Logos and tag lines are not brands. Brands are values and core identities. That goes for us too. Here’s what it means to be Proxima.
We believe communities matter. There are few quality-of-life factors for Americans more profound than the communities they live in, and every inch of sidewalk and blade of park grass is part of that. We believe in communities, and we believe civic pride and identity are an essential part of building strong and happy ones.
We’re well-traveled. We’re in the business of places, so we go places. Understanding where a place has been and how it got to where it is becomes essential to determining where it is going, and there is much to learn around every corner. It helps us put the challenge of community identity into context.
We believe in pushing boundaries.It can be easy to play it safe when dealing with the challenges of community projects. Stakeholders can be demanding or resistant to change. Visions can vary across age groups. Different residents and business owners may have different goals. We believe great work comes out of this tension, as it pushes the boundaries of what’s possible. We won’t take the easy road, and we’ll challenge communities to lead with a bold vision that might make a few people uneasy at first.
We’re active citizens. To understand community challenges, you have to dig in. We do. We serve as civic volunteers, neighborhood association board members, homeowners association presidents, planning commissioners, parent council members and neighborhood activists. We shop and buy local, supporting our community entrepreneurs. It isn’t a side gig. It’s part of our professional and personal identity.
We’re curious. We learn about our industry and disciplines. We’re active participants in professional organizations and looking for opportunities to try new things. We try new things and fail sometimes. We try new things and succeed sometimes. No matter what, we always learn and get better at what we do.
We love our neighbors. Membership in a community is something we all share, and we identify and empathize with our neighbors, whether they be the folks physically living next door or the people we meet while doing our work and living our lives.
