a look at...
Sandy and Sandy MacKinnon
photography by Win Wolloff
A.D. “Sandy” MacKinnon, the founder and CEO of
MacKinnon Equipment & Services, has spent his entire career
in the lift truck and construction business in the Southeast.
Michigan-born and raised, he is a graduate of Hillsdale College
in Hillsdale, Michigan. He and his Tampa-born wife, Sandra
Cross MacKinnon, have a blended family of five children, 20
grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Sandy is a director for the Bank of Tampa, the Florida State
Fair Authority, where he is immediate past chairman; a board
member and past chair for the Greater Tampa Chamber of
Commerce, and a trustee for the University of Tampa. He was
chairman of the host committee executive board for Super
Bowl Tampa 2009. He is active on boards of the Straz Center
for the Performing Arts, formerly known as the Tampa Bay
Performing Arts Center.
His wife, who also goes by Sandy, attended Hillsborough
Community College and the University of South Florida,
graduating magna cum laude, and taught for Hillsborough
County Schools and the CE Mendez Foundation in
Hillsborough County before switching gears and working
for Hyde Park Builders and Shimberg Cross Co., developing
a passion for decorating by working with the professionals.
Together, they buy and remodel condos to make them
income producing and now that “Mr.” Sandy has sold his
business and officially retired, they plan to travel to visit
grandchildren away at college, which means the one in
Australia, too. “Mrs.” Sandy co-chaired the Holiday Stroll
for A Kids Place, and the two of them have been sponsors
for the Straz Center’s Broadway Ball.
Why do you live where you live?
Mrs. Sandy: I love Tampa, and feel very fortunate to have
been born here.
Mr. Sandy: It’s a great place to work, live and play, and
the people are wonderful.
At what do you excel?
Mrs. Sandy: Taking a space and making it more beautiful.
Mr. Sandy: Family, community and business.
What is your favorite word?
Mrs. Sandy: Love, it’s most important to me.
Mr. Sandy: Perfect.
What provides you with pleasure?
Mrs. Sandy: Giving to others.
Mr. Sandy: Loving life filled with simple pleasures.
How do you relax?
Mrs. Sandy: Find a cozy spot with a good book and a cup
of tea.
Mr. Sandy: At the beach house, on the boat, putzing
around.
154 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018
Who are your role models?
Mrs. Sandy: My big sisters, who have taught me
everything from how to shave my legs to how to throw a
dinner party.
Mr. Sandy: My mom and dad, Mom for her loving ways
and Dad for his strong work ethic.
What is the best advice you have ever been given?
Mrs. Sandy: Daddy said to me, “If you can’t say
something nice, don’t say anything at all.”
Mr. Sandy: That I should own my own business.
Why do you do what you do?
Mrs. Sandy: My priority is family and friends. Blending
two already complete and beautiful families can be tricky.
It takes careful planning, compromise and lots of love.
Mr. Sandy: I love to help improve that which I’m
involved in.
What don’t people know about you?
Mrs. Sandy: Maybe that I’m very shy.
Mr. Sandy: That we have 20 grandchildren and three
great-grandchildren.
What are your favorite words of wisdom?
Mrs. Sandy: There is great power in positive thinking.
Mr. Sandy: The cure for anything is saltwater: sweat,
tears or the sea.
What is your motto?
Mrs. Sandy: “People may not remember what you say,
but they will remember how you made them feel.”
Mr. Sandy: ”To whom much is given, much is expected.”
How do you think other people would describe you?
Mrs. Sandy: A good listener.
Mr. Sandy: Considerate. I have not forgotten from where
I came.
What would you like to do that you have never
done?
Mrs. Sandy: Backpack for a couple of weeks in a foreign
country.
Mr. Sandy: Visit all 50 states.
How would you describe yourself?
Mrs. Sandy: Honest and sincere.
Mr. Sandy: Confident, team player, experienced.
What would you like to be able to do that you can’t?
Mrs. Sandy: Dance. I can hear the music, but my body
doesn’t respond.
Mr. Sandy: Pilot an F-16.
What talent do you wish you had?
Mrs. Sandy: I wish I could paint a lovely picture.
Mr. Sandy: To play the piano. 9