The Pipeline - March 2023

Our Vision

The vision of W. W. Gay is to be a leader in our industry and our community through an unrivaled commitment to our craft and our people.

Our Mission

The mission of W. W. Gay is to provide the best service, at the best value, with the best people

A Message From Our CEO

Dear W. W. Gay Family,

It’s no secret that change has been a topic of conversation for us during the last few years. It’s a subject that gets brought up often and at times, has been difficult to navigate. Even with all the bumps in the road, though, there is still something that remains constant, and that is our workload. While the chatter may be delivering a different narrative, it’s important for you to hear it straight from me: our backlog is strong. Our company is strong. And so are our people. Simply put, W. W. Gay isn’t going anywhere. We’re here for the long haul. We have work lined up in all departments and locations that will carry us for many years to come, with no end in sight.

In transformative times like these, I know how easy it can be to give in to the rumors and feel troubled by the uneasiness. It seems simple for me to tell you to not believe the negative talk, to not give in, but instead keep pushing forward and to trust we’re all on the right path. While this is all true, I do know how difficult it is. It’s tough to keep climbing the mountain especially when you’re unsure of what’s to come. But this journey is not one we’re meant to do alone. The only way we’ll continue to be successful is when we understand we are one team. A team that bands together and decides to turn away from the negativity. Be the positive voice that makes this place great. Look out for your team and show them how important they are to our success!

“Our company is strong. And so are our people. Simply put, W. W. Gay isn’t going anywhere.”

We are a team that believes we are strong and knows nothing and no one can stop us. We’ve been here for nearly 61 years and it is my intention to continue for decades to come. We are in the coveted position of being the best and we have more competitors than ever trying to knock us off the top of the mountain.

Not only do the efforts each of you make matter to me, but they are vitally important to our company. I know that we wouldn’t be where we are if it weren’t for you. That’s why it’s been a desire of mine this year to find new ways to recognize the great things that are happening in our company. Between the Forging the Way awards, upcoming bonus opportunities, and other recognitions, this company will continue to honor your dedication. In the coming months, we will introduce Town Hall events, which are intended to give all employees the opportunity to learn about company updates directly from me. My hope is that these events will allow us all to be on the same page, making it easier to turn away from the false information. More details on these events to follow soon.

In closing, if you take one thing from this update, I hope it’s that we at W. W. Gay have a long, bright future ahead of us. We’re not going anywhere, and no one can take away what makes us great. Trust me when I say that I’m honored to be a part of your team. I bleed blue and will always do what it takes to keep us moving forward.

As always, thank you for making us the Best in the Business!

Paul Jones President & CEO

To further the focus on our employees and the continuous efforts they make day in and day out, the Forging the Way Awards have been created. This quarterly awards ceremony will spotlight employees throughout the entire company who are “forging the way” and continue to be constant examples of our core values: Dedication. Quality. Stewardship.

Join us on Monday, March 27 as we honor our 2023 Quarter 1 recipients, all nominated by their peers.

Monday, March 27 l 11 AM

Jacksonville Banquet Room & Microsoft Teams

Marketing Update

As I prepared for 2023, I knew I wanted to make it my goal to take the year and begin focusing on three major pieces: who we are as a company, what we do and what makes us great. So many initiatives have come out of those thoughts and I’m excited to see them coming to fruition.

When looking at who we are as a company, it was important to me that we honed in on our core values: Dedication. Quality. Stewardship. It would have been easy to just give you the definition of the words, but I didn’t want to define them for you. What I wanted was to hear our people define our values themselves. Peyton and I took time to have honest conversations with our employees in the Jacksonville, Gainesville and Orlando offices and hear it from them personally. We had great conversations with so many of you, and from those came some great videos. We began sharing them last month and look forward to having more conversations and releasing more videos in the coming months.

I often hear that people know W. W. Gay is a great company but don’t know exactly what we do. While it’s wonderful that so people

love our company, it’s been a huge initiative of mine to change that narrative and help them understand all that we’re capable of. A large part of this means visiting job sites, seeing our work in action, and getting that out to the public. However, Peyton and I can’t do this alone…we need your help! Peyton has already done a great job making contact and visiting some job sites, but if there is a job/project/service call that comes up you’d like highlighted, please reach out to either one of us! This will not only help us bring the focus to the great work our people do, but it also gives us more appeal to future customers.

