“For every no, I know there is a yes. And so I don’t stop. You may tell me no, but I know that someone will say yes to me. My mother always tells me I’m just like my dad.” Dr. Joy Rohadfox, RCCSC President
Joy Rohadfox accepts the “Women Who Move the Nation” award from the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials in March 2015.
characteristics she learned from her father in business. The first is focus. “Dad was really focused on growing the company. He would say, ‘If they are not talking about a job, then they aren’t talking about anything.’ I like to think I’m a little nicer about it, but I am very focused on growing our company,” she said. Another attribute she learned from her father was a strong work ethic. The senior Rohadfox would often spend days on the road visiting clients and making sales calls in several states. “My father worked very hard; he would sometimes travel to three cities in one day. It took me a while, but I have learned to do that too in order to maximize my time.” Rohadfox also uses her organizational skills to her advantage. “Like my father, I am very organized,” she said. “I write everything down and I make a daily checklist and mark things off as they get done.” The last attribute she believes she learned from her father was optimism. “We are both optimists. For every no, I know there is a yes. And so I don’t stop. You may tell me no, but I know that someone will say yes to me. My mother always tells me I’m just like my dad.” These attributes have led to continued success for RCCSC, and Rohadfox was honored by the national Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) for her success at its annual Celebrating Women Who Move the
Nation program in March 2015. She used the opportunity to dedicate the award to her father and honor him for providing the foundation upon which the company is built. Although Rohadfox celebrates the past and what RCCSC has accomplished, she is firmly fixed on leading the company to greater success in the future by building on the company’s roots in the transportation industry and growing in the markets where the company does business. Now that Rohadfox has successfully transitioned the firm from the first generation to the second, she encourages others facing a similar situation to seek out mentors who can help navigate the turbulent transition. She believes an experienced mentor can make the process easier by serving as a sounding board for ideas, and answer questions based on their expertise in similar situations. She also encourages women entrepreneurs, especially those in traditional maledominated industries like construction, to not wear their emotions on their sleeves and to “stay on top of your game." She believes that in order to stay relevant, you must remain educated on current trends and the latest technologies, so that you can effectively communicate with whomever may be at the table. “When I first took over leadership, men would look right past me in meetings and talk to the other men; they don’t do that anymore.”
// winter 2016
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