by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
Donna McGavic knows a thing or two about working downtown. She’s been here for nearly 25 years.
“I love it downtown,” said McGavic, a legal assistant with Branan, Manna & Diamond. “I’ve been here for so long, I can’t imagine working anywhere else.”
As a young legal secretary, McGavic said she was most attracted to downtown because of all of the job opportunities.
“The way I looked at it,” she said, “most of the city’s law firms were all right here and that might even still be true today. It just made sense to find work here.”
In 1979 McGavic started at the law offices of Charles Grant. Years later she went to work for Smith, Hulsey and Busey, where she met her current boss, attorney Mike Freed.
Seven months ago Freed accepted an offer to become managing partner at Branan, Manna & Diamond and McGavic went with him.
It was a move that took them only one block.
“I have to say, for the longest time it was so surreal,” she said of the move. “I could still see our old offices in the Wachovia building across the street and it actually took several months before I finally convinced myself that I wasn’t going to be going back there again.
“I do miss it over at Smith, Hulsey, but I’m also really excited to have so many new opportunities and responsibilities with my new job. It’s an exciting time.”
McGavic was born in Florida and, aside from a few years spent in Massachusetts, she’s never lived anywhere else. Today, she resides on the Southside.
“My entire family is here,” she said. “I have one brother and two sisters. I met my husband in high school and we have three daughters together. I even have one grandson here, so I really don’t have any reason to live anywhere else.”
And beyond family, McGavic said what she most enjoys about Jacksonville is its “small town feel.”
“Sure it’s a pretty big city when you think about it, but it’s no Miami or New York,” she said. “You get the best of both worlds and I really like that.”