So in 2004, Largay held the first M3F, then called the McDowell Mountain Music Festival, in Scottsdale, Ariz., headlined by David Crosby. Back in the early days, half of Wespac would be on site building everything from scratch, says Jay Coffey, a general superintendent who at first thought the idea was a bit crazy, but has since volunteered for more than 20 of the events.

“John always was a little eccentric in the way he wanted to do things, and the music festival fit right in with that,” says Derek Wright, president of Suntec Concrete, a longtime supporter of the event. “It captured his personality and passion for people in the industry.”

Giving back became ingrained in Wespac’s company culture, where Largay would tell employees, “I’m not asking you, I’m telling you: You have to participate in your community. I don’t care whether that’s M3F or your kid’s T-ball game or you’re serving Christmas dinner at the Salvation Army. People need to know what it feels like to donate their time.”

The festival became a team-building exercise as well. “You’re side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder with your people, you’re creating something unique and different that no one else does and it’s for the better good of the company and the community,” Coffey says.

Adds Largay, now retired from Wespac: “It’s the best team building exercise I’ve ever done as an employer.”

M3F has also become a family affair. Largay’s daughter, Rachel Blanchard, grew up around the festival and now serves as festival manager. “We hit some exponential growth with the festival about 10 years ago, and we could really expand how many charities we work with,” she says. Currently around 40 charities receive funding.

“Phoenix Children’s and M3F first became partners in 2012 and they have supported us significantly over the years,” says Rachel Larsen, a development officer with Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation. The partnership “has raised $1 million overall, which is incredible.”

In total, M3F has raised over $5 million for charity, but with the festival’s growth in popularity, Largay sees a future where each year could bring in closer to $1 million.

Blanchard encourages others to follow Largay’s example to show that construction companies can be multifaceted beyond their day-to-day work. “It gets you out of the office. It gets you out of your everyday regimen and just really puts things into perspective, especially because you’re doing it for such a bigger cause than just yourself.”

Leveraging his relationships as a general contractor to fulfill a lifelong passion for creativity and music has become “John’s legacy of his contribution to the industry and, more importantly, the community,” Wright says. “It allows him to use both of those passions—both construction and music—to make a difference.”