On any given day, I might be walking through a job site where an entire city block is taking shape, with cranes overhead, crews moving in sync, and hundreds of thousands of square feet rising from the ground. It’s complex, fast-moving work.
My story didn’t start here. It started with a simple piece of advice from my father.
Encouraged to learn a trade, I split my high school days between the classroom and vocational training, learning carpentry by hand. Even after college, I found my way back to construction, joining the Carpenters Union before stepping into a manager trainee role at 84 Lumber in 1997. I thought I might manage a store someday; I never expected to help build entire communities.
Over nearly three decades, my career grew alongside the company, moving through roles in store operations, sales, and installation across multiple markets. That hands-on experience became critical as the industry began to shift. Builders started looking for certainty – guaranteed pricing, reliable partners, and the ability to take on more work without adding risk. What used to be just about estimates has evolved into turnkey solutions. Builders want to know exactly what a project will cost and trust that it will get done.
84 Lumber evolved alongside that shift, expanding from supplying lumber to delivering full-service solutions, including estimating, design, logistics, labor, and installation. That approach opened the door to larger, more complex work, especially in the multifamily space, where developers are building entire communities.
One recent project in Atlanta stands out: an eight-story, nearly 300,000-square-foot apartment development in a dense urban setting with little room to operate. Materials were staged offsite and craned into place with precise timing. Every move required coordination, and every team had to stay aligned. It came down to planning and getting the right people in the room early. The project was completed ahead of schedule and under budget, but what stands out most is the team behind it – the crews in the field, the managers across the business, and the hundreds of people I’ve had the opportunity to train over the years. The strength of 84 Lumber has always come from its people.
As 84 Lumber looks ahead to its role in Building America, that idea feels especially real. For me, the work centers on creating places where people live, where communities grow, and where opportunity takes shape.
At the end of the day, the approach stays simple: show up, solve problems, and keep building forward.