Kristi Lyn Ronyak

I'm a third-generation member of an asphalt family, and I've been working professionally in construction since 2008, though I pretty much grew up in the industry watching my dad at asphalt plants and my cousins pave. Before finding my way back to construction, I tried different paths - I was a waitress for two weeks, worked in sales and marketing for a public karaoke company that licensed to MTV, Nickelodeon, and Motown, and even routed refrigerated trucks. My mother insisted I go to college and told me I wasn't going to work for the family company, even though I kind of wanted to run it. I went to Ohio State for two years, then moved to Florida when my dad had a heart transplant. In 2008, I got a job with Speedy Concrete Cutting, which ironically wasn't even in asphalt, but that was actually my favorite job because I learned so many different construction trades and was able to work with general contractors, vertical contractors, civil contractors, and underground contractors. I volunteered extensively at construction associations, attending their golf tournaments and clay shoots, networking and meeting people, which helped me find a network of strong women I'm still friends with today. I saw that there was a need for a charity for fallen construction workers - there wasn't one out there even though approximately 3.5 construction fatalities happen every day in the United States. So I started a nonprofit charity from scratch in South Florida. In 15 years, we're now in 36 states doing golf tournaments, 5Ks, and all different types of fundraisers throughout the country. My goal is to be in all 50 states by the time I'm 50 - I'm in 36 states now and have three more years, so I have to hurry up. We have national funds, so even if we're not in a state yet, if they have a fatality, we still help out their family. My whole day is packed with back-to-back meetings, coordinating with hosts like John Deere who host golf tournaments in South Florida and Pennsylvania, updating people on roles and responsibilities, working with venues on pricing, and really operating the business. We all work from home - I have three employees and a board of directors with monthly meetings.