New Faces Cont.

William Rahrig joined Crowder in July 2022. He was born in Canada which was the nearest hospital from the small town he grew up in, in northern Maine (he’s a Mainiac). He moved to West Palm Beach Florida when he was 12 years old, and then attended the University of Central Florida in Orlando. William enjoys spending time with his mom, 6 siblings, wife and 2 kids, as well as volunteering at animal shelters.

Cameron Kalar joined Crowder in June 2022. He grew up in Elkins, WV with his mother. His father lives in Wake Forest, NC. Cameron graduated from WVU with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in May. He usually spends his free time playing music or watching sports (football specifically).

Seth Parker joined Crowder in June 2022. He was born and raised in the rural valley of New Philadelphia, Ohio, where he spent his time working construction, riding dirt bikes, and attending the Church of Christ. Following high school, he attended The University of Akron where he obtained his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Civil Engineering. He is blessed with supportive parents, an awesome brother, and a lovely fiancé. He believes in success only through diligence and hard work!

Joe Frederick joined Crowder in October 2022 as a Superintendent in Training. Joe grew up in Madison, NC and graduated from Western Carolina University. In his free time, he enjoys working on his jeep and playing golf. He also has a dog named Chile.

Darren Vires joined Crowder in July 2022. He is from Augusta County Virginia and has two children that he spends most of his time with, when he is not at work. They enjoy the outdoors, seeing wildlife, and never miss the chance to visit a zoo. They look forward to making Crowder a part of their family.

Tyler Darwin joined Crowder in August 2022 after his graduation from Mississippi State University this summer. He was raised in Dallas, Texas, where his family currently resides. Tyler has always had a strong interest in health and fitness.

Austin Jones joined Crowder in June 2022. He is from New England and likes spending his time outside hiking, fishing, or just relaxing with the dogs.

Tyler Maher joined Crowder in May 2022 as an Estimator. He graduated from the Stevens Institute of Technology and worked for a lighting distributor and flooring subcontractor before joining Crowder. Tyler’s hobbies include watching football, volunteering as a wrestling coach, napping, and spending time with family.

Sherri Crittenden joined Crowder in November 2022 as an Administrative Assistant. She has lived in the Charlotte area for 34 years, the last 10 out in the country in Mount Pleasant. She has two children, Michael and Katie, both grown. Her daughter has blessed her with four grandchildren. She enjoys working in the yard, bonfires, horseback riding, spending time with family and friends and trips to the beach.

Madeleine Bolding joined Crowder full-time in July 2022. She worked as a Co-Op for Crowder, prior to becoming a Project Engineer. She received her bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Madeleine is a Charlotte native; however, her family originates from Tornado Alley. She has a dog, Shelby, who is a border collie mixed with aussie and a ball python to keep her busy in her spare time. She also enjoys hiking and cooking with her fiancé.

New Faces Cont.

Mike Gordon joined Crowder in October 2022 as an Electrical Project Manager. He was born and raised in Dublin, CA and served in the United States Air Force 2000-2006. He graduated from the 5-Year, Electrical National Joint Apprenticeship & Training Committee Program as an Electrical Journeyman Wireman and oversaw work at his previous employer as a Foreman/Superintendent before he was transitioned to an Estimator/ Project Manager. He has been married to his wife Amanda for 15 years. She servied in the Navy and they met in Iceland on a deployment. They have 2 girls, Gianna (18) & Cassidy (14) and 3 dogs - 2 pugs and 1 Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. In Mike’s spare time he enjoys spending time with family, friends & golfing.

Ashley Williams joined Crowder in November 2022 as a Marketing Manager. Ashley is a proud native of North Carolina. She holds degrees in graphic design and communication from Peace College. She comes to Crowder with a marketing background in the water/ wastewater market from the engineering perspective. In her time working in the water/wastewater industry, She realizes the importance of brining clean drinking water to our communities and wants to help improve the water/wastewater infrastructure in any way she can. Ashley, with her husband and two children, reside in Garner, North Carolina. Ashley loves spending time with her family along with running, reading, and traveling.

Heavy Civil

Ethan Norton joined Crowder in August 2022 as a Project Engineer in the Heavy Civil Division. He is a recent graduate of Clemson University with a degree in civil engineering. Ethan was a part of the cooperative education program working with the Heavy Civil and Civil & Environmental divisions while in college. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, golfing, and spending time with his dog, Argo.

Nick Sursa started with Crowder Heavy Civil in October. Nick graduated from Purdue University in 2009 with a BS in Building Construction Management. He started his career with Granite Construction Company in Southern California, and worked for Zachry Construction in Durham, NC. Nick and his wife, Peyton, have been married for 13 years and have two amazing 8-year-old identical twin boys, Graham and Henry. Nick enjoys spending most of his time doing whatever the twins are currently into, but also enjoys bass fishing, golfing, food and just about anything outside.

Welcome to Matt Lamb who joined Crowder Heavy Civil as a Project Engineer in November. Matt has a Civil Engineering degree from the University of Georgia. He worked in geotechnical construction for the last five years on shoring and micropile projects. He has been married to his wife, Morgan, for two years and enjoys running, golfing, and camping.

New Additions

Congratulations to Keith Griffin and his family! Keith and his wife Brittany had a baby girl on 9/25/2022. Charlee Sue came into this world weighing 10 lb, 10 oz and was 22 ½ inches long. Charlee Sue is in good company with her brother and 2 sisters. Keith is the Corporate Shop Logistics Manager.

