Kristian Agoglia has been making a difference since he was 15 years old. Growing up in New York, he saw the need for a landscaping and maintenance company in his hometown of a little more than 300,000 people. Not long after this idea was planted, Looks Great Services was born. It was such a huge success for the young businessman that he decided to continue it through high school and college.
Looks Great Services eventually expanded its scope to include contracting with utility companies to clear power lines and right-of-ways, as well as working with cities and municipalities after a natural disaster.
When Hurricane Katrina delivered a terrible blow to South Mississippi in 2005, Agoglia’s company was one of several sent to the region to help start putting the pieces back together. He lived here for several months during that time and met the woman he would end up marrying, Yolanda, a Columbia native.
Even though they got married, he wouldn’t be able to move his company overnight. However, after several trips from Mississippi to New York and back, Agoglia decided Columbia would be the new home for Looks Great Services.
“Even though the population here is much smaller than where I came from in New York, I saw an opportunity to live in a great state and grow my company. We knew we could find the workers we needed here,” Agoglia said.
Looks Great Services, as well as many other companies, was instrumental in pulling off the construction and lighting aspects of downtown Columbia for the “Experience Columbia Christmas.” The event drew thousands from throughout the region for a lighting spectacular, including lights timed to music.
If residents didn’t know this company called Columbia home prior to Christmas, they definitely do now. Many of these companies donated hundreds of man hours in addition to money and supplies.
When Agoglia was asked why Looks Great Services decided to play such a leading role in the event, he said, “The downtown project started out small with just the lighting of the courthouse, but we knew we wanted to do something more than what has been done. Once we realized the impact that it would have on our community and those around it, we knew we had to do something spectacular. Sometimes you just have to do things that money can’t buy.”
With any kind of investment, it’s never promised that it will be successful. The same thoughts entered the minds of those involved in Experience Columbia.
“You never know if people are actually going to show up. We teamed up with the Kiwanis Club of Columbia for the Christmas Parade and were truly shocked at the amount of people who showed up. But we were scared that would be our biggest night, but every single night, event or not, there were hundreds of people just wandering around downtown. We got to see the best of people for an entire month,” Looks Great Service’s Business Development Executive Jacob Harrison said. “It’s been so touching hearing the stories that came out of these events. People have made new friends, saw old ones after years, and we even had engagements and a wedding downtown. Who could have ever predicted this response?”
When asked what he thought was in the future for Columbia, Agoglia smiled before answering. “The sky is truly the limit here. But you can’t wait for someone to do it for you. It can’t be the responsibility of one company or one person. Companies and individuals that have never been involved need to be. Everyone has to pitch in to make a difference, no matter how big or small.” Harrison reiterated this point by saying, “Marion County and Columbia could be the best in the state. Everybody here has something to offer. What we need is people to be positive about the possibilities. Don’t let a roadblock throw you off course.”
Even though Looks Great Services calls Columbia home, Agoglia and Harrison are not natives of Marion County. However, both now consider Columbia home.
“This is home now. There’s something special about coming home. It's a good life here. This community becomes your family quickly and there’s so many good, talented people here,” Agoglia explained.
Harrison, a Laurel native, followed with similar praise for Columbia, saying, “The sense of community and the people are what make Columbia and Marion County different and more special. It actually makes it better than any other around here. There are great things happening in Laurel, but I know we are on their heels. I always look forward to telling people that I’m from Columbia.”
