Rising Stars: Meet Darren Griffith

Today we’d like to introduce you to Darren Griffith.

Darren, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Our company came across this amazing abandoned Post Office building here in Ottawa, KS back in 2017. We fell in love with it immediately and bought it. It took over a year of design, renovation and plenty of blood, sweat and tears, but we transformed this old building into a brilliant showpiece. Our first wedding was in June of 2018 and we have been serving the Kansas City Metro area and beyond ever since. I have had the pleasure to manage this building and our outstanding team from the beginning and it is our pleasure and passion to serve. We adore our 108 years old treasure and we host weddings and social events with great pride. We love the history our venue tells, but more importantly, we love the history we are making with each event at the Historic Post Office.

I was raised in a small farm town in southeast Kansas called Yates Center. I was raised in a loving family home and loved the community very much. I graduated from Yates Center High School and promptly attended and graduated from the University of Kansas. Directly after college, my first job was an internship with the Atlanta Falcons. I then worked for Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe, then I spent an intern season with the Kansas City Chiefs. After that year, I was hired full-time by the Atlanta Falcons. My wife, Tammy, and I lived in Atlanta for a couple of years and decided we missed our family and friends so we moved back to the Kansas City area. I started working for Rob Boyer on October 20th of 2003 as a sales executive for his document destruction company, Shred-it. In 2014 Rob sold his franchises back to Shred-it Corporate and I stayed on and worked for Shred-it Corporate. I was so happy in May of 2018 when Rob reached out to me to asked if I would like to work for him again at his church real estate company, also included in this was the beautiful wedding venue, the Historic Post Office. I joyfully accepted the position as I loved working with Rob and I was excited about the opportunity of helping him run his businesses. The rest they say is history!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When we started back in June of 2018, we were very happy with how smoothly things were going, but, like everyone else, we weren’t exactly expecting to have to run this business through a global pandemic. I think our success through the pandemic is due in part to the amazing community we live in and our amazing staff. We have had to learn how to do things differently, but that is not all bad we have had the opportunity to make some changes and come out even stronger on the back end of this pandemic. Our beautiful building has seen a lot of major calamities and victories since it was constructed in 1913, we are proud to be operating our business here now through this pandemic, knowing our building will stand the test of time.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I love architecture and history, that is why it is such a blessing to be managing this venue. To take this proud but tired old building and breath new life into it is what inspires me every day. Sometimes I like to sit in the building in perfect silence and imagine what was happening in here back when it was built in 1913. I also like to reflect on what the building looked like the first time I walked into it before renovation and I take great pride in the shining gem it is today.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memory is the weekends spent with my family fishing at some remote farm pond. My Father passed away when I was only a 7th grader, so my favorite memories always revolve around time spent with my Dad and the rest of my family.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://www.historicpostoffice.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/historicpostoffice/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/historicpostoffice