Did you know that the average employee tenure today is only 4.6 years? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, average tenure does increase as the age of the employee also increases, but the national average for the total wage and salary population is less than five years. CD Barnes Construction is proud to have eight employees who have been with us for ten years or more; and we’d like to recognize them for their dedication.

Pete started with CD Barnes Construction in 1985 and has worked with our company for thirty years as a site manager. Some of his projects have included three Wal-Mart Stores, two Aldi locations, the USF Terminal in Holland, Grand Rapids Mercantile Bank headquarters, Fire House Subs at Celebration Village, Lighthouse Early Learning Academy in Byron Center and dozens of others. Currently, Pete is part of the team completing an addition and renovation for Freedom Village in Holland.

Since 1990, Chris has worked as both a site manager and project manager. During his time with us he has constructed the Elite Baseball and Softball (Indoor) Training Center, the Goddard School in Grand Rapids, Founder’s Bank and Trust and nine Wal-Mart Supercenter locations. He has also renovated a portion of Kendall College, Pennock Hospital, Notions Marketing and much, much more! Chris is currently leading the team on the renovation and addition at Freedom Village.

Dave has been employed as the CFO at CD Barnes since 1995 as our corporate controller and treasurer. In 1999 he became one of the principal owners of the corporation. Aside from all of his day-to-day operational tasks, Dave holds the following affiliations: Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. – Member, Construction Financial Management Association – President: 2006-2007, Vice President: 2005-2006, Secretary: 2004-2005 &  Member.

As president of CD Barnes, John Drozer is responsible for both the business and operational management of the company, tasks he has been charged with since 1995. John oversees all projects; he maintains open lines of communication with all staff and clients to ensure accessibility whenever needed. John spends time on each construction site becoming familiar with our projects and offering feedback and assistance to both project and site managers. John was part of the team that in 1999 purchased the company from the Barnes family, and he holds the following affiliations: Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. – Member.

Todd has been employed at CD Barnes since 1995, he is the third member of the team to purchase CD Barnes in 1999. As vice president, Todd is responsible for marketing, sales, estimating, contract negotiation, land acquisition, construction management, development consulting, property management and project close-out. Todd also has the following professional affiliations: Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation – Board Member, Associated Builders & Contractors, Inc. – President: 2003-2004, Board Member: 2002-2005 & Member, Licensed Real Estate Salesperson (MI), Economic Club of Grand Rapids – Member.

John has worked as a project manager and project engineer for CD Barnes since 1999. As a project manager his responsibilities include managing and coordinating all activities on the job site, adhering to the budget agreed upon by all parties, acting as a liaison with the trades and ensuring the quality of the project from inception to completion. During his time at CD Barnes, John has completed projects for Zondervan Publishing, the City of Kentwood (City Hall & DPW), Creston High School (cafeteria renovation), Alma Public Library, Cherry Street Health Services and Celebration! Cinemas. John is currently working on the Ridges of Cascade.

Jonathan has been employed with CD Barnes Construction since  early February, 2001. He was hired as a site manager and has been working actively in West Michigan’s construction industry in that position for the last 14 years. His experience includes construction for Celebration! Cinemas (three locations), Wal-Mart (three locations), Cummins Bridgeway, Heritage Homes, Inc., Southwestern Michigan College and a number of others. At present, Jonathan is the site manager on the Ridges of Cascade – a project that will occupy his time for the next year and a half.

CD Barnes is fortunate to have retained multiple staff members that have weathered the good, and the not-so-good, times with us. We also have many other employees that have not yet reached the ten year mark but have also been loyal contributors to our organization. CD Barnes Construction would not be the successful corporation that we are if it wasn’t for the talent we employ.

***Recognizing Our Talent is an article written and published by the CD Barnes Construction’s marketing department. This publication is designed to be an informative piece of literature for potential clients to review in an effort to increase their knowledge of the commercial construction process.