After almost 17 years with Matrix-NDI working as a Field Technician, Steve Cosgrove retires today! In order to send him off into retirement properly, we want to highlight some parts of his career and personal life. We are so thankful for all of the hard work Steve has done for us and wish him all the best as he enters retirement.
Career
Steve was born and raised in Brooklyn Park, MN. After high school he attended Hennepin Technical College to study business, but after two years he decided that it was NOT for him. From there he decided to obtain his associates degree in Electronic Technology from Brown Institute which was located on Lake Street and Minnehaha. At this time, he was learning how to fix and support large mainframe computers – which took up entire rooms.
After obtaining his degree in Electronic Technology he entered the workforce as a salesman where he sold computer related hardware such as printers, hard drives and storage. In 2001 he decided to call the Union to ask what he could do with his degree and experience, and found out that Low Voltage was in his wheelhouse. He worked in the field for 3 years before being hired by Matrix-NDI in March 2004. Here at Matrix-NDI, he has been an incredible asset specializing in Low Voltage Voice & Data as well as Security.
Steve says that he has been incredibly happy working for Matrix-NDI and that it’s the longest he has ever spent working for one company. He values all the friends and memories he has made along the way and is glad he found such a great place to work.
Personal Life & Hobbies
Steve has been married to his wife, Kathy, for 41 years. Kathy is a retired Registered Nurse. They have one son, Charlie, who lives in Saint Peter, MN and works as a football coach at Gustavus Adolphus College (go Gusties!). Charlie and his wife, Liz, have three children together making Steve an incredibly happy grandfather. While Steve doesn’t have any pets, he has a grand-dog named George – who is a yellow lab.
Steve and Kathy enjoy traveling and are looking forward to the end of COVID so they can explore the east coast more. They plan to drive to Florida next winter and then move up the coast as the weather warms up. Steve would like to check out island life and visit Hawaii and some islands in the Caribbean in the future.
Some of his other hobbies include fishing, hunting, and golfing. He and Kathy have a place by the lake in Alexandria, MN where they look forward to taking spontaneous trips now that they will both be retired. Steve also loves hunting with his buddies, shooting skeet in the summer, and is perfecting his skills at reloading (building his own ammo). In the winter he loves going to the range with a group. He says it gets competitive and they have competitions to see who can hit the most bullseyes in a timed setting. During the fall of 2019 he took a trip with his friends out to Colorado to hunt Elk. He said they weren’t successful, but the views and time spent in a great place with great company made up for it. Steve is hoping to improve his golf skills but plans to have a good time with it even if he only gets worse.
Comments about Steve from his peers:
“Steve Cosgrove..... Cozi... as we call him... An overall great guy! Very dependable. I could always count on him. He can schmooze with the best of them. A true people person. Maybe, it comes from all the years of his bar tending days!!!! We have had a lot of fun over the years! A lot of late nights with cut overs and cabling projects etc.
Proud to have him on my team. Even though his son does coach football for the Gusties. Go Johnnies!!! lol..
I wish him all the best in his retirement days ahead. Hopefully down the road we can meet him on Sanibel island and crack a beer and hit a round of golf.
Thanks, and best wishes!”
-Steve Z
“A funny story from our time working on a project at a hospital together:
While we were there, we would take our breaks in the breakroom that all nurses and doctors also used. One day I had some Muskie fishing lures for Steve, so I brought them to the break room. Muskie lures are pretty big (muskies are big fish) with two three prong hooks on them- which are barbed. So, we are handing them back and forth and somehow managed to both get hooked by the same lure. Our hands are literally joined together by a huge muskie lure. We get the lure out of Steves hand, and we realize that the barb is imbedded in my hand – which requires medical help to get out. Essentially, the same doctors that were in the breakroom with us that day, ended up removing the fishing lure from my hand in the ER... always a great time working with or being around Cosgrove!”
-Eric T
“2 tickets to Pittsburgh.”
-David G
“Steve has been an asset to this company since I met him well over ten years ago. I have always appreciated his humor and work ethic not only in the field for many years, but also after my transition into the office as well. I wish Steve well in his retirement and I am very jealous to the amount of time he will be spending on the lakes. Good luck Steve you will be missed!”
-Josh T
Again, thank you for all of your hard work over the past 17 years at Matrix-NDI, Steve. Enjoy retirement!