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 From floor to ceiling, the walls are full of his photos, his awards, his art.
There are photos of Armistead with a past Republican president or two and family photos that include his three small dogs.
There are Junior Achievement awards and plaques from charity balls, business groups and civic organizations. There’s also a painting by Armistead’s mother.
Armistead’s office is on the 29th floor of the Fifth Third Center building in downtown Nashville. The décor is not fancy or flashy, neither polished nor refined. But it’s him — Big George, as he’s called — through and through.
“People like to do business with people they like,” Armistead says. “This office lets people know who I am.”
The office is about a mile from Revenue Source Group, where Armistead is a partner. Revenue Source and its work analyzing business utility costs and improving efficiencies accounts for about 70 percent of Armistead’s livelihood, he estimates.
“The rest is what I call being George,” he says.
Everything is framed or mounted neatly, much of it in matching frames.
Over Armistead’s left shoulder as he sits at his desk is a poster-sized collage he made with cutout faces of hundreds of people involved with his 1995 Metro City Council campaign.
The design isn’t professional, nor are the photos he cut up to make the piece. Armistead, a collage hobbyist, says it was a labor of love to honor all the people who helped him.
His desk faces a historic display about his great, great, great, great grandfather Lt. Colonel George Armistead, who fought in the War of 1812. The far elder Armistead ordered the raining of the American Flag over Fort McHenry in Baltimore after more than a day of British Bombardment — the inspiration for Francis Scott Key to write the poem which became the U.S. national anthem.
He listens intently and asks questions ranging from the personal to professional of anyone who takes a chair at his desk or small table. But Armistead, 56, doesn’t sit still long.
He pulls out note cards to scribble down a name and number of someone it might be good to know, or offers a drink or a piece of candy. He pulls out photo albums to show what he looks like dressed as a Christmas tree, or exactly how much he and his wife do love those three dogs of theirs.
That’s the networking, connecting and rainmaking that brings in the other 30 percent of his income.
There’s also the view. It’s hard to get a bad view at 29 floors, but the one from Armistead’s is sweeping. It pulls in everything from LP Field and Sommet Center to Broadway and the pool on the roof of the Viridian condos.
Hanging on the wall is a letter from Armistead’s grandfather. It’s framed and dated March 16, 1964. He received it on his 11th birthday.
“You will have many disappointments and become discouraged, but I want you to feel free, as long as I am alive, to come to me and discuss anything which troubles you,” the letter reads.
“That’s the most significant thing in here,” Armistead says.
It’s all about the people you know, and letting people know you, he says — something he strives for in this office.
“We’re all in the networking business,” he says.
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 A designer's view
Shonna Sexton
Shonna Sexton Studio |
935A Woodland St, Nashville 37206
Overall impression: “The room said a lot about who George is.”
Objects on walls: Though the room’s walls are quite full, it’s not overwhelming. Not everything matched, but that was OK. It was all done well, and suited the man. It said a lot about him, and what was important to him.
“Not everybody can pull that off. It’s a non-verbal cue about who he is, and what he values.”
Other objects: “There’s lots of information everywhere, not just on the walls, but on photocopies of the letter from his grandfather stuffed away but ready to pull out, notepads
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where he freely writes down the name and number of a person he wants to connect his guests with and in photo albums, files and pockets and drawers.
“The room has to suit who you are, and it’s easy to over-clutter. George’s personality is big enough to make it work for him. There’s all this area for you to move around in, so it doesn’t feel claustrophobic.”
Furniture: Not excessively large, but it still created multiple work spaces, including a small collaboration space at a small round table by the side window.
Room for improvement: Desk lighting. “George’s desk has a small standing lamp which, aside from natural light, is a primary source of light while he’s working. He likes it, and it’s very him, but he would be freed up to work in different ways if he had a work lamp with a mobile arm. | |