We’ve teamed up with Dave Geertz to open an office headquartered in Tampa, Florida. We’re thrilled about increasing our capacity to serve an even greater number of people throughout the Southeast area, and the number one reason we chose Florida is down to Dave Geertz. He’s a special guy with enormous experience, and we want to share some of Dave’s story and how we collaborated with him for this expansion.
Like James Milburn and Don Collier, Dave Geertz was born and raised in the Chicago area. Dave got into demolition right out of college. When he was still swinging a sledgehammer, he moved to Saint Louis, Missouri where he met his mentor, Scott Seibert.
Scotty was “a big, burly body-builder type guy with huge arms and a fu manchu mustache like the Hulk.” Dave begged Scott to take him to the next big job with him, an 18-story high rise that they demolished by hand. Scott agreed, saying “you have to do every single thing I say. This is dangerous. You could get killed out there.”
Dave moved on from that job to operating and running machinery. Then he was promoted to foreman, and to superintendent, and then to a Project Management role. At that point he returned to Chicago to run the Total Building Division for a local outfit, and that’s when he crossed paths with Don Collier.
Don and James both recognized the attitude and experience that Dave had. Dave has run every single piece of equipment out there and it gives him the opportunity to mentor the young professionals coming into the industry. Even more than that, Dave’s attitude is to “pay it forward,” remembering the opportunities he’s been given and the people, like Scotty, who poured into his life.
The riddle was just how to get Dave back to Chicago after he’d moved to Tampa. Fortunately, we figured it out–we came to Dave. Instead of staying in Chicago, we’ve moved–expanded–to Florida. As the Director of Operations at our Southeast Division, Dave has already bid close to 100 jobs and is building an all-star team of estimators, engineers, laborers, and foremen.
One final reason Dave is a perfect addition to the MILBURN leadership team is his philosophy on safety. “Safety,” Dave says, “is non-negotiable. If you make the little things a big deal, they’ll never turn into big things.” Part of changing the industry for the better means we never compromise on safety, and Dave Geertz shares the conviction that safety is a part of doing good work.
We’re so proud to welcome Dave Geertz to the MILBURN team as we expand our reach throughout the Southeast, and we’re only a little jealous of the weather he enjoys in Tampa. Follow along with us to get to know the team better and see what kinds of projects we take on throughout Florida and the Southeast region.
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