Safety Inspiration and Underground Utility Construction Legend Rod Naylor Retiring
Rod Naylor, a legend in the underground pipe construction industry, is about to retire this Christmas after working at Gaines and Company, a turnkey site development company, for 41 years.
Naylor got his start at Gaines and Company as a laborer and then worked his way up to punch list foreman where he was responsible for getting jobs ready for final inspection. He has been a foreman for 34 years, getting promoted to that position in an unexpected way when Myrt Gaines, vice president of Gaines and Company, paid him a worksite visit. “One day Myrt comes out on the job and says ‘I want you to watch my crew for a few hours,’ Naylor recalls. “He never came back. So that’s how it all happened.”
Rod Naylor, who will retire this December, has been with Gaines and Company for 41 years (pictured here with one of the company’s fleet of 18 bulldozers.)
Myrt Gaines credits Naylor with being one of the individuals core to building the company over the years, calling him a real leader with a genuine affinity for his crew. “He’ll do anything for his men and they’ll do anything for him, so he gets a tremendous amount of work done,” says Myrt Gaines, adding that seasoned foreman Naylor is somewhat of a legend in the underground pipe construction business. “He’s a great asset to the company. We’re certainly going to miss him.”
Naylor reciprocates this sense of gratefulness and comradery. “I thank Lee, Myrt and David because they’ve been so good to me my whole life,” he says. “I mean, they’ve treated me very well. I started as a laborer and let me say, they saw something in me, and here I am.”
Rod Naylor and a few other individuals were really the core to building this company over the years.
Myrt Gaines, VP of Gaines and Company
The feeling around the jobsite and office about Naylor’s approaching departure is nostalgic. He is a respected colleague and friend with a sense of humor. David Gaines, also a vice president at Gaines and Company recalls, “I worked with him back in 1987 and he was one of my first foremen” he says. “Rod always makes me laugh and I have so many good memories of working with him.”
With all his years of site development experience, it stands to reason that Naylor has played an important role in safety at Gaines and Company, and when you watch him work, it’s easy to see his expertise kick in. “Rod is just a great guy,” says Dominic Pope, Director of Safety at Gaines and Company. “He’s very open-minded and ultimately he’s probably one of the guys that’s helped build the safety culture because everyone looks up to him.” Pope adds that he has learned a lot from Naylor. “He has helped me over time to become who I am in safety,” he says.
Naylor has weathered some harsh conditions. He recalls one winter in 1984 where the temperature was a mere ten degrees for a month straight. “That was about the worst I’ve ever seen,” he says. “Frederick Maryland is always bad because the wind blows. Summertime, it’s hot. Myself I prefer the winter.”
His longstanding lesson after 40 plus years of underground utility construction experience and leading crews through tough jobs is that persistence pays off. “You just can’t give up.” That’s the message he passes down to his crews. “I’ve been in many spots where I’ve got eight foot of pipe a day where the sand’s coming in so bad, you can’t give up, you just keep going until you get it.”
When asked what he will miss the most about Gaines and Company, the answer comes easily for Naylor. “Oh, the men mostly,” he says then pauses to think a moment. “The only way to say it, I used to be a harda*s and I learned along the way if you treat your men well, they’ll treat you very well.”
So what’s Naylor going to do with all his spare time come December? “I have a workshop, I garden, and you know, we’ll vacation, me and my wife,” he says. But his first order of retirement business is to “sleep for six months,” he says. “I’ve been getting up at 4:30 in the morning now forever and I’d like to sleep to 6:00 o’clock in the morning, that’s my first goal.”
Watch Rod’s video story as the Gaines and Company underground utility legend talks about retirement after 41 years as a foreman, friend and leader.