Lastly, while there are many factors that make our company great, none compare to our people… YOU! If you didn’t already know, I’m extremely passionate about our employees and want each of them to feel that their work is valued. Out of this love has come the “Forging the Way Awards” and I’m extremely excited to watch this grow. The quarterly ceremony will spotlight employees throughout the company who are “forging the way” and continue to live our values. Anyone companywide is eligible for the awards and anyone can nominate their peers. For Quarter 1, it was so heartwarming to see the nominations come through and have our employees build each other up. We need more of this often! The 2023 Quarter 1 ceremony is scheduled for March 27 where we’ll honor our first (5) recipients in the Jacksonville Banquet Room and via Teams. If you voted for someone and they did not win this quarter, don’t fret! This ceremony will happen each quarter, honoring 5 new employees each time. A call for nominations will also come up again soon, so be on the lookout for that.

I’m excited for our company’s future!

Emily Andrews Marketing & Community Relations Director

New Building Update

Greetings!

It is a joy for me to serve as the Project Manager for the mechanical and plumbing scope for our new HQ building. When you add in the role of owner’s project manager, I may have the most unique view of our historic undertaking. Over the past 18 months, I have been blessed to see how much is involved in the process. What started with office programming and design development has grown to include permit reviews and contractor team involvement – it has been a very fun ride.

Since the last Pipeline update, major changes have taken place on our jobsite. The building envelope is almost complete – concrete tilt panels, the first layer of roofing, and WINDOWS! Natural light in our workspaces will be a welcome change for many of our team members.

Inside the building, the second floor is making progress with interior framing and drywall. The first floor is a few weeks ahead with all walls installed, and the MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing) rough-in almost complete. Every time I walk through the building, it is great to see W. W. Gay team members installing the piping and ductwork systems.

To see photos of the progress, check out pages 10 and 11.

With the recent construction progress, anticipation is growing for a move-in scheduled toward the end of summer. Jobsite tours are now taking place each week, and it is so exciting to walk through the work areas for each of the departments that will soon call this place “home”.

While that happens before our very eyes, there’s also much happening behind the scenes. We have partners assisting with the design and procurement of many finer details, such as furniture and IT networking for the new building.

Everything is coming together, and it is such a privilege to be a part of the team.

Matthew Furlong Vice President, Special Projects

March Anniversaries

03/01 – Clayton Connelly – 2 Years (Gainesville)

03/01 – Joshua London – 2 Years (Jacksonville)

03/01 – Joshua Gallaway – 5 Years (Orlando)

03/02 – Ted Williamson – 31 Years (Jacksonville)

03/02 – Christopher Bolstein – 3 Years (Gainesville)

03/02 – Jeffrey Waters – 3 Years (Orlando)

03/03 – Jonathan Crews – 12 Years (Orlando)

03/03 – Daniel Pridgeon – 15 Years (Gainesville)

03/03 – Steven Buonomo – 6 Years (Jacksonville)

03/03 – Charles Griner – 9 Years (Jacksonville)

03/03 – Daniel Giles – 9 Years (Jacksonville)

03/03 – William Williams – 15 Years (Jacksonville)

03/04 – Brett Watson – 9 Years (Jacksonville)

03/04 – Latricia Burrell – 4 Years (Jacksonville)

03/04 – Valerie Polk – 4 Years (Jacksonville)

03/04 – David Drury IV – 4 Years (Jacksonville)

03/04 -Weldon Lane – 14 Years (Jacksonville)

03/05 – Charles Crosier II – 11 Years (Gainesville)

03/05 – John Fields – 33 Years (Jacksonville)

03/07 – Trace Milton – 1 Year (Jacksonville)

03/09 – Augustine D Arco – 8 Years (Orlando)

03/09 – Gordon Brigance – 3 Years (Jacksonville)

03/12 – Marina Hoak – 4 Years (Orlando)

03/12 – Tanner Holshey – 4 Years (Orlando)

03/12 – Bernard Newman – 25 Years (Orlando)

03/12 – Paige Bomar – 2 Years (Orlando)

