Welcome to “Meet the Team,” Midland’s Lens on Who We Are Today
What emerged in the spring of 2020 and continues into 2021 is a new style of working that straddles the need to stay safe while allowing us to continue to do what we’ve done for the past 56 years.
It takes talented, dedicated people to do that — and we’d like you to meet them. They are the men and women who build and engineer your cabinetry, who walk you through the process and schedule appointments, who manage our accounting and sales departments, who install our products.
As part of our ongoing “Meet the Team” introductions, say hello today to Midland’s General Manager, Jeb Boynton.
How long have you worked at Midland?
On and off my whole life but technically full time since 2000 after moving back to California from Colorado.
What inspired you to get into the woodworking profession? Where did you get your training?
Growing up in the shop and learning to use the machinery to make things or watching my dad make things was rewarding to me. After college, I spent a few years making cabinets out of an important mentor’s shop and building houses in a small mountain town outside of Boulder, CO.
What brings you the most pleasure as a woodworker? Is there a tool or a machine that you like to work with or on? Do you have a specialty?
I love working in the shop and making things from scratch after hours, especially designing as I go without blueprints to work from — this is something, as a company, we do not do, so the freedom of taking rough materials and the journey of creating something once is something that I find rewarding.
What have you learned or done at Midland that was new or challenging?
Managing our schedule to keep the work flow smooth, the shop productive and meet our client deadlines is very challenging.
Where are you from, originally? What do you like most about the SF Bay Area?
I was born and raised in the Bay Area. I left when I was 18 and moved to Colorado for close to 10 years. I now live with my wife and kids on a ranch in San Mateo County and love that my two boys will grow up in a rural area in the same county I did.
When not at work, what do you like to do on your days off? Do you have a hobby or a special interest?
I do a lot of off-road motorcycle racing and recreational riding that has taken me all over the Western U.S., Baja California and Europe. I love exploring Nevada in particular.
If you have kids, what are some of the things you like to do together? Are there games or outings that you and your family enjoy?
My two boys are very young (1 and 2 1/2), but I love to load them up on the ranch quad when I get home and go for a sunset ride.
What’s your favorite movie, and why? Or a favorite book or song, and why?
Movie: “Legends of the Fall” Book: East of Eden, Sawmills in the Redwoods (History of Logging in the Santa Cruz Mountains). I love learning about my hometown and hiking into the woods to look for relics and old sawmills.
Where do you like to go on vacation, or where would you like to go on vacation someday? And why?
I love to visit our family cottage in Dordogne, France, that my grandparents bought in 1973.
What’s your favorite food? If you’re a cook, what’s your favorite dish?
I am a soup guy. I love making soup, any kind, and I almost always make my own stock. It’s winter and soup season is here, people!
