Lynda Gildea’s spirit is incapable of quitting, and one that fully intends to never do such a thing. Lynda wants to know that God has used her for every single thing that He intended for her in life. By day, she is the VP and regional manager for Paradigm Properties, a commercial real estate management company managing over 3 million square feet of office and mix-use type spaces. By night, Lynda is doing her part to assist anyone who may seek a helping hand.
Lynda is also the full time community service manager at Paradigm Properties, responsible for helping clients with setting up and coordinating community service activities, from blood drives to coats for kids and finding clothing for women’s shelters. Paradigm Properties is one of a very few property managements companies who has a full time community service manager and Lynda couldn’t be more proud to be able to do her part to help others.
It’s not uncommon to see Lynda going above and beyond her call of duty outside of her day job as well. Lynda has volunteered at the Ohio State School for the Blind and also serves on the board that maintains and operates the Santa Maria, the world’s most authentic replica of Christopher Columbus’ 98-foot cargo ship which he used to set sail in 1942 in an attempt to find a direct trade route to the Indies. The ship is docked on the bank of the Scioto River in downtown Columbus at Marconi Blvd and Broad St.
Each year Lynda makes a grand effort to adopt a family for the holiday season to ensure that they are enjoying the holidays the way every family should; from hot meals to a warm place to sleep at night, Lynda does her best to make sure that the family knows that the world hasn’t forgotten about them. In 2009, through an association with Riverside United Methodist Church, Lynda came across a family of eight who had been struggling with unemployment and were currently living out of nothing more than a van.
This simply would not do for Lynda, and so she set out to make it her mission to find not only a home for the family to stay in during the holidays, but one for the family to find a home in. At the time, the family was in ownership of a 600 square foot home that their grandmother had owned and one that needed extensive repairs, unfortunately they were repairs that the family simply could not afford. Determined to help, Lynda began the Rosedale Project, which she hoped that by utilizing her extensive network with contractors, they would be able to rebuild the home for the family. Through the donation of materials, countless volunteers and the help of her network, Lynda was able to raise over $20,000 and rebuild the family’s 600 square foot house and make it a 1,200 square foot home with heat and modern amenities.
Lynda’s best piece of advice for others is to never accept no as an answer and fight to achieve the goals that you’ve set out to do. She is always doing her best to instill confidence in others and assure people that they can do things beyond any limitations that their imaginations have set.