Carolinas AGC President & CEO, Dave Simpson, got to spend the day working at Young & McQueen Grading Company!  (Check out the video evidence here) The agenda for the day included Dave Simpson, and BYC Director, Tammy Ford, arriving at the Asheville-Buncombe Community Christian Ministry (ABCCM) building site on June 5th after the Western District Luncheon held earlier that day. Upon their arrival, Simpson and Ford were both greeted with open arms and big, welcoming smiles from Sam Young, President and CEO of Young & McQueen Grading Company; John Anglin, Business Manager for Y & M; Damien Hollifield, VP of Operations for Y & M;  Josh Young, Foreman for Y & M; Lewis Icenhower, Estimating and Management for Y & M; Willie Weeks, Safety Director for Y & M; and Bob Williams, Project Manager for Y & M.  The Young & McQueen Team was all geared up and excited to provide Dave, “The Greenhorn,” Simpson some customized, rapid-fire OTJ training followed by immediately putting his newly acquired skillsets to use behind the controls of some Y & M heavy equipment!

After being outfitted in all the proper PPE gear and partaking in a few initial photo opps with the Young & McQueen Team, Damien Hollifield, VP of Operations, took a very excited Simpson over to the first piece of heavy equipment he was slated to operate that day for a quick jam session on how to properly operate the stick and boom levers of a CAT 330D excavator.  Damien was right by Dave’s side the entire time, providing professional instruction and offering support and guidance while the rest of the Young & McQueen Team cheered him on from the sidelines with words of encouragement and some occasional laughter thrown in too!

Under Damien’s expert instruction and guidance, Dave quickly learned how to maneuver the controls of the excavator like a pro.  CAGC’s fearless leader used his new talents to dig several holes with the massive excavator and was then tasked with moving the dirt he collected in the bucket to offload it into a nearby Volvo A25D articulated dump truck.  After making some great headway by clearing several areas of dirt, Dave was then taken over to the articulated dump truck where he also had the opportunity to get behind the wheel and transfer the full load he filled in the truck over to a designated offload area on the other side of the job site.  Once again, Damien Hollifield was with Dave during the entire duration of his operational experience to not only supervise, but to also probably ensure Simpson didn’t get too rowdy behind the wheel and start making 360’s or attempting to spin donuts on the site.  The risk assessment team and worker’s comp folks were also quite relieved that didn’t happen!

Once Dave Simpson completed his exciting day as a Young & McQueen heavy equipment operator, he was asked to describe his once-in-a-lifetime experience:  “What a blast being able to work on a job site with the Young & McQueen Team, what an outstanding project, and what an honor it was to spend a good part of the day with them on their job site. The enthusiasm with the entire team – including Lewis, Damien and Josh -- is very contagious and the cause for the project they are helping to build for the Asheville-Buncombe Community Christian Ministry is outstanding.  Personally, operating the track excavator and driving the articulated truck was a highlight of my career over the last 30 years with CAGC.  It also was a bucket-list item!”

After watching all the fun Dave was having operating the Young & McQueen heavy equipment, Tammy Ford, the Build Your Career Director, was even inspired to join in the day’s fun by also getting behind the wheel of the CAT excavator!  Once again, Damien Hollifield stepped up to the plate to offer his instruction and guidance while teaching Tammy the ropes of how to safely and properly run the controls of the equipment.  Everyone watching from the sidelines had running bets to see if Tammy’s buckets of dirt collected were bigger than Dave’s—and you guessed it, they were (although Dave would probably beg to differ)!

 Tammy Ford commented on the fun she had running the excavator by stating: “Dave and I cannot thank the entire Young & McQueen Team enough, for allowing us to work with them and be a part of such an amazing experience.  We both had a blast, so it didn’t really seem like work at all to either of us!”  Ms. Ford went on to say, “We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to experience part of a “day in the life” of a Young & McQueen employee on an actual site operating real heavy equipment, and we’re also truly grateful for their unwavering support of Build Your Career.”

John Anglin, Business Manager for Young & McQueen commented, “It was truly a great day having CAGC’s Dave Simpson and their Build You Career Director, Tammy Ford, out on the job site with us.  We are glad that everything worked out so well and that they both were able to get in the seat of some equipment.  What an awesome time we had working with the CAGC Staff, we sincerely thank them for making this happen and we’re proud to be a part of something this BIG!  Opportunities like this are a great way for Contractors to see the benefit of what CAGC is doing for them and for our industry!”

Sam Young, President and CEO of Young & McQueen Grading Company, and the man responsible for the winning bid of Dave Simpson at our BYC fundraiser auction held earlier this year during the 2019 Annual Convention, also gave his endorsement and rave reviews of the day’s activities.  Sam stated, "Having CAGC's Dave Simpson and Tammy Ford visit our project certainly turned into an entertaining and enjoyable afternoon. It is always fun to see folks get excited operating and being around heavy equipment, makes us remember why we got into the business in the first place."

Sam then went on to offer some words to his fellow CAGC members in the hopes of motivating and inspiring them to follow the lead of Young & McQueen and also particiapte in the BYC program:  "CAGC and BYC are very important to our company. The relationships built over the years and the benefits of being a CAGC member are priceless. And, although BYC is fairly new, it is one of, if not the most important initiatives CAGC is taking now. BYC’s work now will pay dividends many times over in the future. If any Contractor out there is not supporting it, they should step up to the plate now and support the cause as it is generating the lifeblood of our industry.”

A full feature video of Dave Simpson’s site work at Young & McQueen will be available on the CAGC YouTube channel next month and will also be featured in the July edition of the  BYC “Workforce Windup” newsletter for your viewing pleasure, so stay tuned—you won’t want to miss out on the opportunity to watch the video evidence of Dave’s day of “hard manual labor.”  But, in the meantime, check out this video trailer clip of Dave in action on the job site, it’s definitely view-worthy and guaranteed to put a smile on your face!

For learn more about the CAGC Foundation’s Build Your Career workforce development initiative, for more information on how your company can join in the fun next year to secure CAGC Staff working on one of your jobsites, or to volunteer to become a BYC Ambassador, please visit our website at www.buildyourcareer.us/ or contact Program Director, Tammy Ford, via email at tford@carolinasagc.org or by phone at (704) 995-3901. To make a charitable contribution to BYC, please visit our secure online donation portal.  To learn more about employment opportunities at Young & McQueen Grading Company, please visit their company website or call their Corporate office at (828) 682-7714.