This week, we recognize and honor Michael Stubbs as we announce his retirement.
Mike joined VCC in its early days in 1988, starting as a carpenter. He would go on to hold many important roles as the company grew, including training, expediting and ultimately Director of Scheduling.
Mike, and others with a long tenure at VCC, came along at the time when the company self-performed much of the work on projects. Those early days were known to be hard – days when workers really pushed their limits. The result was the formation of a solid work ethic and camaraderie among men who shared the load together.
As Mike moved out of the field and into management positions, that work ethic followed. He never shied away from taking on more responsibilities as the business grew. Mike has always been known to be a good listener and an even-handed manager – on task and ready to get things done. He spearheaded the VCC Print Shop startup to handle the enormous volume of drawings and plans. That department quickly grew beyond expectations and required a 2nd shift to keep pace. Later, Mike would head up the creation of the scheduling department, an integral part of VCC’s success, and a post he would occupy for decades. Mike found himself in the position of both training and mentoring many young people early in their careers.
“Mike taught me how to build. He gave me the skillsets I have now that are a big part of my success,” says Andrew Hubbel, VP, “he was the springboard for my career moving from scheduling into operations.”
The scope of Mike’s construction experience gave him the ability to understand the intricacies and layers of a project to look for challenges that could impact logistics and scheduling.
“Over the years, Mike became the guy you would bounce ideas off of to get his perspective on projects,” according to John Allan, COO. “His unique insight might find the hooks or risks that might not be apparent on the front end.”
Mike recalls a couple of memorable jobs like the Sono Collection and The Victoria Gardens projects as significant in his career. In this dynamic industry, changes and challenges are inherent and Mike has seen his share along the way saying, “some of the best lessons are the hardest lessons.”
Mike’s tenure and career progression strongly reflects the VCC culture, and he is grateful for his experience here, saying “none of this would have been possible without the dedication, work ethic and talent of a lot of fine people I had the good fortune to work with.”
In retirement, Mike is looking forward to not having deadlines and intends to spend more time with his family.
Chairman Sam Alley says, “Mike was an integral part of our team from early on, he cared, was always focused, and added value to our projects over many years. He will be missed and we wish him nothing but the best!”
Mike Stubbs