03/12 – Steven Ray – 11 Years (Jacksonville)

03/12 – Jacob Sapp – 5 Years (Jacksonville)

03/13 – Natasha Degrave – 23 Years (Jacksonville)

03/13 – Charles Owens – 6 Years (Gainesville)

03/14 – Jason Masters – 29 Years (Jacksonville)

03/14 – William Wheeler – 4 Years (Jacksonville)

03/14 – Zachary Breitenfeld – 7 Years (Jacksonville)

03/14 – Alexander Wallace – 7 Years (Jacksonville)

03/14 – Robert Odam – 2 Years (Jacksonville)

03/15 – Trenton Sweat – 2 Years (Jacksonville)

03/15 – Joseph Starling Jr. – 1 Year (Jacksonville)

03/16 – Austin Morgan – 8 Years (Gainesville)

03/16 – Joe Gaylard Jr. – 3 Years (Gainesville)

03/16 – Scott Spoon – 8 Years (Jacksonville)

03/17 – Ryan Young – 9 Years (Jacksonville)

03/17 – Elizabeth Shore – 2 Years (Jacksonville)

03/18 – Christopher Kirby – 8 Years (Gainesville)

03/19 – Zachary Fanelli – 14 Years (Orlando)

03/20 – Phillip Brundage – 3 Years (Orlando)

03/20 – Scott Houser – 45 Years (Jacksonville)

03/20 – Shurronn Sibley – 4 Years (Jacksonville)

03/20 – Michael Lindsey – 28 Years (Jacksonville)

03/20 – Adam Perschino – 4 Years (Jacksonville)

03/20 – Ricky Deen – 11 Years (Jacksonville)

03/21 – Jacob Johnson – 5 Years (Gainesville)

03/21 – Sokol Mema – 6 Years (Jacksonville)

03/22 – Kyle Craven – 22 Years (Gainesville)

03/23 – Ryan Moody – 3 Years (Jacksonville)

03/23 – Bradley Vennard – 23 Years (Jacksonville)

03/25 – Joseph Bouchard – 20 Years (Jacksonville)

03/25 – Richard Sadler – 1 Year (Jacksonville)

03/26 – Cleveland Hill Jr. – 4 Years (Jacksonville)

03/28 – Martin Jusino – 1 Year (Orlando)

03/28 – Jake Bledsoe – 1 Year (Gainesville)

03/29 – Dustin Cornett – 1 Year (Jacksonville)

03/29 – Clifford Raulerson – 7 Years (Jacksonville)

03/29 – Mark Brinley – 2 Years (Jacksonville)

03/31 – Sam Cason – 9 Years (Gainesville)

03/31 – Anthony Gullion – 3 Years (Jacksonville)

03/31 – Lesdy Rodriguez – 12 Years (Jacksonville)

**If you find that any of the above information is incorrect, please reach out to Marketing Coordinator Peyton Beasley at pbeasley@wwgmc.com so that it can be corrected in our system.

March Birthdays

03/01 – Shanon Mckinley (Jacksonville)

03/01 – Scott Niederwemmer (Jacksonville)

03/01 – Dennis Reed (Jacksonville)

03/01 – Jimmy Miller (Jacksonville)

03/01 – Harold Freeman (Jacksonville)

03/01 – Ryan Painter (Jacksonville)

03/02 - James Elliot (Orlando)

03/03 – John Mathis (Gainesville)

03/03 – Travis Denmark II (Jacksonville)

03/04 – Trevor Yawn (Gainesville)

03/04 – Desmond Threats (Jacksonville)

03/04 – Christopher Hollingsworth (Jacksonville)

03/04 – Tafari Defour (Jacksonville)

03/05 – Richard Davis (Orlando)

03/05 – Adam Hayes (Gainesville)

03/05 – Nicholas Echoff (Jacksonville)

03/05 – Dalton Crawford (Jacksonville)

03/06 – Justice Geiger (Gainesville)

03/06 – Donald Eshelman (Jacksonville)

03/06 – George McDonald (Jacksonville)

03/07 – Chaddrick Dixon (Jacksonville)

03/08 – Darrell Connelly (Gainesville)

03/08 – Scott Yelin (Jacksonville)

