From now on, April 17 will be known as Josh Greenberg Day in Gainesville.
People will still be able to celebrate his birthday for years to come.
Mayor Ed Braddy announced the decision Friday afternoon at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, where hundreds of people gathered to celebrate Greenberg’s life.
Greenberg, a UF alumnus, co-founder of Grooveshark Music and a man with many friends, was found dead on July 19 by his girlfriend. The cause of death remains unknown. He was 28.
In the lobby of the Phillips Center, framed photos depicted the life of Greenberg, from his curly-haired toddler days to a man with a full-grown beard.
He’s smiling in every single one.
Awards peppered the white-cloth tables. He got third place in fourth grade in an Einstein Math Meet in 1997. An award titled “I Broke the Server” sat among the gifts he received for speaking at events.
Even after his death, the accolades kept coming in. Phoebe Cade Miles of the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention announced through a recorded video message that a sculpture of Greenberg will join the museum’s outdoor exhibit.
Using an outline of his profile, it will double as a vase to represent all the things he filled his life with, and his face, to remember the man who helped Gainesville become a city of innovation, she said.
On the tables in the lobby, two white boxes read “Please leave a memory,” encouraging everyone to share an experience or encounter with Greenberg.
Greenberg helped usher in the innovation craze that hit Gainesville about a decade ago, Braddy said.
Greenberg’s vision for Gainesville, in a time when everyone left to Silicon Valley to start a business, was to turn it into a hub of talent, Braddy said.
Former UF President Bernie Machen said he believes Josh’s greatest gift was his mentoring and teaching to other local start-up companies.
“We can’t make sense of Josh’s loss,” Machen said. “It baffles me and it leaves a hole in my heart.”
But everyone here, he said, can be thankful for getting to know him, his impact on UF and the love and care he showed to everyone.
Machen said every student offered something unique.
“And boy, was that true of Josh,” he said.
Innovation Square, just east of UF’s campus, is a tribute to him, Machen said.
Infinity Hall, a residential hall set to open in the square in Fall, will honor Greenberg, serving as an everlasting memory to a man who inspired, encouraged and positively impacted so many people, Machen added.
“Its concept and its design is to produce more Josh Greenbergs,” he said.
Sam Tarantino, who co-founded Grooveshark with Greenberg, fought back tears as he recounted the nine and a half years that he knew him.
They spoke every day, he said.
“Our relationship was about as close to a married couple as you can get, in the most platonic way possible, of course,” Tarantino joked.
We must continue what Josh started, Tarantino said. Carry and pass on the torch of caring; that’s what he would have wanted.
After his speech, Tarantino poured his heart out over a piano while he sang “You Raise Me Up,” with two others on a violin and cello.
Ken McGurn, a mentor for Greenberg, said he was awed by the lanky kid whose aspirations and kindness saw no end.
“Josh was a nice guy,” he said. “Josh will not be forgotten.”
In the lobby, framed photos of Greenberg invited friends to leave behind a message around the picture.
On the top left corner of one, someone wrote: “Josh. Thanks for taking a chance on me. I don’t know who I’d be without you.”
Sam Tarantino (left), co-founder of Grooveshark, a Gainesville-based music streaming service, speaks to family and friends of fellow co-founder Josh Greenberg, who was found dead on July 19.
