Looking back, Rob seemingly never said no, volunteering thousands of hours and dollars to assure that green building achieved a solid foundation in Florida," stated Kyle Abney, like Rob a former volunteer Chair of USGBC South Florida. "He was a leader and mentor in every imaginable way, and we all owe him and Virginia an incredible debt of gratitude."
Rob will continue to consult with Spinnaker as Founding Principal.
The evening -- which was partially underwritten by Lutron and Integrating Green Technologies -- was made all the more special with the appearance of former USGBC volunteers and elected officials, current and past clients, and even present-day competitors in the green-building consulting world who came out to honor Rob and Virginia.
A highlight of the event occurred when Jonathan Burgess presented to Rob and Virginia an original artwork/caricature of current and former employees (see image at left), complete with personal notes of thanks from their teams, past and present.
(Below .... Rob and Virginia Hink are surrounded by just some of their admirers who attended their retirement get-together.)
Hink Retirement Party Honors
Spinnaker Group Founders
West Palm Beach, FL (May 3, 2019) Sustainability friends and peers from throughout the green-building community gathered on May 2 in Miami to celebrate and honor The Spinnaker Group's founding principals, Rob and Virginia Hink, on the occasion of their retirement at the helm of the company. Admirers from around the Sunshine State attended the reception, which was held at The Miami Center for Architecture & Design, and many others sent their fond regards and thanks.
"Rob Hink is truly one of the giants of this transformational movement," stated Jonathan Burgess, President of The Spinnaker Group. "More than that, however, he has been a friend, mentor and leader to countless individuals and organizations. He embraced green building from the get-go, and became one of our strongest ambassadors. This is certainly emotional for me, personally. Thank you, Rob and Virginia, for all of your countless contributions to our Spinnaker and green-building families. I wish you both only the happiest of retirements."
One of several highlights of the evening was a taped congratulations message from Mahesh Ramanujam, President & CEO, USGBC -- click here to view.
Founded in 2003 by Rob and Virgnia, the award-winning Spinnaker Group helps facilitate the delivery of the highest quality, sustainable building projects. Using an integrated team approach with a diverse range of clients, the firm has more than 140 LEED Certified projects under its belt and more than 600 million sf of commissioned building space worldwide. In addition to tapping USGBC's LEED and other rating systems as anchors of its sustainable consulting services, Spinnaker's diverse team of design and construction professionals offer project management, energy modeling, fundamental and enhanced building commissioning, neighborhood planning, operations and maintenance consulting, indoor air quality testing, and life cycle analyses for all types of building projects.
"Rob was instrumental in launching the USGBC and the green-building scene in Florida, and especially here in South Florida and Miami," said Manny Diaz, former Mayor of the City of Miami. "When Rob first approached me, Miami had zero LEED buildings and no ordinances to encourage green building. Now, in large part thanks to his efforts, our city is one of the most progressive, green municipalities in the country. Later, of course, he set the bar for building a top-notch team of experts, achieving with The Spinnaker Group a sterling reputation as one of the world's finest and most respected green building consulting firms."