03/09 – Kevin Bertie (Gainesville)

03/09 – Nathan Kight (Gainesville)

03/09 – Ethan Willimon (Jacksonville)

03/10 – Austin Simmons (Jacksonville)

03/10 – Alvin Coates Jr. (Jacksonville)

03/10 – Charles Ward (Jacksonville)

03/11 – Timothy Batten (Jacksonville)

03/12 – Craig Rowe Jr. (Jacksonville)

03/13 – Dylan Wilson (Gainesville)

03/14 – Conner Townsend (Gainesville)

03/14 – Brady Moses (Jacksonville)

03/14 – Ian Hand (Orlando)

03/15 – Steven Plemons (Jacksonville)

03/15 – Kevin Arnold (Jacksonville)

03/16 – Ronnie Cribb (Jacksonville)

03/16 – Daniel Caceres (Orlando)

03/17 – Barbara Carlson (Jacksonville)

03/17 – Clinton Avant (Jacksonville)

03/17 – William Back (Jacksonville)

03/17 – David Ray (Jacksonville)

03/17 – Joseph Collier (Jacksonville)

03/17 – Christopher Durden (Jacksonville)

03/18 – Ricky Deen (Jacksonville)

03/18 – James West (Jacksonville)

03/18 – Carla Taylor (Jacksonville)

03/19 – Leford Alexis (Jacksonville)

03/20 – Forrest Blair (Jacksonville)

03/20 – Jorge Cardona (Jacksonville)

03/20 – Nicholas Crane (Gainesville)

03/20 – Sheldon Carroll (Gainesville)

03/21 – Scott Bohn (Jacksonville)

03/21 – Chad Howe (Gainesville)

03/22 – Michael Rizzo (Orlando)

03/22 – Sam Cason (Gainesville)

03/22 – Ronnie Weston (Jacksonville)

03/23 – Cody Mott (Gainesville)

03/23 – Tangela Morse (Orlando)

03/23 – Connor Padgett (Orlando)

03/23 – Russell Barker (Gainesville)

03/24 – Justin Freese (Orlando)

03/24 – Vincent Gocek (Jacksonville)

03/24 – Michael Goolsby (Orlando)

03/25 – Shane Ferguson (Jacksonville)

03/25 – Zachary Gray (Jacksonville)

03/27 – Dallas Read (Gainesville)

03/28 – Jared Crews (Jacksonville)

03/28 – Richard Mccullough III (Jacksonville)

03/28 – Albert Rangel (Orlando)

03/29 – Carter Bell (Jacksonville)

03/29 – Noble McCain (Jacksonville)

03/30 – Dylan Pilcher (Gainesville)

03/31 – Eston Taylor (Jacksonville)

03/31 – William Craven (Jacksonville)

In The Know

Inspiring Our Youth

Both the Gainesville and Jacksonville offices have been busy attending career fairs at various schools across the state. From schools in Marion County to Clay County, we’ve been able to get in front of thousands of students this year. These have been great opportunities for our employees to not only spread awareness of what W. W. Gay is all about, but to also share employment opportunities across the company.

Thank you to everyone for their efforts in connecting with the youth across Florida! We hope to see some of these students as future employees soon.

ABC Chili Cook-Off Event

Earlier this month, two employees from our Jacksonville office competed in the 9th Annual ABC Chili Cook-Off. This is always a great event filled with delicious chili and friendly competition amongst fellow industry contractors. Shout out to our employees for representing team W. W. Gay! We are thankful to ABC for having us out there and hosting another successful event!

Meet our new Director of Business Development, Ina Gerville

Ina Gerville joins the W. W. Gay family as our new Director of Business Development!

With a background in Sales, Marketing and Operations, Ina hopes to help us build business and revenue growth companywide. Her career in business development has taken her to large companies including CSI Companies and Haskell Engineering and Construction, where she covered the entire East. Her skills include Customer Relations, Sales, Marketing, Operations, Scheduling, Events Coordination and Recruiting.

She attended Arkansas State University, where she also was a member of the Women’s Soccer Team- Division 1 Sunbelt Conference. Outside of work, Ina enjoys watching her two daughters play soccer and basketball, as well as attend their local church.

