Building an Enduring Legacy
If you visit John Curtis in his office at CMHM Architects don’t waste your time looking for his computer.
The 81-year-old architectural ace and co-founder and principal still hand sketches his ideas on paper before they are then scanned and integrated into the firm’s digital workflow.
“It’s a system that still allows me the luxury of being able to do what I was trained to-50 plus years ago…but the firm itself has advanced significantly in technology,” he says with a smile, recalling how in 1984 the company was the first in Polk County to invest in Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software and just last year CMHM implemented an AI-based receptionist named “Kelly” to direct phone calls.
CMHM’s success is rooted in a blend of uncompromising principles and quiet evolution.
Their footprint in Bartow is massive. They constructed the 176,000 square foot automobile empire known as Bartow Ford, and they built the Science and Innovation Building at Bartow High School.
In Lakeland, their portfolio is vast, including Lakeland Christian School, Victory Church and Allen & Co., to name just a few.
He co-founded Swilley Curtis and Bertossi Architects (the predecessor to CMHM) in 1975 after working three years as a project architect.
“We basically wanted to be just good, straightforward, on top of the table architects,” Curtis recounts.
This commitment to honesty and transparency became the guiding principle, and that culture extended deeply into leadership’s relationships with employees, which is why many staff members have worked for the firm for decades.
Maria Guzman and Oanh Le are two up-and-coming architects CMHM hired in 2025—a pair of graduates from the University of South Florida who Curtis believes have the potential to be long-term successors.
Guzman compliments the way Curtis and the senior staff serve as true “mentors” who want them to learn how to resolve challenges and think for themselves, but who also care about their personal lives and encourage them to get involved in giving back and serving their community.
Curtis doesn’t broadcast it, but he and his late wife, Diane, who passed away in 2024, have also made it their mission to build and strengthen the community.
As one example, the couple have made significant contributions to the community through giving to and serving at First United Methodist Church, a facility that CMHM designed the three-story expansion that was completed in 2014 that included the preschool, adult ministry area, cafe and bookstore.
When asked what excites him after more than five decades in the field, Curtis points to the endless learning opportunities inherent in his job.
His personal favorite projects are houses of worship, citing the “intimate” involvement of the client—and he jokes that longtime Victory Church senior pastor Wayne Blackburn has occasionally referred to him as “my Methodist architect.”
While John Curtis may not be a digital native, the firm is far from stagnant in its approach to technology. CMHM is actively working on how to integrate new tools, including its digital receptionist that has been surprisingly well received by clients.
Yet, Curtis and his leadership team are clear about the limits of technology. He notes that AI “doesn’t do nuance very well,” and “nuance comes from experience.” For the complex, client-facing work of architecture, human experience and communication—the ability to get a client to “reveal to you what their real needs are”—remain indispensable.
Whether talking about technology or future leadership, CMHM Architects is actively positioning itself for long-term relevance. In addition to long-time partners Ben Mundy, Jr. (who joined in 1981) and C. Keith Hunnicutt (who joined in 1988), the third generation of firm leadership is already in place with Neil Melby, who became a managing partner in 2020. The firm has also continued to bring in new talent, including Guzman and Le.
Current projects are diverse in nature and include a number of school gymnasiums, a SWAT training tower and large build out for a nationally known heavy equipment dealer.
