As the CEO of Vankirk Electric in Winder, Georgia, Loren Wesley Vankirk is responsible for the company’s overall operations, including financing, logistics, marketing, and strategic management. Loren Wesley Vankirk is also actively involved with several nonprofits, including United Way.Founded in 1887, United Way focuses on providing educational, financial, and health care support to communities around the world. On February 27, 2018, United Way announced its partnership with Saleforce.org to launch Philanthropy Cloud, which will provide a unique platform for corporations, individuals, and nonprofits to connect and continue to drive social good.With United Way’s network of over 60,000 companies worldwide, Philanthropy Cloud will help managers and employees to streamline their existing philanthropic programs and engage in social volunteerism more efficiently. Philanthropy Cloud will take advantage of Salesforce.org’s Einstein AI technology to manage millions of giving opportunities and find the relevant fundraising campaigns and nonprofit activities that are based on any given employee’s profile, volunteerism history, location, and interests.
For more than two decades, Loren Wesley Vankirk has led Vankirk Electric as CEO and owner. Under his supervision, the electrical construction company grew from $5 million in revenue to more than $50 million and expanded its market share to cover more of the continental United States. Outside of his work, Loren Wesley Vankirk maintains an extensive coin collection.
Although coins have existed since about 650 BC, coin collecting is believed to have started during the rule of Caesar Augustus between 27 BC and AD 14. While many people hoarded coins to gain wealth, Augustus is the first known person who collected foreign coins and old coins and gave them to his friends on special occasions. Archeologists have also found coins from Roman times in different countries, including Switzerland. Since these groups of coins do not contain two of the same type of coin, they are believed to be early collections. From ancient times through the Renaissance, coin collecting was known as the “hobby of kings” and was primarily enjoyed by nobility in Europe. By the 17th century, coin collecting had become more academic, and numismatics was elevated to a science. In the 1800s, multiple coin organizations, including the American Numismatic Society, were founded, and handbooks were published for collectors. In the 20th century, coin shows and conventions began as the general public became increasingly interested and involved in coin collecting.
For more than 40 years, Loren Wesley Vankirk has been working as an electrical contractor. He holds or is qualified for electrical licenses in nearly two dozen states. He possesses extensive experience with electrical systems including lighting, wiring, fire alarms, phones, and other low-voltage systems. Loren Wesley Vankirk leverages this knowledge to lead Vankirk Electric as CEO and owner.Most phone wiring in residential homes consists of red, green, black, and yellow wires. These four wires are split into two pairs, one combines the red and green wire, and the other combines the yellow and black wire. The pairs are twisted around one another to prevent them from interfering with the other pair in any way. Each of these wires is also very thin, thus ensuring that they stand out from regular, thick electrical wires. When a phone line is placed into a building, only one pair of wires is needed. In most cases, the red and green wires are used for the phone line. Once the line is set up, the yellow and black wires remain unused. While this may seem pointless, having the second pair of wires keeps homeowners from having to rewire the entire home to accommodate a fax machine or other phone-related device.In recent years, the popularity of modems, answering machines, and other phone-related devices has increased the need for six phone line wires in homes. This grants homeowners the ability to set-up one phone line and two additional devices, if necessary. The number of phone lines in a building is also higher in multi-home buildings or commercial buildings. In these cases, a property owner may have eight colored wires or more installed.
Loren Wesley Vankirk, a longtime electrical contractor, leads Vankirk Electric as CEO. In this capacity, he leverages more than 40 years of experience in the field to oversee daily operations of the electrical construction company and handle its financing, marketing, and strategy. An avid traveler, Loren Wesley Vankirk has seen numerous places in Europe and is fond of visiting Mexico.One of the most popular tourist attractions in Mexico is Chichen Itza on the Yucatan Peninsula. A huge Mayan city, Chichen Itza was built around 400 AD and had grown into a center of Mayan economic and political activity just 200 years later. The city was comprised of various types of stone structures, including commercial and residential buildings. These buildings covered close to two square miles. Along the outskirts of the city, there were smaller homes that made up suburban-esque areas. However, some of the most notable structures in the city were the pyramid, El Castillo; a large cenote (sacred spring); and the astronomical observatory, El Caracol. These structures were testament to the Mayan’s advanced civilization.Over the next several centuries, Chichen Itza was abandoned a few times by the Itzas, a Maya group, before being conquered by the Toltecs. The influence of the Toltecs was strong and pushed Chichen Itza into becoming a religious and trade center. These conquerors also introduced the practice of human sacrifice to the Itzas.When the Mayan civilization fell into decline in the late 1400s and early 1500s, the city became entirely abandoned. It remained lost until a New York lawyer rediscovered it in 1842. Since then, Chichen Itza has undergone significant restorations by the Mexican government and Carnegie Institute, and has become a popular tourist destination.