While Ina is based out of the Jacksonville office, she’ll be frequenting all offices companywide, so please help us in welcoming her to the team! We’re happy you’re here!

Staff Shout-Out

Shout out to Corey Leonard from the Tallahassee office for being recognized by CPPI. Corey is one of our Service Technicians and he and his team have been working on the Twin Cities Hospital project in Niceville, FL.

Members of the CPPI had the following to say about Corey: “Our team made it a point to compliment Mr. Corey Leonard and his team for their dedication and grit in committing to and accomplishing tasks. I wanted to express from our entire CPPI team how much we appreciate Corey - his leadership, sense of commitment, and honesty. Simply put they wished all our trades had the same drive.”

Great job Corey and team! Your dedication does not go unnoticed and we appreciate all that you do for our company.

Safety Corner

FROM YOUR DIRECTOR OF SAFETY

It’s that time of year again…pollen season! Unfortunately, the pollen count will continue to be high for several more weeks. The heavy pollen can affect everyone differently so please pay close attention to its effects, especially when on a jobsite. Symptoms can be itchy and tearing/watery red eyes, runny nose, sneezing and congestion, coughing fits or sore throats.

Treatment options for tree pollen can range from avoidance to physician recommended over the counter or prescription medicines. Remember if you are unable to show up for work, for any reason, notify your supervisor. If an employee has missed three or more consecutive days of work you must present a “return to work at full duty, without restrictions” note from their physician.

The goal for our Safety Team is, and always will be, to continue fostering an environment that protects the well-being and quality of life for each of our employees. We’re dedicated to providing the safest workplace possible for our clients, employees, and subcontractors.

As always, the Safety Department is available to all employees. Any questions or safety related concerns , please reach out.

Thanks for your help and stay safe.

Steve Ray Director of Safety

Employee Spotlight

Kelly Poff

Orlando

Coming to us from the Orlando office, Kelly Poff is one of those employees loved and respected by both field and office personnel. And when you meet her, it won’t take long for you to understand why. Always dressed with a smile and positive attitude, Kelly goes out of her way to make each person feel welcome. Celebrating her 8th year with the company, Kelly found W. W. Gay by way of family. Not only does her husband, Jimmy Poff, work in the Orlando office, but her father-in-law has spent much of his career with the company, too.

Kelly’s career here began out in the field, with one of her first jobs being the underground plumbing at Universal CityWalk Orlando. After some time in the field, she left W. W. Gay for personal reasons and took a job with UPS where she stayed for the next 10 years. The late night shifts wore on her, though, and she eventually found her way back to the Orlando office as a delivery driver. What was meant to be a temporary job for eight months turned into three years.

During this time, Kelly delivered raw materials, piping packages and anything else the field personnel needed for their jobs. She credits so many of her work relationships to this position as it allowed her to interact with so many different people. From there, Kelly moved into the Shop Manager position, ensuring all aspects of the shop ran smoothly. Known to many as the “Shop Mama”, she took care of the field personnel and made sure they had everything they needed to complete their jobs. After spending three years in that position, Kelly was recently promoted to Office Manager.

“ The most important aspect of my job is the relationship between myself and the employees. ”

She now oversees the daily operations of the office and is looking forward to the new challenge. “The most important aspect of my job is the relationship between myself and the employees. I’ve always tried my best to make every employee feel comfortable at work, so I’m excited for the opportunity in this new position”, says Kelly.

Outside of work Kelly enjoys traveling, especially exploring mountains and spending time with her family, including their two dogs and two tortoises. Her favorite activity in the world is spending quiet time outside drinking hot chocolate before the world is awake.

W. W. Gay feels like home to Kelly, especially with her family members around. “I belong here and that’s a great feeling. This company has always taken care of me and because of that, I’m always looking for ways to give back to it in return. I’m excited to come to work in the morning and don’t take that for granted because I know many people don’t feel that way about their job”.

You’re an asset to our company, Kelly and we’re thrilled to have you!

Quick Answers

Favorite movie: Any Tom Hanks movie

Best Orlando recommendation:

A restaurant on the water in Port Canaveral called “Grills”

Dream Dinner Guest: Her Great-Grandfather George Husky