Out of the Suit
Doug Strong isn’t a CEO 24/7. The man who balances the many components of the Hospitals and Health Centers also balances his professional life with time for family and his favorite hobby: gardening. “I’m an amateur,” he says. “I can’t name a lot of plants, but I’ve learned a few things about texture and placement. Sometimes I get lucky and things turn out well.” The
southwest corner of his home, just off the deck, is where Strong sees his
greatest success.
The son of an insurance executive father and an accomplished artist mother,
Strong played basketball and squash through the years before rakes and
shovels overtook the hoops and rackets. His interest in gardening, learned
from his mother, took root as his children grew older. Brian, the oldest,
is a junior in music composition at Grinnell College in Iowa, and Kristen,
the youngest, a senior in high school. Middle child Kelsey is an entering
freshman at Lawrence University in Wisconsin. “It’s much different
when they reach this age and become more independent. My kids used to occupy
a lot more of my free time.”
Strong and his wife, Peggy Cavanagh, who teaches language arts at Tappan Middle School in Ann Arbor, met playing softball in a co-ed grad student league at the University of Pennsylvania.
“When I was younger,” he says, “I really enjoyed cooking. Peggy wasn’t
a cook. We collaborated a lot and were in a gourmet cooking group together. Now,
Peggy is by far the better cook.”
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| Doug Strong with wife, Peggy Cavanagh, and daughter Kristen in their backyard garden. Photo: Scott Galvin |
Strong also enjoys movies and theater, and says his pleasure reading falls into the category of the The New Republic and the The New Yorker.
Awake at 5 a.m., at his desk by 6:30 facing a 12-hour workday or more, his family remains with Strong. Framed photos of Peggy and their children adorn tables in his office. His mother painted the snowy farm scene on the wall opposite his desk, and a rich, tapestry-like painting of the Watchung Valley in northeastern New Jersey, tracking its history through scenes from 1680 to 1840, was created in 1936 by his great-uncle. It’s the area of the country from which generations of Strongs hail.
In or out of the suit, this CEO seems not to lose his sense of personal priorities, with family holding strong at the top of the list.
—Rick Krupinski
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