Reader’s Choice: Gaines’s Top 10 Stories of 2024
Wow! This was certainly a momentous year for Gaines and Company. 2024 marked the company’s 70th anniversary as a leading site development company in the Mid-Atlantic region. Throughout the year, we looked at how the industry changed over the years, employees became family, and jobs transformed into careers. We’ve met some of Gaines’s most trusted contractors, celebrated safety achievements, learned more about the teams behind its expert services, and got a bird’s eye view of some of Gaines’s biggest projects.
But don’t just take our word for it. Take a look at some of our readers’ favorite stories from 2024.
After two decades of dedicated service, Bob Kolarek hung up his hat and embarked on his retirement. “Bob’s presence will be deeply missed,” said Vice President David Gaines. “He’s a well-liked person with a warm smile who has been a big part of our company culture. We wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement!”
Victor Rivera was awarded Maryland’s 2023 Year-End Safety Excellence Achievement Award. Safety Director Dominic Pope said, “He’s a great mentor and always looks out for the entire crew. He’s a large part of the success of our safety program.”
Field Mechanic Brandon Sessoms was awarded Q3 Safety Excellence Achievement Award from Safety Manager Tommy Trent for always helping the team and maintaining the safety of his field truck. Tommy said, “Brandon is a real team player. He has a positive attitude and is always ready to help.”
Family-owned Patuxent Companies has reliably supplied Gaines and Company with aggregate materials for nearly three decades. “They provide a valuable service to our projects,” said Gaines and Company’s Chief Estimator and Senior Project Manager Eric Boone.
#6. Goodbye Interns
Interns from Gerstell Academy are ready to crush it in the world of construction management after learning from the best at Gaines and Company.
Mainline Operator Steve Scott was awarded Gaines and Company’s Safety Excellence Achievement Award for not cutting corners. Safety Directory Dominic Pope said, “He looks out for his crew and is not afraid to stand up for safety. He is an overall fantastic operator!”
Gaines and Company featured some of its most trusted subcontractors throughout 2024, like Simmons and Simmons. Family-owned and operated Simmons and Simmons was established in 1986. Today, it has over 40 employees strategically poised throughout North Carolina.
Gaines and Company went through a lot of changes in its 70-year history as an industry-leading site development company in the Mid-Atlantic region. But a lot has stayed the same, too. Whether in its infancy or as a well-known and respected site development company, Gaines and Company is passionate about delivering safe, quality operations to its customers.
The partnership between Merritt Properties and Gaines and Company brings differing strengths to the table that not only enhance building development, but also bring immeasurable growth and success to each organization. After four successful years of working together, Gaines and Merritt are just beginning a relationship that is advancing the building market in North Carolina.
Gaines and Company’s Safety Director Dominic Pope was awarded the Chesapeake Region Safety Council’s John Lanigan Safety Professional of the Year Award. “For Dominic, it is not a job as much as it is a calling,” said Gaines and Company President W. Lee Gaines, Jr.
Gaines and Company is a full-service grading and excavation company with offices in Maryland and North Carolina. The organization has 70 years of experience in underground utilities, grading and excavating, sediment and erosion controls, and road work. Gaines and Company delivers safe, reliable, turnkey site development services in Maryland, North Carolina, Washington D.C., and Delaware on time and within budget.
