Beverly Reynal

I attribute my success to being driven, trying new things, and being adaptable. When I was asked to run a concrete plant, that felt crazy - little old me running a concrete plant. But I said yes, and that willingness to step into opportunities that seemed bigger than me opened doors. Being a woman in this industry set me apart, especially 30-something years ago when there weren't as many women. HR people would come to me and ask how come they couldn't keep any other woman in the position, and I think what set me apart was my ability to adapt to my environment. I had a go-with-the-flow kind of attitude. You're working around a lot of men, and you have to stay professional but also adapt. I would say determination and adaptability are what have driven my success.

The best career advice I've ever received is to listen to people, because people like to talk about themselves. When you're meeting somebody, whether it's for the first time or the twentieth time, ask questions about them. They want to talk - not in a rude kind of way, but they genuinely want to share about themselves. Listen and ask people about themselves. My friends laugh because I'll meet someone for 10 minutes and already know something meaningful about them. That piece of advice has helped me break the ice and take relationships to a different level. It's about making people feel heard and valued.

I would say this is such a great industry, and my advice is to look for people, men or women, who respect your work and want to see you succeed. Find a good mentor, whether that's to help you navigate job sites or dynamics within your company. I think having a good mentor in this business is crucial. When I entered the concrete business in 1995, it was a good old boy world. I had a mentor named Oscar Robinson, and he was an older gentleman from that generation. He just gave me the confidence I needed. My daughters are in the construction industry now, and they've seen that nothing can hold them back. A strong mentor can make all the difference in helping you build your career with confidence.

One of the biggest challenges we're facing, especially on the field side, is finding skilled labor. There's a shortage, and it continues to be a problem. For many years now, high schools did away with the trade programs - the shop classes, as they used to call them. People going into construction got a bad rap, and many thought, 'Oh, I don't want to do that.' But we really want to attract people to this industry because it's such a fulfilling, friendly, and fun industry. On the trade association side, people are changing and their needs are changing, so as an association, we need to adapt and find out what people want. When I started my career 30 years ago, you used associations to network and meet people, and you spent your evenings doing that. Young people today don't want to do that, so we're having to evolve - change the time of our events, change what our events are, and adapt to the current needs of our members.

The values most important to me are being ethical, honest, doing the right thing, hard work, and consistency. Ethics means doing what's right even when no one is watching. Honesty keeps everything clear and builds trust. Hard work shows my commitment to excellence. And consistency ties it all together - showing up the same way with the same standards no matter what the circumstance is. These aren't just ideals for me; they're the principles I rely on every day to guide my decisions, build trust, and maintain credibility in everything I do.