GHC Alumni Leave their Mark on the tulalW Student Center

Alumni Chris Miller (right) and Marcus Nathaniel (left) returned to GHC with their company CMD Sign & Electric Inc. to install the signage on the bookstore’s new location in the tulalW Student Center. Chris graduated from GHC with an AA-T in Carpentry and Marcus graduated with an AA-S in Business Management. — Alumni Chris Miller (right) and Marcus Nathaniel (left) returned to GHC with their company CMD Sign & Electric Inc. to install the signage on the bookstore’s new location in the tulalW Student Center.

Grays Harbor College students will have an easier time finding their way to the bookstore in the new tulalW Student Center. This is thanks to the work of GHC alumni Chris Miller and Marcus Nathaniel, who recently returned to campus to install the bookstore's signage with their company CMD Sign & Electric Inc.

For Chris and Marcus, the road to starting CMD Sign & Electric began at GHC.

In the early 2000s, Chris worked for Weyerhaeuser until the mill closed, and then he made the choice to attend GHC. "I took the Carpentry course. I had just bought a home, so I was interested in that. I wanted to figure out how to take care of my house and build things."

Chris went on to earn an Associate of Technology in Carpentry. The skills he learned in the Carpentry program would help him throughout his career as a designer.

"The teacher at the time, Cal Swan, was incredible, an absolute master carpenter. He really got into the engineering side of things," Chris said. "The current instructor Adam Pratt is amazing too. From both of them, I was able to learn not so much the carpentry end, but the engineering side of things and how to apply that, in this case to designs."

Marcus studied Business Management, because he knew he wanted to start a business one day. Graduating with his associate degree is a fond memory.

"The dean said it was one of the loudest cheers he had ever heard when someone graduated, and I said, ‘well that means I touched people's hearts.' Not only did I learn, but I established friendships. And my kids got to see dad graduate, and that was huge," Marcus remembered. "Now my kids see me succeeding in my business. They've gotten to see dad really grow as a man, as a dad, as a friend, and in a career."

CMD Sign & Electric is Formed

Marcus and Chris at CMD Sign & Electric Inc. in Montesano.

Chris, Marcus, and Derek, who would become the third founding member of CMD Sign & Electric, worked together at Phoenix Signs. In early July, 2023, they decided to leave to start their own business. "We were enjoying what we were doing at Phoenix. We had a really, really good crew there and it was hard and scary to walk away," Marcus said.

Chris, Marcus, and Derek started looking for a business location and trying to come up with a name. After about a week, they landed on their initials. They had trouble finding the funding for a location, so like many great companies, the team now known as CMD set up shop in a garage. This worked okay to start, partly because Carolyn's Designs let CMD use their space and wide format printer as needed, but they knew it wouldn't be a permanent solution. "We couldn't stay in my garage. Sign companies need space," Chris explained.

As CMD grew, a shared faith and mutual trust powered them forward. "I trust him with everything when it comes to the business. We trust each other mutually, which helps us achieve a better business model," Marcus said. "We're polar opposites, but what I lack he makes up and vice versa," Chris added.

According to Marcus, the challenges they had finding a location and sacrifices they made in the early days of CMD Sign & Electric all helped them get to where they were meant to be, and it could not have worked out any better. "Eventually, we had a family friend offer us a shop to work in, out of the Wynoochee Valley. Now we're operating out of Montesano in the most beautiful spot to be at. We look out our door every day and we're right on the river. We get to watch the sunset in the fall time and it's just perfect."

CMD's first projects included wrapping two busses and a box truck for the Moore Wright Group and "making a dream become a reality" for the Ocean Shores Library, Marcus shared. Business took off from there, and CMD hired its first employees. Today, in addition to Chris and Marcus, CMD has six employees including Casey (a "rock star Administrative Assistant"), Andrew (an Electrical Admin and Journeyman Electrician), Derek (the D in CMD and Journeyman Electrician), Kodi (an "amazing Project Manager"), Ehi (Production Manager), and Abby (Design/Production).

Members of the CMD team pose for a photo after completing a job for SERVPRO.

Coming Full Circle

In CMD Sign & Electric's first year, the team completed jobs for many local and regional businesses, including GHC, Wild Grounds Espresso, Buck Electric, Furniture 2 Go, fast food restaurants, hotels, and more. One of the best parts for Chris and Marcus has been the chance to see things come full circle. "I was laid off by my employer in 2014, which put things in motion for me to get my degree through the Worker Retraining program. Now we're doing signs for our community and doing what we can to make our hometown shine bright," Marcus said.

Returning to GHC for the bookstore project is another example of Chris and Marcus' journey coming full circle.

"I enjoyed my entire time at GHC," Chris said. "My experience here, I loved it. My teachers, I had great relationships with all of them. I don't think I had a bad experience at all."

For Marcus, returning to campus for the bookstore project was extra meaningful. "This is where I met my wife! She was working at the bookstore at the time and I was a work study in the counseling center, and I met her just being me, socially talking. The next thing you know, here we are almost 10 years later."