Charlyce Ruth

I don’t give up. There are so many different ways to get into leadership, but always you need to work hard. It’s not just clocking in and clocking out. Be curious, learn, ask questions, find new ways. My job doesn’t end at five o’clock. If it means for an initiative to be successful it’s got to happen in the evening, then it’s going to happen in the evening. You just move forward and do it. 

When I was in high school girls didn’t go into construction. I truly stumbled into that world. I was working for a manufacturing company that office shared with three construction companies. When it was time for me to make a change, one of the construction companies was looking to hire a full-time office manager, cost accountant, all of that. From there, it just seemed that I started down that pathway. I’ve been in a couple other industries, but it just kept coming back to construction. By the time I hit HBA spending nearly 21 years there, construction is just the world I’m comfortable in.

It’s so important that our younger generation is fully aware of all the opportunities that are out there. We need to do a better job of educating our youth and educators about the opportunities in the construction industry. 

Through AGC of Missouri, I’ve had the privilege of taking that knowledge and helping expand that across the state through an initiative called Build My Future.  This program introduces students to “Hands On” careers in the trades. This year alone, 11,549 students attended an event and had the opportunity to experience a variety of construction careers. 

Frequently in my career I have had the opportunity to help move initiatives forward. There are many great people in the construction industry in Southwest Missouri. Somebody will come up with a fragment of an idea and you just start bouncing it back and forth. I’ve had the ability because of where I have been employed that I can take those ideas, tie them together and move forward making it become part of my job.

My mom was a stay-at-home mom for a long time, but she was always busy. She was involved with the PTA, she was the treasurer for her bowling league. She didn’t just sit at home. She was always giving back to her community. She never really cared about getting recognized. She was more concerned about getting things done.

 

My Dad helped renovate a home for young ladies in high school that were pregnant and were kicked out of their house. So, it became their home. They had a house Mother and they could go live there and continue high school so they could graduate and have a chance to be successful. So that’s the type of things I’ve grown up with and that’s what was expected. I was taught that you volunteer at an early age. You give back to your community and you try to leave the place better than where you found it.  Proud to support NAWIC National Association of Women in Construction and WIN Women in Need.