Lifetime Achievement honors a highlight of annual Salute to Design and Construction

Last edited 12:43 p.m., Nov. 14, 2025 [Editor's note: Rick Quint was misidentified in an earlier version of this article.]

An emotional Rick Quint, president of Q & Co. LLC and past president of the Springfield Contractors Association, announced the recipients of three Lifetime Achievement Awards at last night’s Salute to Design and Construction. 

Two of the recipients of the awards that are conferred by the Salute to Design and Construction Council died in the weeks leading up to the event, leaving one living honoree to accept the award in person at Oasis Convention Center. 

“They came up with three selections, and then the committee set out to notify the award recipients, obtain photos, conduct interviews and prepare the videos that you’ll see tonight,” Quint said. “Unfortunately, this year, things didn’t go as planned.” 

One honoree, Sheryl Letterman, led SCA as executive director for nearly three decades, from 1986 to 2015, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting. She died Sept. 29 at the age of 74. 

Another, Bill Nesbitt, who founded Nesbitt Construction Inc. in 1977, died Oct. 22 at age 82, according to past reporting. His son, Michael, became president in 2017 and owner in 2022. 

The living recipient was Dwain Gold, founder of Gold Mechanical Inc. Gold accepted his award in person, but he first acknowledged the two who were missing from the festivities. 

“My condolences to the Nesbitt and Letterman families,” he said. “I’m honored to be up here, when they should have been alongside me.” 

Gold admitted some discomfort with the spotlight, however. 

“I’d rather send in a bid on a $5-$10 million mechanical job as opposed to stand up here and say a few words,” he said. 

The recognition of all three recipients was marked by a measure of sorrow and an even larger measure of humor. 

Accepting for Letterman was her son, Adam, who said his mom was aware of the award and was delighted by it. 

“When Mom learned that she’d been nominated, she was tickled, and, in true fashion for her, she somehow got a hold of the nomination letters – probably before she was supposed to – and proudly printed copies to share with her brothers and sisters at the family reunion,” he said. “She was honored to be considered and even more proud to know that her peers felt so highly of her work.” 

Letterman’s award is rooted in her service to the industry through her period of SCA leadership, a time that included construction of its headquarters, officials said. 

Quint called Letterman “a legend, a true pioneer, a mentor, a leader, an advocate, but most of all, a true friend to many of us.” He added that he did not believe the audience would be sitting there at the 41st Salute banquet without her persistence and commitment to the industry and the event. 

“Her support of the Salute Council’s activities was not merely dutiful – it was transformational,” he said. “She provided the energy, the enthusiasm and the visionary leadership that created and sustained the momentum that we continue to benefit from tonight.” 

He added that her contributions – a combination of strategic vision and hands-on dedication – shaped the organization into an influential one in the community.  

Nesbitt was represented by his son, Michael, who characterized the evening as surreal. 

Michael said he had three weeks to figure out what his father would have said, but anyone who knew him would have expected a joke at the outset. 

“Luckily, going through his things here recently, I found a binder clip full of sayings and jokes that he would have carried around,” he said. 

He peppered three throughout his remarks. 

“This being a lifetime achievement award, I found this one pretty fitting,” he said. “‘I made a ton of money as a contractor during my working years. I spent half of my money on women and whiskey – and the other half I just wasted.’” 

Irony was at the heart of that humor for Michael. 

“The reality of that comment is he spent most of his money and time on being a great dad, a loving husband and a caring employer – he took care of his employees, he’d go the extra mile for them, he loaned them money when they needed him to,” he said. “There was a lot of things nobody saw except those that were close to him.” 

In the video honors for Nesbitt, he was praised as someone who would even forego a portion of the profit from a project to tweak it and make it right. 

“He did spend a lot of his time and money doing those things,” Michael said. “He’d spend the profit to make it right.” 

That reminded the son of another joke from his father’s notes: “I’m so busy, I don’t know if I found a rope or lost my horse.” 

Michael said his father would have thanked design teams and owners in the crowd, and even his contractor competitors, who made him strive to do better. 

“Most of you out here that ever saw him as a competitor, know that he saw you as a friend first before the competition,” he said. 

Gold’s recognition was based on his founding of the mechanical company that bears his name and that he transferred to an employee stock ownership plan in the year before his retirement. Gold started in the industry as an apprentice pipefitter but ended as founder and owner of one of the largest heating, ventilation and air conditioning firms in southwest Missouri. 

Gold thanked contractors in the audience for helping him to grow. 

“When I first started in ’87, contracts were either a handshake or one or two pages long,” he said. “They grew to be 20 or 30 or more pages, and with your help, you helped me overcome my reluctance to get away from the handshake and grow up in the business world.” 

He also stressed the importance of understanding the employees’ point of view. 

“It gives you a different perspective on business when you understand your employees’ view,” he said. “If you can pull them to you, you can understand any obstacles that are given out in the field.” 

Women in construction 
The National Association of Women in Construction presented two Outstanding Women in Construction Awards. 

Receiving the Rosebud Award, for someone who has been in the industry for less than 10 years, was Jessi Looney, project coordinator from Springfield Builders Inc. 

Megan Herzog, executive director of the SCA, said in the video presentation that construction is in Looney’s blood, and she brings humor and positivity everywhere she goes. 

In accepting the award, Looney said being part of the construction industry has been an incredible opportunity for personal and professional growth. 

“I’m grateful for the chance to contribute to the work that strengthens our industry and supports the future workforce development,” she said. 

She added that she looks forward to continuing to contribute to the industry. 

NAWIC presented the Vesta Award, for someone who has been in the industry for 10 years or longer, to Stephanie San Paolo, project accountant with DeWitt & Associates Inc. 

Sao Paolo, who was noted to have presented awards to other women on behalf of NAWIC in the past, was praised in the video presentation for her mentorship. 

“It’s kind of funny to watch how many people are now in construction with the young ladies that were brought into construction by Stephanie San Paolo,” said Richard Quint, president of Q & Co. LLC. “Where they may have stuck their toe in construction, Stephanie pulls them in headfirst and says, ‘You really need to get involved.’” 

Sao Paolo thanked the group she called her NAWIC sisters, as well as the organization that exposed her to what she characterized as the world outside of her bubble. 

“Thank you for pushing me to always do better and be better, even when I didn’t want to be pushed,” she said. 

American Institute of Architects 
Two awards presented by the American Institute of Architects were received by professionals of few words. Superintendent of the Year David Simkins of Nabholz Construction Corp. attempted to wave from the side of the stage with a simple, “Appreciate it,” when emcee Jeff Seifried coaxed him to the microphone. 

Simkins was praised in the video presentation for doing a full renovation of the Springfield-Branson National Airport general terminal, completed in two phases with multiple subcontractors on the project. The project involved a high degree of finish in a complex layout while keeping the airport open and traffic unimpeded. 

At the podium, Simkins thanked his wife, Nabholz Construction Corp. and subcontractors, without whom he said he would not be there. 

The AIA also presented the Craftsman of the Year Award to Nathaniel Turner with Performance Contracting Inc. for his work on the Springfield Public Schools’ Reed Academy Middle School. 

Bryce Suppes, operations manager for Performance Contracting, said in the video, “When the project came up and we saw the details that were going to be a part of it, we knew exactly who we needed to go run this project for PCI,” he said. 

The project was described as a complex structure, with unusual geometric shapes on the inside and out. 

“It always takes a team, and definitely, everybody that worked with me to make that building come to life is a lot more important than just one person running the job,” Turner said in accepting the award. 

Additional coverage will be provided in Springfield Business Journal’s Nov. 17 print edition.