get out of the way,” Mike observed.
Outside the H&S walls, Mike serves as an ordained Catholic Deacon for two parishes in the Stevens Point area, a position that took years of intense training and formation. “It’s like another full-time job,” he said. Among other things, Mike works with couples in marriage preparation, officiates weddings and baptisms, and on weekends assists at liturgies.
Mike’s third full-time job is as a husband to Lori and parent to their four young adults – David, Emily, Ally and Maya.
If all that isn’t enough, Mike even finds time to occasionally fulfill his destiny as an extremely bad golfer.
“My hope for our business is to help employees grow, build a long-term sustainable company and have fun along the way,” he explained.