Brasfield & Gorrie Founder Inducted into Alabama Construction Hall of Fame

January 21, 2015

Alabama AGC honors James Harbison

Birmingham, Ala. (Jan. 16, 2015) – The Alabama chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) has inducted James Harbison, one of Brasfield & Gorrie’s five founders, into the Alabama Construction Hall of Fame. The organization recognized Harbison for his avid participation in its work, his dedication to integrity and excellence in the field, and his leadership in the construction industry in Alabama and across the Southeast.

Harbison joined Brasfield & Gorrie in 1969. He brought field experience and strength to the young company in what Brasfield & Gorrie Chairman Miller Gorrie said was “perhaps the most exciting hire I ever made.”

Harbison rose through the ranks quickly, proceeding from carpenter foreman to superintendent to general superintendent in only eight years. Brasfield & Gorrie recognized his field management and problem-solving skills and used them to gain clients and expertise in new market sectors. He worked in healthcare, high-rise condominiums, water and wastewater treatment, high-rise offices, and structural concrete, seamlessly moving from one medium to the next. Over the course of his 42-year career, Harbison played a leading role in iconic projects, such as Regions Harbert Plaza in Birmingham, Alabama; the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia; and the “Batman Building” in Nashville, Tennessee.

“For over 40 years of his active construction career, there was no person in the construction industry in Alabama with more integrity and competence or more respect from individuals at all levels than James,” Gorrie said.

At the time of his retirement in 1995, Harbison had built an incomparable field force for Brasfield & Gorrie while completing projects that helped the company become a major construction enterprise in the Southeast. His commitment to excellence, integrity and community continues to influence the way Brasfield & Gorrie does business.

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About Brasfield & Gorrie

Celebrating 50 years in business, Brasfield & Gorrie is one of the nation’s largest privately held construction firms, providing general contracting, design-build, and construction management services for a wide variety of markets, including healthcare, commercial, institutional, federal, municipal, industrial, infrastructure, and water/wastewater treatment. We serve clients from offices in Atlanta and Columbus, Georgia; Birmingham, Alabama; Dallas, Texas; Jacksonville and Orlando, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; and Raleigh, North Carolina. Brasfield & Gorrie has approximately 2,600 employees, and its 2013 revenues were $2.3 billion. Engineering News-Record ranks Brasfield & Gorrie 22nd among the nation’s “Top 400 Contractors” for 2014.