Episodes

Burns Dirt Construction was founded in 1977 in Columbus, Mississippi with two dump trucks. Today, they are a leading construction company in the southeast specializing in turnkey site packages for heavy highway, large industrial, commercial, and resident projects. From paving driveways to major highways, their crews are fully equipped to handle any sized project. Today, all the way from Mississippi, we’re honored to have Nic Parish, Vice President of Operations & Contracting at Burns Dirt on ou...

On the Give Us The Dirt podcast, we’ve been used to hearing stories of men and women that have grown up playing in the dirt and that have made a career in construction, literally reshaping the landscape of our communities. Although our guest today doesn’t necessarily fit that mold, the work that he’s doing is having a huge impact on the construction industry! This is a very special episode because not only does our guest have a great story to tell, he is one of Brandon’s best friends and has be...

We have some new friends in town today! Gulf Stream Construction was founded in Charleston in 1963 and has honored a tradition of responsibility and excellence as they’ve provided top quality site and infrastructure construction services across the coastal regions of South Carolina and Georgia. This family-owned business does a little bit of everything, but specializes in civil, site, and infrastructure construction. Over the last 59 years, they’ve put together one of the most impressive and div...

Today, we have a special guest who came all the way from Maine to Give Us The Dirt. Herb Sargent is a third-generation business owner and currently serves as President & CEO of Maine-based Sargent Corporation. Only a few years shy of 100 years in business, Sargent has become one of the premier heavy civil construction companies on the East Coast, serving seven states across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The only thing more impressive than the quality of work that you’ll see from Sargent, is t...

We have two industry legends with us today. Combined, these men have nearly 100 years of service with one of the southeast’s leading contractors, Barnhill Contracting. Most of us will probably have a hard time wrapping our minds around that level of accomplishment – it’s something so rare we simply have no frame of reference. Joining us today are Lee Cooper, executive vice-president and a 50-year veteran, and William Davis, vice president and CFO with 45 years at Barnhill. These two men have dec...

You might be great at your job, but how would you translate your skills to another profession? The mission to do that might feel overwhelming. Our military veterans face the same problem when they leave the service and try to find jobs in the civilian world. They have so much experience – specialized experience – but struggle to find jobs because they don’t know how their skills match employers’ needs. Our next guest on our Give Us the Dirt Podcast understands that problem and created a solutio...

We always love talking to folks in the site development business, to learn about what makes them successful, and advice they can share for the rest of us. Today on Give Us the Dirt Podcast, we’re talking to Daniel Hensley and Tory Jasinkski, two guys at the heart of their company in the site development industry. They’re both vice presidents of TJT Corporation in Purcellville, Virginia – and they’ve known each other a long time, too, as classmates at Loudoun Valley High School up there.

Whether you have dreamed of a future in construction or want to hear experts talk about their field, today’s episode of the Give Us the Dirt Podcast is for you! We have gathered a panel of leaders from the HGC team to discuss the everchanging climate of the construction industry, from the challenges in the labor market to the complex tasks needed to execute turn-key site development packages. We are thrilled to welcome General Superintendent Tony Duncan, Utilities Director Jeff Byrum, and Field ...

We’ve been blessed on the Give Us the Dirt Podcast to talk to some pretty high-profile guests about achieving the American Dream. But others, who are just as personally and professionally successful, prefer to fly under the radar even though they have a lot to boast about. Tim Davis is one of those people. Tim is the VP of Construction Operations at Hoopaugh Grading, and in our opinion, Tim represents every good thing that this industry is about and has to offer. He has stayed true to who he is...

We know construction can be a dirty business! But we’re “digging deep” with today’s guest on our Give Us the Dirt Podcast with a guy who sees glamor and respect in every job in construction. Aaron Witt calls himself the “Chief Dirt Nerd” of his company, BuildWitt. He tells the stories behind the projects and the people, and in doing so, helps companies solve their problems – everything from recruiting, to marketing, to business development. How does he do that? Well, it starts with the love of ...

When you want someone to succeed, you wish them Luck. But it’s taken more than luck to grow a thriving aggregates business and keep leadership in the family for nearly 100 years. Luck Companies has done that, and it takes a lot of planning! You may know Luck Companies for its most high-profile brand, Luck Stone. The quarry and aggregates company was launched in 1923 in Virginia by Charles Luck Junior, but now owns properties in 3 divisions across the Southeast. After the company passed to Charl...

