Q: What is your job title at Milburn, and what are your typical responsibilities?
A: I started with Milburn in 2016, and I’m a foreman. The main things I do in my role are just being in charge of crews on the job site, helping out whenever I can, and making sure we complete the tasks at hand in a safe and efficient way.
Q: What were you up to in your career before joining Milburn?
A: After high school, I got my associate’s degree in liberal arts from Illinois State. I decided not to keep going for my bachelor’s degree. I just didn’t really enjoy college. I started doing demolition in 1999, so I came to Milburn with 17 years of experience in our industry.
Q: What do you like about your job today? What makes you excited to go to work?
A: I love doing demo! I’ve been doing it forever, and it’s still fun for me. No two days are the same. Every day brings different challenges — one day we’ll be rolling around in Bobcats, the next day we’re breaking concrete, the next day we’re torching. There’s always something going on.
I just like putting on a pair of jeans and a flannel and knocking something down. It’s a stress reliever for me. This is what I want to do forever. I’m not an office person.
Q: Why do you enjoy working for Milburn? What is it about this company that sets them apart?
A: It’s an awesome company with a great group of guys. Milburn also has an excellent safety program, and there’s a family-oriented feel to it also. Everything just clicks here. There’s really good teamwork on all levels of the company. There’s no one out for themselves here. Nobody acts like they’re a superstar.
Part of that is due to the organization. This is a much more organized company than I’ve ever worked for, and there’s great leadership from the top down. It’s hard for me to explain how much better Milburn is than the previous company I worked for.
A good example of that is how quickly Milburn responded to the coronavirus. They put a whole new safety program together right away to keep our guys safe. I couldn’t believe how quickly they had a strong plan for it.
Q: How do you spend your free time? Are you married? Kids? Any of your own interests or hobbies?
A: I got married in 2000, and I have three kids. We like to go fishing as often as we can, and we also enjoy traveling. We like going to water parks with the kids in the Wisconsin Dells, and we go golfing too. My wife and I are hoping to go to Florida for our anniversary this year as well.