It's Feature Friday! Meet Stephen Bracher – Project Engineer for Macallan Construction!

• What’s your construction specialty?

I primarily assist project managers with RFIs, submittals, scheduling, and coordinating subcontractors.

• What attracted you to the construction industry?

I’ve always been interested in the process of building and enjoy the satisfaction of seeing all the different trades and components come together to create a final product.

• What was the most memorable construction project you’ve ever worked on?

Renovating the public spaces and adding restaurants to the Omni Hotel in downtown Atlanta while keeping the hotel open and functioning. The most memorable activity on this job was removing giant stone wall panels a few stories up right next to the street during rush hour to create a restaurant balcony.

• What advice would you give someone who wanted to enter the construction field?

Never be afraid to ask questions and listen to advise from people with more experience and knowledge than you. That’s the way I’ve learned the most!

• Tell us an interesting or fun fact about yourself!

I spent a summer hiking over 300 miles in New Mexico during college.

#featurefriday #atlantaconstruction

It's Feature Friday! Meet Shane Jones – Superintendent for Macallan Construction!

• What’s your construction specialty?
  Millwork / Cabinetry

• What attracted you to the construction industry?
  I started out of high school doing HVAC and then drywall. What attracted me to construction was when I went to work in a cabinet shop, is where I found my love for construction. I went from simply sanding doors to installing cabinets in a few short years. I installed commercial and residential cabinets for over 10 years.

• What was the most memorable construction project you’ve ever worked on?
  The Court of Appeals in Atlanta. I remodeled a Judge’s Chamber that had an extensive millwork package. The building itself is over 115 years old, so all the existing woodwork was hand carved.

• What advice would you give someone who wanted to enter the construction field?
  Communication and attention to detail are the keys to being successful in this industry. Create a good work ethic and be proud to be a construction worker!

• Tell us an interesting or fun fact about yourself!
  When I’m not at work, I enjoy spending as much time with my son as I can. 

It's Feature Friday! Meet Belarmino Romero – Intern for Macallan Construction!

• What’s your construction specialty?
  I’m currently an intern in Preconstruction for commercial construction. I also do various project management tasks.

• What attracted you to the construction industry?
  I have always had an interest in buildings and seeing how every structure has its own character - from building with Legos when I was younger to studying ancient Greek and Roman structures. I took an architecture class in high school where we worked with AutoCAD and Revit to design buildings, then I chose a construction field when joining the military. I think I was just always meant to be in some sort of construction.

• What was the most memorable construction project you’ve ever worked on?
  I am very new to the construction field but the construction project that I will remember for a long time will be an interior renovation of the Omni Hotel @ the CNN Center. This project is important to me because I was invested in it from the beginning. I assisted in the initial preconstruction phase of this project. Once awarded, I went on to assist the Project Management team and Field Supervision team in daily responsibilities. I got to price and assist in the building of this project from start to finish. I got to work with the subcontractors and see how the Jobsite runs. Most of the time after preconstruction is done and you hand off a project, your job is done - but with this one, I got to work in every aspect of the process. It was fantastic!

• What advice would you give someone who wanted to enter the construction field?
  Keep an open mind. Growing up, I didn’t know exactly what a general contractor did. I just figured it was one superintendent, the subcontractors, and they got the work done. There is a lot of people behind the scenes and if they weren't there, it would make it impossible to complete the project! Construction is not just swinging a hammer at a nail. There is an art to it, and so many job fields within it that could interest people. So explore the industry! You might be pleasantly surprised at what you find.

• Tell us an interesting or fun fact about yourself!
  When I was 15, I told my older sister to come with me on a road trip (I only had a Learners Permit, so I needed someone with a license). I drove to Alabama to meet up with a farmer and bought a pygmy goat. I put him in my backyard and acted surprised when my parents brought it up. I named him Boomer and he is still part of the family to this day.

It's Feature Friday! Meet Tad Glasscock - Superintendent for Macallan Construction!

• What’s your construction specialty?
  Commercial ground up.

• What attracted you to the construction industry?
  You can be creative and solve problems. You are not restricted by anything other than your own abilities.

• What was the most memorable construction project you’ve ever worked on?
  The pedestrian bridge at Albany Tech.

• What advice would you give someone who wanted to enter the construction field?
  Ask questions and learn as much as you can about the trades! Every trade has their own procedures and you need to know as much as possible for your manager, your site, and the project team.

• Tell us an interesting or fun fact about yourself!
  I was on the commissioning crew of 3 submarines while in the U.S. Navy. I helped build them.

It's Feature Friday! Meet John McHugh – Project Manager for Macallan Construction!

• What’s your construction specialty?
  Problem-solving!

• What attracted you to the construction industry?
  My parents owned a custom homes business (and still do in Houston). Growing up, I would help with keeping the sites clean and doing miscellaneous things they wanted me to do. I knew it was a great fit when I started studying construction engineering in college. What keeps me attracted to the industry now is the organized flow of multiple people working on a project site and orchestrating the process.

• What was the most memorable construction project you’ve ever worked on?
  The Logan Farm House in Acworth, Georgia. It was the first opportunity I had to really run with a project. It turned out wonderful and I made a lot of long-lasting connections from it.

• What advice would you give someone who wanted to enter the construction field?
  Try to learn something new every day! Before asking for help, exhaust every resource available to you, and rely on your trade contractors and site supervisors to help make decisions that are in the project’s best interest. You may not know everything but it sure helps to know the people to call! Don’t tell people what they want to hear, but what they NEED to hear, and do it in a way that makes them feel good about it!

• Tell us an interesting or fun fact about yourself!
  I’m currently learning to play piano, mountain biking as much as I can, and my golf index is a 9!

