Build Your Career is pleased to announce our Ambassador Company of the Quarter for Q3, 2021.  A hearty congratulations goes out to W.M. Jordan Company of Wilmington, North Carolina—longstanding Carolinas AGC member since 2010.  Over the last two years, W.M. Jordan has been a huge supporter of the BYC workforce development initiative and an extremely active company Ambassador, involved with numerous BYC outreach programs.  From partnering with BYC on the inaugural launch of the Cape Fear Talent Pipeline Management program in 2020, to guest speaking at several BYC events, and most recently in Q1 and Q2 of this year being the first CAGC member company to utilize the BYC construction education video series to conduct multiple virtual class visits combined with jobsite tours for several Brunswick County schools, W.M. Jordan Company continues to serve as an exemplary BYC program Ambassador!

W.M. Jordan Company's 1958 Leadership

W.M. Jordan Company was founded in 1958 as a business partnership between Mr. W.M. “Bill” Jordan and Mr. Bob Lawson. They had a very simple business model: separate, but clear responsibilities and mutual trust. Bob ran the job sites and Bill ran the office.

Together, they developed a solid company culture entrenched in creativity, hard work, fairness, fun, kindness, and above all, respect.  Over the last six decades, W.M. Jordan Company has grown from one base location to currently boasting multiple offices across three states—with branches located in Wilmington, NC, Newport News, VA and Richmond, VA.  The company serves an extremely diverse client base, and while much has changed over the years, one thing remains the same: their relentless pursuit of excellence on behalf of those clients.

Since it was founded, W.M. Jordan Company has been deeply involved in a wide variety of community-based outreach initiatives geared toward promoting construction career awareness to local students.  Over the years, each branch of the general contracting firm has diligently worked with numerous K-12 schools throughout the Southeast to share their construction industry knowledge and expertise with next gen workers.  Countless company employees have helped coordinate and participate in career fairs, jobsite tours, and local initiatives focused on educating youth, building better communities and "giving back" to those they build for and serve.

From their early beginnings, the company quickly recognized the long-term value in educating future generations of workers entering the construction industry workforce.  They also realized the key to the success of W.M. Jordan was a direct result of their commitment to properly recruiting and training more qualified workers.  Being deeply-rooted in this fundamental company philosophy, several of their Wilmington, NC employees volunteer as BYC Ambassadors and are extremely active and engaged in the program at many different levels—serving in a variety of roles.

W.M. Jordan Company Wins the BYC "Ambassador of the Quarter Award" for Q3, 2021

Through the BYC Ambassador program, W.M. Jordan also recently partnered with local Brunswick County high schools and several of their Wilmington, NC area Specialty Contractor trade partners to virtually promote industry career awareness to construction program students. During these recent virtual project site tours, the W.M. Jordan Company’s Wilmington team partnered with West Brunswick High School Construction CORE and Construction Technology  Instructor Shawn Davis to walk their school's new add-on project site, filming the entire process.

W.M. Jordan's Virtual Project Site Tour with West Brunswick HS Students

Also during those interactive tours, a variety of the W.M. Jordan employees had the opportunity to describe various components of the building process while also detailing their specific role in that process. Reps from electrical contracting firms T.A. Woods and Pitt Electric, as well as Manning Masonry and Carolina Masonry were all on hand to explain to the students the roles they each play in the building process and how each Specialty Contractor is a vital component of a GC's success. These videos were then live-streamed into other classrooms so a total of 46 construction students could either watch or participate in the tours in real-time.

The North and West Brunswick High School construction students also had the opportunity to engage in an informative and interactive Q & A session with the W.M. Jordan employees and their trade partners to ask questions about what they saw and learned during the virtual class visits and live project tour—in essence, painting the full-scale picture for the students of what the entire building process consists of from start-to-finish. 

Mr. Ken Buck, Career Development Counselor for Brunswick County Public Schools, also shared a few inspirational words to encourage other CAGC member employers to follow the lead of W.M. Jordan and also engage in virtual or live construction career outreach at their local K-12 schools. Buck stated:  "Our BCS students had an opportunity to interact with and ask questions of individuals working in many different career fields within the construction. Students gained valuable information about education and training requirements, as well as salary ranges, benefits and helpful information regarding current and future employment opportunities within the industry. Our students really enjoyed hearing about their experiences and the path they took that led these folks to their career in the industry."

