At Fort Construction, we are proud to employ a number of women – from the front office, to skilled labor in the field, to Superintendent. In the second of a series of articles that will highlight the amazing women we employ, we take a closer look at Kadie Palma, Project Manager.
Kadie has been with us for four years. She majored in Construction Science at Texas A&M University, and when she graduated, we tried to find a job for her in Fort Worth. While we were networking and looking, a position opened with Fort and we were able to hire her.
Here’s a brief Q&A with Kadie …
What do you enjoy about working in construction?
Learning how everything is connected is amazing. You may renovate an old, historic building to make way for its next purpose – perhaps an office or a restaurant. Or, you see a building that begins on nothing but a patch of dirt. Every project is different and you learn something new each time.
Is it easy or difficult being a woman in the construction industry?
The industry itself is not easy. At times, this job is very stressful and you can miss the beauty in it. You’re bringing all these trades together to turn someone’s creativity and imagination into something tangible.
People pay an enormous amount of money for these buildings and/or property, and they deserve to have the job done right. You also have your sub-contractors, and their employees, who work countless hours to provide for their families. You have to fight for your owners, your sub-contractors, and of course, for yourself.
What keeps you at Fort Construction?
I have a ton of respect for Ken [Evans] and Scott [Price]. They started this company based on how a general contractor should be. They taught me how to treat people fairly and do things right in this industry.
I work for some of the best people I’ve ever met and that’s a good feeling – especially when things get stressful. Honestly, life itself is already hard and you spend most of it at work. For me, working for good, decent people is very important.
On the personal side, you just got engaged … to a Fort employee!
Ha, yes! His name is Caleb and he interned with Fort a couple of Christmas breaks ago. We never saw each other during his actual internship because he was out in the field. But later, we started talking and surprisingly, found we had many mutual friends from college. And the rest, as they say, is history. The great thing was Scott and Ken welcomed the news (which was such a relief) and we are getting married in Colorado in June!
I sometimes joke that Ken and Scott raised me through my 20-something struggles. Ken probably knew more about my dating life than my father because I’m so close with his daughter and wife. And with most of my family based in Houston, they became my de-facto family, whether they wanted to or not.
Kadie’s work ethic has been invaluable to her learning and growing in our business. Her attention to detail and her desire to provide our clients with the best service possible has made her an invaluable member of our team. I know that I can always count on her no matter the situation. She is not afraid of a challenge and never shirks her responsibilities. In short, she makes us a better company. – Ken Evans
I can echo Ken’s sentiments. Kadie is an exceptional young woman, and a smart, talented Project Manager. It has been our pleasure to have Kadie as a part of our family, and we’re thrilled that she and Caleb are getting married.
At Fort, our goal is to hire the best candidate for every job, and there have been a number of times that the best candidate is female. We have found that women are extremely hard workers, take immense pride in their work, and have a natural eye for the smallest of details.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: this type of diversity not only benefits the quality of our projects, it benefits our clients as well. We’re extremely proud to have Kadie on our team.