It's Feature Friday! Meet Anna Lilley – Estimator for Macallan Construction!

• What’s your construction specialty?
  Preconstruction

• What attracted you to the construction industry?
  It may be a cliché, but I love being a part of making something from nothing. I liked the applied side of engineering and decided to go into construction instead of design. Figuring out how to actually build something that was designed by architects and engineers is challenging and fulfilling.

• What was the most memorable construction project you’ve ever worked on?
  The Logan Farm House. It was one of the first and largest bids that I worked on, with an amazing team that included Nathan Harbison and Rob Wasserman of Macallan Works. The Logan Farm House was a 100 year old house that had some very unique challenges, including the need to repair and remake the foundations while protecting the structure.

• What advice would you give someone who wanted to enter the construction field?
  Don’t be afraid to start with the ‘boring’ side of things. Being in the office, you get to see a lot of different projects and get time onsite, too. It’s the best of both worlds and lets you determine the right direction for you.

• Tell us an interesting or fun fact about yourself!
  I’m a military brat. I have lived in 6 states, 4 countries, and 3 continents!

It's Feature Friday! Meet Nichelle Bell – Project Administrator and Permit Expediter for Macallan Construction!

• What’s your construction specialty?
  Project Administration & Permit Expediting!

• What attracted you to the construction industry?
  It was totally by accident. When I moved to Atlanta in 1996, I was working for a temp agency. They sent me to a construction firm and I was asked if I wanted to work in a jobsite construction trailer for a project in Alpharetta. I was convinced to go when a young engineer asked me to go with her so she wouldn’t be the only female at the jobsite. The rest is history!

• What was the most memorable construction project you’ve ever worked on?
  Northwinds Two in Alpharetta. It was my first construction project. Our project team was so much fun! There was so much to learn - it was so exciting! It was also difficult when our Precast subcontractor declared bankruptcy, but we were able to keep them going by paying their business cost while our Precast was being manufactured. It turned out that the Precast was the best product of all the Northwind buildings and the project was turned over ahead of schedule. Great learning experience!

• What advice would you give someone who wanted to enter the construction field?
  Get out in the field, that’s where the action is!

• Tell us an interesting or fun fact about yourself!
  I was a Nanny for 15 months prior to working for Macallan. It was a great experience!

It's Feature Friday! Meet Christian Davis – Director of Preconstruction for Macallan Construction!

• What’s your construction specialty? 
  Hospitality, Higher Education, and Senior Living

• What attracted you to the construction industry? 
  As a kid I always enjoyed construction and most of my toys involved building (Legos and Lincoln Logs) so I knew what I wanted to do.  However, originally I thought architects were the ones that actually built the buildings. Once I learned it was general contractors I never looked back!

• What was the most memorable construction project you’ve ever worked on? 
  My most memorable project would have to be the Coca Cola Atlanta Syrup Plant Expansion.  It was a 50 million dollar, 3-phase project (Package, Syrup, and Mass storage) with pretty much every type of construction component you could think of.  It was also done in secret under heavy security because of a new technology they were rolling out. 

• What advice would you give someone who wanted to enter the construction field?  
  Make sure you enjoy communication, collaboration, and new challenges throughout your career!

• Tell us an interesting or fun fact about yourself! 
  I’m a husband to an amazing wife, Sara, and a dog dad to two great pups, Crush and Sugarbaby.

It's Feature Day! Meet Shawn Irwin - Superintendent for Macallan Construction!

• What’s your construction specialty?
  Coordination and inspiring a team-centric atmosphere.
  

• What attracted you to the construction industry?
  The idea of turning nothing into something and changing peoples’ lives through building and/or renovating - whether it be their work or home life.
  

• What was the most memorable construction project you’ve ever worked on?
  The Department of Corrections inmate wing at Atlanta Medical Center.
  

• What advice would you give someone who wanted to enter the construction field?
  Learn a trade and master it!
  

• Tell us an interesting or fun fact about yourself!
  My favorite hobbies are hunting and fishing - particularly bow hunting!

It's Feature Friday! Meet Heather Hardie - Senior Project Manager

• What’s your construction specialty?
  Complex renovations - renovations are full of unknowns and challenges that create a much more exciting team dynamic than often found in ground-up construction!

• What attracted you to the construction industry?
  At one point in my life, I was an art major and I had a love for architecture so it seemed natural to take these two passions and go build something. I discovered building construction and the rest is history!

• What was the most memorable construction project you’ve ever worked on?
  I was on a complex school renovation that involved deconstructing the structure by cutting the spine out of the building and inserting a raised pop-up curtain wall structure in its place to flood the building with natural light. The existing pieces of the building that remained were structurally held in place by installing exposed post tension cables through the existing beams. The building was recognized for its innovative design and won Honor Awards from the Georgia chapter of the American Institute of Architects and South Atlantic Region, AIA - it was also featured in the movie “The Hate You Give!"

• What advice would you give someone who wanted to enter the construction field?
  If you are looking for a job that provides routine and repetition, this is not your gig. If you thrive with change, love a good challenge, and enjoy problem-solving - jump in, expect to work hard, and you won’t be disappointed!

• Tell us an interesting or fun fact about yourself!
  I used to teach elementary school art K-5.

Congrats, John!

Congratulations to our Project Manager, John McHugh, on being chosen to take part in the Associated Builders and Contractors of Georgia's Future Leaders program for 2020! We know he’ll enjoy learning new skills, developing his network, and being an active participant in this awesome program. Congrats on the opportunity and thank you for all your hard work, John!

Excited for this fantastic opportunity!

We're proud to announce that Christian Jacobsen, Vice President of Macallan Construction, has been selected as a member of Leadership Cobb's Class of 2020!

Leadership Cobb Class of 2020 Announcement

Cobb Chamber