‘MY STORY’ rebuilt the website, implemented state of the art electronic software designed for the facility industry to streamline the business and giving our clients complete versatility on communication. We have since moved, expanded 3 times for our growth and additional employees. We now have a fleet of trucks. I love the team we have built and we all have the same goal, Happy Customers! There have been times when I’ve been told to stop working, as we never want to fail a new client due to the exceptional growth. That’s the first time in my life that’s ever happened. It’s a good fit, now for our next goal.

people’s strengths and promoting them based on their skills and hard work, not just tenure. Jennifer Kong, Forever 21: I started at Forever 21 in the Accounts Payable department. But after a year or so, I realized that a job in accounting was not for me, and I was ready to move onto something different. For me, it seemed that my duties and tasks were very repetitive day in and day out. I discussed this with the VP of Finance at the time, and she actually recommended that I transfer to a different department within the company that would fit me better. There was an immediate open position in the Purchasing department. I interviewed for the position, and it sounded interesting and different so I decided to try it out. When I entered the Purchasing department, the teams were divided so that the fixed fixtures and construction materials were handled by one team, and the movable fixtures and visual elements were handled by another. I was assigned to the team that covered the fixed fixtures and construction materials. This position kept me very busy and I really enjoyed it because my work entailed different projects for different regions with different vendors. I was also able to have a role in the creative side of the company as we worked closely with our Interior Design department to develop new materials and fixtures. During my six years with this team I worked my way up to help supervise the team with the assistant manager at the time. By then, the director of our department was replaced by someone new, and she had decided to reorganize the department. After merging the two teams that handled all of the construction, fixture and visual items, they gave me the opportunity to manage that team. It has now been two years since I took this role, and this year will be my ninth year at Forever 21.

Karla King, EBI Consulting: I wanted to be Erin Brockovich when I was growing up: I wanted to take out the big polluters. That’s what drove me to look for colleges in the environmental field and decide to get into the world of civil engineering. I wasn’t a hardcore “tree hugger,” but I wanted to find a balance between the two. I went to Northeastern, graduated with four to five job options, and ultimately took a job with one of my mentors from a previous internships. But I didn’t fit the stereotypical engineer mold in terms of personality, and I was a woman. “What have I signed up for?” I asked. I went to grad school in engineering management on nights and weekends while working full-time. It was difficult being in a male-dominated industry, and I struggled with the hierarchy that many of these firms have. I was getting very little mentorship in management from people who were supposed to be my superiors and my inspiration. I went back to school again and decided to get my law degree. Again, I did it at night, finishing in three-and-a-half years doing summer and night courses while working full-time. I remember driving home from a construction site being miserable. I was in an engineering field dealing with contractors and engineers and everybody was a curmudgeon. It was then that I received a call from a recruiter, somebody I had known from industry networking events: there was an opportunity with EBI. They were breaking Amanda Scott, Orscheln Farm and into the retail space and trying to grow the Home: My career started with Orscheln environmental health and safety portion of Farm and Home. I grew up on a farm in the company, breaking into life sciences Missouri girl, so I was always familiar with and healthcare. This was fascinating to me. the company. I started part-time job right – Marilyn Brennan, Egan Sign When my boss left a few months after I was before my senior year of high school when I hired, he recommended that I take over the was 16 years old. environmental health and safety group. I attended the University of Missouri Columbia while still working I put my nose to the grindstone to make the group a success. It at Orscheln Farm and Home part-time and obtaining my degree in has been really great to work for an organization focused on finding Agriculture Systems Management.

Understanding the customer has been the key to my growth and success. It has only been three years since I’ve been in sales and I am very passionate about working for a solution based, client centric company.

COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION & RENOVATION — NOVEMBER : DECEMBER 2018