As is the case for any industry, compensation, benefits, and incentive packages are the common motivators that attract potential employees. In the current climate of an abundance of vacant positions and employees in short supply, what are the intangibles that move employees to stay put?
Among shared responses of DRMP’s staff, four factors cemented their choice to build careers at DRMP: mentorship, opportunity, culture, and legacy. And, the number of veteran staff at DRMP is noteworthy, with at least 30 staff that have worked at the firm for at least 20 years. Twenty employees have been with the company for at least 30 years.
Jon Meadows, PE, who retired from DRMP in February after a nearly 40-year-career that took him from project engineer to a DRMP Principal, is a testament to the firm’s longevity retention.
Meadows joined DRMP in 1986 as a Project Engineer to work on DRMP’s first limited-access project with the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority’s (currently Central Florida Expressway Authority) State Road 417 (Eastern Beltway), a major highway that guides motorists around the city of Orlando, Fla.
In 1994, he was named a Vice President and three years later he was selected to serve on DRMP’s Board of Directors and became a Managing Principal. In 1999, he was named as the Transportation Division Manager and would serve in this role for eight years. In his most recent role with the firm, Meadows served as Principal-in-Charge of DRMP’s Marketing and Business Development and supported the firm’s expansion into Georgia.
On that first Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) project and throughout his career, Meadows credits the mentorship and the opportunities extended to him by one of DRMP’s founders, Robert Riddle, PE, and his supervisor Don Barton Sr., PE, as the key to his success at DRMP.
In turn, Meadows has also served as a mentor to many.
“I always wanted to give other people the opportunity to be here and enjoy what I got to enjoy,” he said.
Those mentees included DRMP Vice President of Alternative Delivery TJ Lallathin Jr., PE, DBIA, who began his career at DRMP as an intern.
“Early in my career, I was able to work closely with him and I’ve always strived to be where he was. I took notice of how Jon worked as a Project Manager and I’ve looked up to him in that role and what he’s been able to do in developing a long-standing relationship with CFX,” Lallathin said. “Now, I’m the Project Manager for CFX projects because of the mentorship and opportunities that he’s provided to me. Without him, I wouldn’t be here and doing the work I’m doing.”
DRMP prides itself on being family-oriented work culture and Meadows was a part of what made the company into a family firm, said John Burkett, PE, Vice President and life-long colleague and friend to Meadows.
Burkett, who joined DRMP shortly after Meadows, remembers a time early in his career when he was debating leaving the engineering industry and consulted Jon.
“He told me if a job opens up at DRMP, I’ll give you a call and he did. That’s how I got to be in DRMP’s Transportation Division. I wouldn’t be where I am in my career without the influence of Jon Meadows,” Burkett said.
Many of the seasoned staff who decided to stay at DRMP also work to build a legacy that will make DRMP better and Meadows is no different. He was vital in managing what is now Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) projects, key in forging and maintaining an ongoing decades-long working partnership with the agency, and laying a foundation for the firm’s thriving Transportation Division.
But just as importantly, it is the role he has played as a mentor and colleague that adds to his legacy.
During his recent retirement reception, Meadows left his friends and DRMP colleagues words of wisdom on work ethic and teamwork:
“I give credit where credit is due. We take the blame as a team. We learn from our mistakes. We build trust with each other by having each other’s back. We win as a team, we lose as a team.”