If you build it, they will come. But before you can build it, you need to clear it, grade it, add drainage, and even pave it. There are few companies who have done that as long and as well in South Carolina as CR Jackson Contractors. What started as a landscaping company in 1972 is close to celebrating its 50th anniversary as a much larger company that can perform a lot more than landscaping. CR Jackson now owns 6 asphalt plants across South Carolina, and its paving operations are just a small ...

Whether it’s commercial buildings, renovations, medical offices, or apartments, there’s one company that can handle it all. Concorde Construction – of Charlotte – is that company building clean, modern offices in Berewick and Ayrsley, adaptive reuse from The Plaza to Rozzelle’s Ferry, and Urban Mixed-Use from South End to Rock Hill. David Privitera has led Concorde Construction for the last 16 of its 27 years, including during a re-branding in October. He joins us now on the Give Us the Dirt Po...

The building business is booming, and to keep up, you need a lot of concrete and sand and brick. Stevenson-Weir / Southern is a family business that’s expanded over the last 70 years to match the growth in the region — and now includes plants in 6 local cities. And as the business grew, so did the family! The oil company started by Grandma and Grandpa Weir in 1948 is now on its 3rd generation of family employees, and two of them are joining us today in the Hoopaugh Grading Company studio for th...

You may have known the name BB&T as a tower in Winston-Salem, a ballpark in Charlotte, or a bank on the corner in your neighborhood. It has been a couple of years since the former community bank merged with SunTrust bank, to become what is now known as Truist. The name now adorns the Charlotte Knights’ home stadium, as well as a central tower in uptown Charlotte. But in an era of bank consolidations, who is strong enough to lead a merger of two smaller regional banks into the nation’s 6th larges...

If you look up our next guest’s background, it’s tough to decide what jumps out at you first — that he was a Marine Corps Captain for 10 years, that he has an MBA from the highly-respected Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC-Chapel Hill, or that he was the Leprechaun mascot at Notre Dame his Senior year in college. That’s all a lot to take in — but the reason he’s HERE on the Give Us the Dirt Podcast is that, for the last almost-20 years, he’s been a sought-after speaker and management trainer ...

Our next guest on the Give Us the Dirt Podcast is one of our own here at Hoopaugh Grading Company. Grayson Glover is the Vice President of Construction with HGC, which is as cool as it sounds. Grayson is a Charlotte native, who graduated from Providence High School and East Carolina University, joining our team […]

In all businesses and on every team, each person brings something unique to the table — a different set of skills, a special way of looking at things or a prior experience to provide new insights and creative solutions. That’s why every industry needs a diverse workforce. Yet, in the construction industry, we still see […]

There’s just nothing like a brick exterior. Sure, we love stucco, wood paneling, and cedar shake — but nothing says “solid” like brick. Saying someone is a “brick house” and “follow the yellow brick road” are part of popular culture. And if you’ve ever pulled up close and looked at how each brick has been […]

Construction is big business, and it takes a lot of planning, executing and relationship-building to make it all happen. Our next guest on Give Us the Dirt Podcast has had a hand in every part of the process since the mid-80’s, and he’s not slowing down. Alan Cahill is the President and CEO of Blythe […]

We have a lot of guests on our podcast who found their way into the construction industry because they like working with their hands, grew up around equipment, or had a summer job that inspired a career. For the first time, we are excited to have with us a guest that got started in the […]

Since 1926, CTE has served the equipment needs of the Southeast by offering a full line of products and support to it’s customers. For more than 90 years, CTE has remained dedicated to being a trusted partner while testing the boundaries as a trailblazing organization. We are excited to have Mike Tropsha, Vice President and […]

There’s an old saying: “You can’t get there from here”… and in the construction and site-development industry, you certainly can’t get anywhere without the right transportation. Job sites rely on the steady and dependable flow of materials and equipment and expect them to be delivered on time and on budget. In Charlotte, almost every large […]

If it’s been a few years since you caught up with Martin Marietta, it’s no longer the aerospace company that developed Titan rockets and the Walt Disney World Monorail. 25 years and a couple of mergers and acquisitions later, it’s Martin Marietta materials, supplier of building materials around the world including here in Charlotte. Martin […]