Congratulations to Emily (Crowder) & Patrick McDonagh on the birth of their son, Aidan Thomas McDonagh, born on Friday, November 25th. (Weight 8 lbs/12 oz and 21 ¼” long) Emily works in the marketing department of our C&E office. Congratulations as well to Grandpa Otis!

Congratulations to Luke and Emily Walker on their birth of their new baby girl!

Avery Elizabeth was born on 11/27/2022. She weighs 6 lbs. 8 oz and is 20 inches long. Luke is an Estimator/Project Engineer in our Heavy Civil Division.

Celebrating 75 Years in Business with 75 Acts of Kindness

We had many goals as a company to make our 75th year in business one of our best. We wanted our employees, their families, clients, and vendors to feel appreciated for all of the determination and hard work it has taken for Crowder to be successful for 75 years. One very important aspect of our success has always been the communities where we work. Without their support and need to grow, we would not have the opportunity to do the work that Crowder does, which is why we chose to give back through “75 Acts of Kindness” in and around our communities.

As we look over the years, Crowder has celebrated many anniversaries by giving back, so “75 Acts of Kindness” was a natural way to celebrate Crowder’s 75th Anniversary. As the year started, a committee of employees came together from all of our divisions to organize and lead this effort. They identified organizations that had a need by contacting organizations and including suggestions from their fellow employees for projects they had a connection to or were passionate about. These acts of kindness spanned a wide array of projects throughout the states where Crowder works. Crowder employees have made sandwiches, donated and sorted food, donated books and clothes, worked around schools and houses of veterans or the elderly, participated in walks and rides for different causes, and so much more! Crowder not only performed physical acts of service, but also made monetary donations to help many groups during difficult economic times. Our goal was to help make a difference in people’s lives.

Here, we would like to share just a few of the projects we worked on in each division. Thank you for your participation in helping to support the communities we live and work in!

Against Hunger

On August 19th, 2022, Crowder employees from the Apex office and local jobsites, along with several of their family members, worked together to package 15,000 meals for Rise Against Hunger. The organization disperses the packaged meals both locally, providing meals to hungry children, and globally to help combat hunger in other countries. Crowder also donated $5,500 to assist with purchasing the ingredients and other needs.

The Heavy Civil and C&E Divisions teamed up to complete a large, two-part community service project, to improve the Mariposa School for Children with Autism facilities. The first part of the project was on 9/24/22 and entailed tearing down the old playground equipment and building the new playground system. Both divisions worked together to get through a small hurdle of getting the playground system off the delivery truck. Thank you to Herc Rental for renting equipment to us on short notice, as well as Matt Seawell (C&E Sr. Project Manager) for coordinating the rental. Also, thank you to Shilo Smith (C&E Safety Engineer) for operating the equipment. Lastly, thank you to our partner, Apex Dumpsters, for making sure we had a receptacle for the old playground equipment. A huge thank you to Nick Vilaret (HC Sr. Project Manager), Brandon Lafforthun (HC Project Engineer) and their Heavy Civil crew, for the tremendous work getting the playground set up.

The second part of the project was completed on 10/15/22, when several C&E employees, and a few family members, along with Nick Vilaret from the Heavy Civil division, helped to provide more updates for the school. The team worked together to add 25 yards of playground mulch to the playground system that the Heavy Civil division put together a few weeks prior. They also added 10 yards of landscaping mulch to the front of the school building. A new three-tiered drinking fountain was installed outside the building to replace a small fountain that the school was previously using. Other projects that were completed included: replacing two garden beds with sensory specific plants, power washing of the cement near the garden beds, painting of two classrooms and patching of holes in the walls.

Mecklenburg County Creek Clean Up

On August 25 2022 Members of the Heavy Civil Division participated in a creek clean up with Mecklenburg County. Pictured: Seth Bennett, Kelly Sutton, Emily Trammell &

Habitat for Humanity

On September 16, employees of Heavy Civil and Civil and Environmental attended a Habitat for Humanity build in Statesville, NC. They prepared the rafters for installation by crane the next week. They restacked rafters, added plywood/osb, insulation, and overhang section to the end rafters, then cleaned up the jobsite by moving the osb for the roof to the sides of the house to make way for the crane. It was an exceptionally easy day! And lots of fun!

Pictures Left to Right (Ethan Norton HC, Ryan McGarvey HC, Terry Matthews HC, Luke Walker HC and Brian Klauka C&E)

On June 22nd, Corporate office employees got together to prepare 100 sandwiches to be donated to Roof Above. Roof Above distributes lunch bags daily to our homeless neighbors through the city of Charlotte. The sandwiches were packed in bags with a snack, fruit, bottled water, & napkin, as a nice lunch for the people who received them.

The Crowder Corporate office sponsored the renovations and furnishings for a new guest room at Catherine’s House in Belmont. “Catherine’s House fills a gap for women seeking temporary/transitional housing by providing a safe haven for women to rebuild their lives. Residents at Catherine’s House have the safety and security of food and shelter for four to six months, but also have an opportunity to chart their path to a more stable, healthy, and financially secure future”. Different groups volunteered to paint the room, shop for furnishings, and assemble the furniture. Crowder was happy to help Catherine’s House can serve at least one more woman in our community and the room turned out beautifully!

Second Harvest Food Bank

Members of the Employee Services team located in Charlotte, NC volunteered at Second Harvest Food Bank on 7/14. The team was tasked with sorting through store returns and donation boxes to inspect items for damage and make sure they were in shape to be given a new home. They sorted many different types of products including diapers, baby products, feminine hygiene products, home appliances, medicines and medical equipment, and pet supplies.