Matovina's Mission

Greg Matovina has developed land, built homes, chaired the Northeast Florida Builders Association, directed Habitat for Humanity projects and helped set regional growth management policies.

Yet, of all his accomplishments, the founder and president of Matovina & Company considers helping to build a shelter for women and children who have no home the most meaningful.

"This has really been a life-changing event for me," says Matovina from his Mandarin office.

Since 2004, Matovina has been the driving force behind construction of the Trinity Rescue Mission's Women's and Children's Center on the corner of West Beaver and Jefferson streets in downtown Jacksonville. When the 14,000-square-foot emergency shelter opens this fall, it will provide around-the-clock services to an estimated 1,200 homeless women and children each year.

There'll be 96 beds, a childcare center, a medical clinic, a common-area living room, a laundry facility, a small kitchen and a counseling center. Within the shelter's walls, at-risk women will be able to get the help they need—with their children at their sides.

Matovina was inspired to become involved by a presentation made last year to NEFBA's committee by Daniel Davis, the organization's associate director and a member of the Jacksonville City Council.

"I was so touched that I immediately threw my wallet on the table and said, 'You can have that—now tell me what else you need,'" says Matovina, who was then NEFBA's president. "We took ownership of that project from then on."

The rapid—and passionate—response from Matovina did not surprise Davis. "Greg is just a go-to guy," Davis says. "He can always find out what needs to be done, and then do it. I truly believe that without his involvement, we'd still be taking baby steps. Instead, look at the leaps we've made."

By the time Matovina decided to help, Trinity Rescue Mission had already bought land for the shelter and Williams & Rowe Custom Homes had agreed to donate its services as general contractor.

Matovina immediately donated his company's land development expertise and began a personal telephone blitz to assemble materials and services still needed.

The shelter had banked $100,000 in private donations raised by Davis and had a matching grant from NEFBA. But Matovina, with his typical zeal, pulled in an additional $1 million-plus in cash, services and materials.

"Greg really had passion for this project from the start," says Gene Pruett, executive director of Trinity Rescue Mission. "He shared that passion by lending his influence with some of the top builders and building industry professionals in the area. They wanted to be involved in the project because he was."

By late May of this year, preliminary construction had begun on the shelter. By July, armed with several large donations, including enough lumber for the entire project, Matovina organized an old-fashioned roof-raising.

Under his supervision, an army of more than 100 volunteers put up all the walls during a feverish six-hour session on a Saturday morning. By day two, the shelter had a roof.

"It was just incredible, the number of people who showed up," Matovina says. "The level of commitment from everyone was so surprising. We had two city councilmen, presidents of companies and foremen with their entire crews. It was just an amazing experience to see all these people working so hard for the same goal—to provide a shelter for those women and children."

The experience was even more profound for Matovina because his father, retired homebuilder Tom Matovina, helped him put it all together.

"My father has been retired for 10 or 12 years and, even though he lives here in town, we really don't get to spend a lot of time together," Matovina says. "But we spent an intense three- to four-week period getting this roof-raising event ready. And it was just fantastic, something I'll never forget."

Tom Matovina readily agrees. "Anything I can do for Greg, I will," he says. "It was hard work, but well worth it. I worked a lot of jobs, but I never saw anything like that, where everyone just came together. It was great to be able to work alongside my son. I'm just so very proud of him and everything he's done."

Matovina, a Hammond, Ind., native, moved to Jacksonville in 1981 after graduating magna cum laude from the University of Miami with a degree in accounting.

Drawn to the area for its "small-town feel," he worked as an auditor and tax accountant for Arthur Young & Company for five years before being hired away by a home-builder client, Summer Homes. The move was logical, since Matovina grew up working in his father's business.

Pushed by a desire "to do my own thing," he established Matovina & Company in January 1991. Since then, he's developed Sutton Lakes, Camellia Place and Heron Isles, among other communities. In fact, Matovina's company has been involved with the development of more than 6,000 homesites—mostly small lots for first-time buyers.

From the beginning, Matovina has been involved in various leadership roles with NEFBA, culminating with his year as association president in 2004. But it's NEFBA's charitable activities that have gotten much of Matovina's energy and attention.

For example, Matovina serves as chair of the association's Charitable Foundation, which contributes funds to various good causes. And he continues to be an active participant in NEFBA's Builders Care, a non-profit organization that offers free home repairs to the poor, the elderly and the disabled.

"NEFBA has such a giving spirit," Matovina says. "Over the years NEFBA just shows that kind of heart. All you have to do is ask, and there it is."

That's true, says Davis. But it's members like Matovina, with an unstoppable combination of savvy and compassion, who really get things done.

"Greg always gives 110 percent to everything he is involved in," Davis notes. "He is just a good leader."

Matovina, whose blended family with wife, Leslie, includes four daughters, says his involvement in charitable work is nothing more than paying his civic dues—and giving thanks for the blessings he's enjoyed in business and in life.

Next on Matovina's agenda is Greater Jacksonville Communities, a nonprofit organization he formed last year to provide consulting and hands-on assistance in redeveloping blighted areas near downtown. The first Greater Jacksonville Communities project will be construction of three model homes in the neighborhood around Edward Waters College.

Bryan Lendry, NEFBA's current president, counts himself among Matovina's fans.

"Greg has always supported a number of charitable and non-profit organizations," says Lendry, himself a major giver. "He gives both his time and his resources. His work on the Trinity project is just another example of his dedication to helping those less fortunate."

HOW YOU CAN HELP

The Trinity Rescue Mission still needs to raise operating funds, furnish rooms, equip its medical center and provide an endowment for maintenance. If you'd like to help, contact Gene Pruett at (904) 355-1205 or visit www.trinityrescue.org.