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Rising into the Unknown

Life is a journey, let’s chase the summits and enjoy the adventure all along the way.

latest adventure posts

Clayco Named One Of Fast Company’s 2021 Best Workplaces for Innovators

Clayco just made Fast Company’s 2021 list of Best Workplaces for Innovators, amongst other industry leaders such as Google, Gensler, and Oracle and this is an honor that we’re really proud of. Recognizing the leading organizations around the world that are empowering their employees to improve processes, create new products, or invent new ways of doing business, the annual list highlights the companies that have continued to excel by innovating during a period of so many challenges. We’re the only builder to make the list, and it shows that we are really the best at what we do. When I started Clayco, finding innovative ways to do business was at the core of the company’s foundation, and it still is after over 37 years. From the people we bring on to the projects we build, innovation defines our culture, our values, and our mission. We have found that our practice fosters innovation that goes beyond the bounds of tradition, and this is why we’ve been able to hire the best and brightest in the industry and create a culture where everyone can thrive.

U.S. Logistics Fund II

CRG, Clayco’s development arm, recently launched its second U.S. Logistics Fund to help build even more projects within the industrial sector. It’s exciting on many fronts, and it has raised over $100 million already with goals to raise $300 million more.

Clayco’s Interns

One of the most important things we try to do at Clayco is to build for the future. This means so much more than just construction projects, and we’re always looking to invest in the next generation of builders, planners, and thinkers. Interns form an integral part of the Clayco family, and we give them some of the best hands-on experience in the industry to prepare them for their careers. I recently welcomed some of our interns to my home, and it amazes me how talented, smart, and hardworking they are. They have a lot to look forward to, and I know they’re going to do great things.

Blue Origin’s Historic Launch

Today’s launch of Blue Origin’s first crewed mission is a first on so many fronts, and it was really exciting to watch. It also signals that we’ve entered into a whole new era in space exploration and travel. The mission’s success is sure to open a lot of new doors for even more people to get to experience what was once unthinkable and unimaginable not too long ago. From the start, I knew that Clayco’s work on the Blue Origin Engine Facility project would be so important to the manufacturing process of their rocket engines. Designed by Lamar Johnson Collaborative, Blue Origin's Engine Plant in Huntsville, Alabama won Engineering News-Record's Best Manufacturing Project in the Southeast for 2020. This facility manufactures seven of the LNG fueled BE-4 rocket engines that provide nearly 4 million pounds of thrust to Blue Origin's New Glenn Rocket.

Your Boardroom Sets the Tone Op-Ed

I just wrote an op-ed article that’s featured in Crain’s Chicago Business on the topic of diversity in our boardrooms. It’s something that I really care a lot about, and I think other CEOs need to take a more active role in addressing the barriers that prevent many people from underrepresented backgrounds from becoming members of a company’s senior leadership team. For me, diversity is a core part of doing business and ensuring that everyone has an equal chance to succeed. We have a responsibility to elevate and support the people who work hard for us each day, and Clayco is proud to have a strong set of diversity initiatives that are some of the most groundbreaking and impactful in the construction industry. We set an example for others to follow, and it’s inseparable from who we are as a company.

4th of July

Celebrating Independence Day is one of our country’s most cherished traditions. It’s a time to spend with friends and family, and also offers us a moment to pause and reflect on the ideas and values that gave birth to our nation. In the words of the wise former First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt: “freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility.” These words can’t be more relevant today, and we each have a part to play in the obligation to protect the freedoms that we love.

ADVENTURE

Building Buttercup

a fence in a field with trees in the background

I can’t describe the powerful emotion I felt at this moment, for everything lost and gained in my whole life. It was a spiritual experience, from my heart.

ADVENTURE

Climbing Capitol Peak

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Adventure

Adventure is in my DNA

Ever since I read the stories of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, I’ve looked at all of my life as an adventure. Listening and learning from my father was amazing story in history over the course of 40 years taught me that adventure was in my DNA at conception.

I’ve always been able to keep calm and have a level head and every situation I can remember. The only exception of this rule is that I don’t believe a person should not panic if they’re drowning. I would definitely drown panicking.

Beyond that all of life’s twists and turns good and bad ecstatic or heartbroken all add up to the different color crayons in your crayon box. That was a quote from my dad upon hearing some shocking news about my own colorful life.