Mr. Buck wasn’t the only one who had rave reviews for the W.M. Jordan folks who organized these fantastic virtual experiences for the Brunswick County high school construction classes.  The students also offered their testimonials of endorsement:  “I had a great time doing this construction site tour with W.M. Jordan. We walk by this building every day while we're on campus and see the work that goes into to it, so to be able do the tour with the people actually doing the construction work was pretty cool. I really liked being able to see the building in action because a lot of it was the same stuff we we already talk about in our CORE Construction class ” — Anonymous West Brunswick

Chad Wallace, LEED AP, Project Manager at W.M. Jordan Company, spoke on behalf the entire team to share their thoughts on being named only the second CAGC member company representatives to receive the BYC “Ambassador of the Quarter” award since its inception.  Wallace stated, “This is truly an honor for W.M. Jordan to win this award. It's also an honor for for me to have an opportunity to speak with the next generation of the construction industry. Brunswick County puts a lot of effort into their career and technical education and it shows with the excitement from the students and the construction technology teachers. We have had a chance to build a number of schools for Brunswick County and it was our pleasure to give back to the community and share some of the exciting opportunities in the construction industry. I was especially excited to be able to share a sneak peak into the new classroom buildings with the high school students so they could have a look “behind the curtain” before they get to use their new building.”

Chad Wallace, LEED AP, Project Manager with W.M Jordan Company

When asked to comment on his experience working with his team and several of W.M. Jordan Company's local Wilmington area trade partners to lead BYC Ambassador virtual school visit events, Wallace had rave reviews.  “Our strong trade partners are the keys to successful projects, hence it was a no-brainer to bring in a few of these important folks to share what they are doing to educate the future workforce and be able to share what opportunities they have coming up for graduating students. All of our trade partners are involved in local trade organizations, trade schools and community colleges and a heavy focus on helping to get students into the workforce as quickly as possible and with the least amount of debt possible."

As a part of their ongoing commitment to building deeper connections and facilitating engagement within the K-12 system, W.M. Jordan organized project site tours with teachers and students at Roland-Grise Middle School in Wilmington, NC—which just happened to be the location of a company project.  Strategically integrated into each class tour was information about the dynamic structural, mechanical, electrical and design components of their new classroom building. This offered students and their teachers a really cool, "behind-the-scenes" glimpse into the diverse array of construction-related careers that make every successful construction project possible.

Beyond just being avid BYC stakeholders and Ambassador program volunteers, W.M. Jordan Company is also deeply ingrained in local community service outreach projects and workforce development efforts throughout the Southeast.  As part of their long-term company commitment to building better communities for those they have served for over sixty years, W.M. Jordan is also an active participant in the Hampton Roads Region outreach project, are major annual contributors to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, have worked annually with the Salvation Army’s Angels and Angel Tree programs over the holidays since 2005, and the company has also partnered with Warwick Mechanical to provide over 55,000 meals for their community members in need during a Building Community - Demolishing Hunger! challenge.

Aside from their involvement with a variety of community-based organizations and their recent virtual construction education projects, W.M. Jordan has also been the recipient of a variety of awards and accolades. The company has been recognized on multiple occasions by many top-ranking industry peers, organizations and associations for their spirit and practice of active collaboration and is well-known in the industry as a top CM at-Risk provider for their approach to sustainable construction practices—including LEED and Lean construction. W.M. Jordan has also received top safety honors from the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry. In 2017, they were the first company to reach Level 1 of the “Virginia BEST (Building Excellence in Safety, Health and Training) Program” and in 2021 they are the first company to reach Level 2.

Dave Simpson, President and CEO of Carolinas AGC

Carolinas AGC President and CEO Dave Simpson, recognized W.M.J. for being such active CAGC members and dedicated BYC supporters by stating:  “Congratulations to W.M. Jordan Company for this well-deserved, Ambassador of the Quarter Award for their excellent leadership with our Build Your Career Program and their efforts to get more promising young people into great construction careers in the Carolinas.” 

When expressing what benefits W.M. Jordan has seen thus far from developing partnerships with local high schools, community service programs and organizations like CAGC and Build Your Career, Chad Wallace, said, “The Build Your Career program is an excellent program that gives all the tools necessary for interest contractors to engage their communities. We had the opportunity with local projects and the CAGC's BYC program provided all the tools we needed to make it a success. We love working with the BYC program and look forward to many more opportunities to partner with local schools in promoting our great construction industry.” 

On behalf of Carolinas AGC and its Foundation, Build Your Career is proud to name W.M. Jordan Company as our “BYC Ambassador Company of the Quarter” for Q3 of 2021.  The CAGC Foundation sincerely appreciates the entire W.M.J. Team and their contributions to its Build Your Career Program.  We honor their accomplishments and steadfast efforts in promoting construction careers and workforce development—both live and virtually—on behalf of the construction industry. W.M. Jordan Company truly exemplifies community outreach as they continue “giving back” to the communities they’ve helped build for almost 65 years, illustrating how our Carolinas AGC member firms continue to set the gold standard in our industry for what it takes to sustain it for many years to come.

For more information on the CAGC Foundation’s Build Your Career workforce development initiative or to volunteer to be a BYC Ambassador, please visit our website. To make a charitable contribution to Build Your Career, please visit our secure online donation portal. To learn more about W.M. Jordan Company’s employment opportunities, please visit their website or contact their Wilmington, NC office at (910) 679-4551.