About a decade after founding Wespac Construction in 1991 in Phoenix, which has become one of ENR’s top 400 contractors, John Largay thought about how he could give back to the community that had benefited him so much. He looked for something that would satisfy what he calls the three Cs—charity, culture and community—and also encourage participation. “If I’m going to ask people for money, I have to give them something in return,” he says. Coupled with his love of music, he realized that holding a music festival would meet his requirements while leveraging the skills of the construction industry: the contractor’s staff would handle logistics, vendors would donate materials, and subcontractors would sponsor and provide labor. All proceeds would go directly to the charity.
“The logistics of a music festival are identical to a construction site,” says Largay. “The dumpsters, the toilets, the fence are no different than a workplace.”
So in 2004, Largay held the first M3F, then called the McDowell Mountain Music Festival, in Scottsdale, Arizona, headlined by David Crosby. In the early days, half of Wespac would be on site building everything from scratch, says Jay Coffey, a general superintendent who thought the idea was a little crazy at first, but has since volunteered for more than 20 of the events.
“John was always a little eccentric in the way he wanted to do things, and the music festival fit perfectly with that,” says Derek Wright, president of Suntec Concrete, a longtime supporter of the event. “It captured his personality and passion for the people in the industry.”
Giving back was ingrained in Wespac’s company culture, with Largay telling employees, “I’m not asking you, I’m telling you: You have to be involved in your community. I don’t care if it’s M3F or your kid’s T-ball game or if you’re serving Christmas dinner at the Salvation Army. People need to know how they give of their time.”
The festival also became a team-building exercise. “You’re standing side by side, shoulder to shoulder with your people, you’re creating something unique and different that no one else is doing and it’s for the good of the company and the community,” says Coffey.
Adds Largay, now retired from Wespac: “It’s the best team-building exercise I’ve ever done as an entrepreneur.”
M3F has also become a family affair. Largay’s daughter, Rachel Blanchard, grew up around the festival and now serves as the festival’s director. “We got exponential growth with the festival about 10 years ago, and we could really expand how many charities we work with,” he says. Currently around 40 charities receive funding.
“Phoenix Children’s and M3F first became partners in 2012 and have supported us significantly over the years,” says Rachel Larsen, Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation Chief Development Officer. The association “has raised $1 million in total, which is incredible.”
In total, M3F has raised more than $5 million for charity, but with the festival’s growing popularity, Largay sees a future where it could bring in more than $1 million each year.
Blanchard encourages others to follow Largay’s example to show that construction companies can be multifaceted beyond their day job. “It gets you out of the office. It gets you out of your daily routine and it just puts things into perspective, especially because you’re doing it for a cause bigger than yourself.”
Leveraging his relationships as a general contractor to fulfill a lifelong passion for creativity and music has become “John’s legacy of contribution to the industry and, more importantly, to the community,” says Wright. “It allows him to use those two passions, both construction and music, to make a difference.”
