I have found great fulfillment and a good life working in the construction field. I do not consider my life to be an exceptional story above any others.
I just consider it to
be one blessed by God.”
RON
Robotic Field Engineer
A four-decade veteran of Brasfield & Gorrie, Ron is an expert robotic field engineer. He has contributed to the success of our most notable and complex projects across the nation. Known on the jobsite as “Preacher,” you can find Ron counseling and teaching Bible studies to coworkers who have grown to trust Ron as they can sense his genuine care for them.
How did you get into construction?
I started in construction right after high school. To be honest, spending four to eight years pursuing a college degree never really appealed to me. Construction offered competitive wages right out the gate and a way of earning a living that made me feel good about myself.
I’ve been with Brasfield & Gorrie for 43 years, but I never really intended to make construction a career. Having been raised by good parents, I was taught to carry my own weight and construction, to me, seemed like the right means to that end.
But what began as a way to provide for my basic needs evolved over time into a passionate career. I graduated from high school in 1973 and worked for various companies until 1980. It was then that I was introduced to the still young Brasfield & Gorrie. That consequential encounter was undoubtedly one of the many turning points of my life. Although I didn’t know it then, I know it now: The company he was hammering out on the anvil of life was being built on a firm foundation of family-oriented work ethics and professionalism. It has been exciting to be a part of a small dream that became something great.
How has your career grown since starting at Brasfield & Gorrie?
I started with the Brasfield & Gorrie as a carpenter. In the early days, the only training that was offered was what you could glean from others in the field. As the company progressed and grew visionary leaders from within, we began to set up focused in-house training.
After 18 years as a carpenter, I asked to transition to field engineering and was immediately placed into a training program. For the last 25 years, I have been privileged to participate in the company’s yearly training classes. The opportunities to progress were offered, and I appreciatively accepted.
What do you like most about your job? What are your you passionate about in construction?
My career has carried me across the Southeast, where I’ve met many unique and wonderful people. I have acquired lifelong friends along the way.
One of the things I love most about my job is building things. I guess that started in the sandbox with the little truck trying to build a road, or maybe with the LEGO blocks on the kitchen floor, or possibly the Play-Doh, or just the milk cartons. No matter, it is simply in humanity to aspire to build things and to achieve the extraordinary.
From pouring a 1,200-yard block of concrete 40 feet in the air, to replacing an active railroad bridge in a mobile waterway to constructing a 21-story test stand for the next generation rocket, construction has broken loose the best part of me from deep within. It has revealed abilities and creativity I didn’t know lay within the fiber of my being. Construction, through the fire of necessity, has unearthed the God-given means to conquer things that now, looking back, I wonder how I managed to pull it off. Could it be that man, who is made in the image of the matchless master builder, has a touch of that which is beyond him in him?
We speak of building a life. Well, construction is a tangible way to build a life while building a world. It is wonderful to see something that you have done through all the sweat, ingenuity, energy, and grit that you can muster that will endure beyond.
What is a valuable lesson that you have learned during your career? Any advice you’d like to share?
If I have learned anything in construction, it is that people are your most valuable assets. Teach, encourage, empower, and lead them and they will make you a success. If I had a word of advice to offer to someone considering a career in construction, it would be this: Find something in life that you would do for free and allow it to become your passion and lifelong endeavor. For me, that was a career with Brasfield & Gorrie. I have found great fulfillment and a good life working in the construction field. I do not consider my life to be an exceptional story above any others. I just consider it to be one blessed by God.
