Employee Spotlight, Josh Freeland

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Employee Spotlight - Josh Freeland

Josh is the Manager of Commercial Facilities. He is a Family Man with a passion for football, lifting heavy weights, traveling, Star Wars, D&D and is a future part-time farmer.

What were you doing before Lewis?

Prior to joining the Lewis team back in 2004, I had a few jobs in different fields. While I was attending school to study Kinesiology and Exercise Physiology, I started working at Wherehouse Music in La Verne and became a manager for the company. After that I did some security work and spent time as a bouncer at a few clubs. During this time, I also got certified as a Master Personal Trainer and went on to train several clients, including a good friend that went on to compete in Amateur Bodybuilding Competitions.

What has your career path looked like?

When I first applied to work at Lewis, I was looking at a Night Service Manager position since I had background with security. Through the interview process, I was told that they really liked my customer service and retail background and thought I’d be a good fit in Leasing. After a couple more interviews, I was then asked if I’d be interested in a newer position that Lewis just created, Community Administrator, at Homecoming at Eastvale. Which I happily accepted! I worked there for almost 10 years and helped develop that position to take on additional roles and responsibilities.

Always intrigued by the Retail Centers and Development side of the company, I kept an eye out for something that I could do in those departments. When a Retail Property Manager position was posted, I quickly applied and took my chance. I was then offered the position as a Retail Property Manager overseeing Eastvale Gateway. Over a 10-year period, I went from managing one center, to managing eleven different centers and once again expanded the position to take on more roles and responsibilities. This past year, I was promoted to a new role as the Manager of Commercial Facilities.

What has your career path looked like?

When I first applied to work at Lewis, I was looking at a Night Service Manager position since I had background with security. Through the interview process, I was told that they really liked my customer service and retail background and thought I’d be a good fit in Leasing. After a couple more interviews, I was then asked if I’d be interested in a newer position that Lewis just created, Community Administrator, at Homecoming at Eastvale. Which I happily accepted! I worked there for almost 10 years and helped develop that position to take on additional roles and responsibilities.

Always intrigued by the Retail Centers and Development side of the company, I kept an eye out for something that I could do in those departments. When a Retail Property Manager position was posted, I quickly applied and took my chance. I was then offered the position as a Retail Property Manager overseeing Eastvale Gateway. Over a 10-year period, I went from managing one center, to managing eleven different centers and once again expanded the position to take on more roles and responsibilities. This past year, I was promoted to a new role as the Manager of Commercial Facilities.

What is your recent promotion?

My new position with Lewis is the Manager of Commercial Facilities, which oversees the Facilities of our California Retail and Office & Industrial properties. Being an onsite Retail Property Manager, I always enjoyed coordinating projects, working with vendors, and looking at creative ways to improve the properties. Now I can focus on all of that in this new position. I’m constantly working with our Property Management team to assist with large projects, the Project Management of these projects, coordination and follow up with vendors, expanding our pool of vendors, working on improving our Grounds and Maintenance procedures, reviewing current contracts to determine where improvements can be made, plus many other items. If it involves the operations and maintenance of the centers, I’m usually involved in some capacity.

How do you stay busy outside of the office?

I’m blessed with an amazing family and spend most of my time with my wife, Amber, and our two kids, Lily (age 5) and Zachary (age 3). We enjoy going on family trips, Disneyland days with the kids, random fun adventures or even just playing in our yard. My passion has always been going to the gym and weightlifting, it’s a great stress reliever. Currently having some health issues, but once I get through those, I plan on getting back to the gym full time. Can’t wait! I enjoy anything Football related, Go Steelers, and love those Football Sundays in the Fall. I try my best to carve out some time to play Dungeons and Dragons or board games with friends. I have even made some appearances on a D&D podcast over the last few years. I love Fantasy and Sci-Fi, with my biggest fandom being Star Wars. A lot of my time is also spent working on our house and property. Our property is just over an acre and is zoned as Light Agricultural which allows us to do some unique things. My wife has been involved with the agricultural department at Cal Poly Pomona for several years and has made many connections over that time. She recently teamed up with a Dairy Farm in Chino and a farm in L.A. to start a new business venture, that I will be helping with when I can. We will be distributing and selling dairy product such as cream top milk, butter, cheese etc. at Farmer’s Markets, local fairs, and small businesses to start with. Eventually we would also like to move forward with selling baked goods and sourdough bread. With my wife being Portuguese, we hope to focus on traditional Portuguese baked goods and some of my family’s dessert recipes. But I have already made it clear that my Sundays in the Fall are fully booked up and can’t help at the Farmer’s Markets haha…. Freeland Family Farms is in the works!

How do you stay busy outside of the office?

I’m blessed with an amazing family and spend most of my time with my wife, Amber, and our two kids, Lily (age 5) and Zachary (age 3). We enjoy going on family trips, Disneyland days with the kids, random fun adventures or even just playing in our yard. My passion has always been going to the gym and weightlifting, it’s a great stress reliever. Currently having some health issues, but once I get through those, I plan on getting back to the gym full time. Can’t wait! I enjoy anything Football related, Go Steelers, and love those Football Sundays in the Fall. I try my best to carve out some time to play Dungeons and Dragons or board games with friends. I have even made some appearances on a D&D podcast over the last few years. I love Fantasy and Sci-Fi, with my biggest fandom being Star Wars. A lot of my time is also spent working on our house and property. Our property is just over an acre and is zoned as Light Agricultural which allows us to do some unique things. My wife has been involved with the agricultural department at Cal Poly Pomona for several years and has made many connections over that time. She recently teamed up with a Dairy Farm in Chino and a farm in L.A. to start a new business venture, that I will be helping with when I can. We will be distributing and selling dairy product such as cream top milk, butter, cheese etc. at Farmer’s Markets, local fairs, and small businesses to start with. Eventually we would also like to move forward with selling baked goods and sourdough bread. With my wife being Portuguese, we hope to focus on traditional Portuguese baked goods and some of my family’s dessert recipes. But I have already made it clear that my Sundays in the Fall are fully booked up and can’t help at the Farmer’s Markets haha…. Freeland Family Farms is in the works!

Individuals who are lactose intolerant: steer clear! For all the other turophiles, connect with Josh directly at Josh.Freeland@LewisMC.com with any lactic questions and to stay in-the-know on what the future holds for Freeland Family Farms. Plus, be sure to throw a follow to support the journey.