By Elaine Stone, Photos by Ross Van Pelt

Whether Mike Gilkey is selling windows, spending time with his family or learning to dance the rumba, life is good.

Gilkey’s family has been involved in the residential and commercial building industry for as long as he can remember.   While attending high school and college, he worked for his father in the concrete business.  They did several big projects such as the tennis facility at Kings Island.

“Everything was going great until the Teamsters went on strike and there was no concrete to be had,” Gilkey remembers.  “I was married by that time and we had a baby so I needed a job quick!”  Mike had cousins and an uncle in the electric business, the masonry business and the lumber business.  The family is very close and everyone encouraged him to get a job in home improvement. That is where he gained valuable knowledge about replacement windows.

It was during those years and many years to follow that young Mike Gilkey would be treated by Uncle Joe Gilkey, who ran Gilkey Electric and Premier Lumber, and his wife, Alice, to breakfast every Saturday morning.  “There was a trade off,” Mike says.  “I had to attend Mass first and then we went to breakfast.”  It was during those breakfasts that Uncle Joe shared his business acumen and mentored Mike, preparing him for the future.

In 1978 and with some assistance from Uncle Joe, The Gilkey Window Company was born.  “Uncle Joe passed away last year but there is not a day that goes by that I don’t hear his words of wisdom in my head as I make decisions,” Mike says, proudly.

“I’ve had the opportunity to sell a host of products over the years but I’m conservative and have always felt it was right for us to keep our focus on windows and doors,” says Gilkey.  Because of that focus to sell the best windows on the market, Mike was not content in the early years to offer wood as their primary source for replacement windows.  “I saw a vinyl window demonstration at a trade show in Washington D.C. and was convinced that was the future,” Gilkey reflects.  He later connected with that company and began making the windows in his factory.

“I’ve always considered myself a sales and marketing guy,” says Gilkey.  As his business grew so did their advertising budget.  With some well thought out marketing strategies, The Gilkey Window Company went from a small local replacement window company to having a much bigger presence in Cincinnati and beyond.

Since 1978, Gilkey has expanded beyond Cincinnati to serve the Lexington, Louisville, Dayton and Chicago markets and currently employs 150 people.   Residential is the biggest part of their business but the commercial side of the business is growing rapidly.  “Our biggest job to date has been The Regency Tower in Hyde Park,” Gilkey says.  Gilkey’s son, Vince, is COO.  “He’s been running around here since he was a little guy and his expertise is in operations and installation,” Gilkey says.  In January, Mike’s son-in-law, Agustine Quirch (Augie), a former financial advisor in New York, joined the company and is learning the sales and marketing side of the business from Mike.  Mike knows the future of Gilkey Windows will be in good hands.

About 15 years ago, Mike’s wife, Sue, convinced him to try something new.  “Like anyone trying to build their business, I took my work home with me.  I lived and breathed windows!”  Mike says.  “She talked me into taking dance lessons with her.  Our youngest of five children was five years old and we needed to get out more as a couple.  I agreed, but had visions of men in tights doing ballet leaps all over the room before we got there,” Gilkey says.

What started out as a “date night,” turned into a passion for both Mike and Sue Gilkey.  Since that first dance lesson, Mike and sue have participated in in many dance competitions.  “It has opened a whole new world for us.  It’s easy to go out to dinner with friends and sit around and talk or play cards but dancing is a great activity to do with friends, to make new ones and it helps keep you in shape,” Mike says.

Mike served as President of the U.S. Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association for a couple of years.  “Sue did all the work!” Mike quickly explains.  One of his duties as president was to bring in a well-known dancer to attend their annual event held twice a year at Music Hall.  He was lucky enough to land Tony Dovolani, who most of us have come to know from watching Dancing with the Stars.  “It was a great evening and everyone loved Tony,” Mike said.  “I didn’t know that Tony is Muslim and our event happened to fall in the middle of Ramadan which meant that Tony had not eaten since sunrise. We didn’t leave Music Hall until after midnight and Tony was starved!  The only place I could think to take him for a hot meal at that hour was the Waffle House on Sharon Road.  You can imagine the stares we got when we walked through the door in our tuxedos!”

Mike and Sue also had the opportunity to attend a live broadcast of Dancing with the Stars.  The same night Jerry Springer was eliminated.  “Attending that show was one of the highlights of Sue’s life,” Mike says.  But from the expression on his face as he described what it felt like to rub shoulders with Cheryl Burke, Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff, as well as the many celebrities at the after show party, it was evident that Mike was highly impressed as well.

The Gilkey Window Company is at 3625 Hauck Road.  As I was leaving the showroom, I asked Gilkey what made his window company better or different than his competition. He didn’t hesitate. He pointed at the brightly colored embroidered “Gilkey” on his shirt and said: “My family name is on my company, so it is important that we do everything right.”