We are grateful for all of the hard work and contributions of these Huff Team members who recently celebrated their work anniversaries with Huff Construction!
Category: Huff Team
Huff Team: Non-Profit Housing Conference
The Huff Team had a great time representing at the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California (NPH) annual conference.
We are excited we were able to be involved in such a fantastic event! The Huff team is thankful for all of the new connections we made! We are looking forward to attending NPH next year and hope to attend more events like this in the future!
Huff Team: Employee Work Anniversaries
We are grateful for the following team members who recently celebrated their work anniversaries with our company!
Kevin Ferguson, Superintendent | 17 Years
Ken Marshall, Superintendent | 12 Years
Bobbie Nastro, Project Administrator| 1 Year
Marco Zampieri, Project Engineer | 1 Year
Thank you all for another year of hard work! We appreciate you.
Huff Team Construction Update: Turlock Self Storage
The Huff Team and our Client for the Turlock Self Storage project completed an owner-punch-walk to ensure the quality of our team’s work.
At Huff Construction, we stay true to our founding values of commitment to quality and hard work, and as expected, we got a thumbs up! We are very thankful for the opportunity to build this project and can’t wait to show you all the complete facilities. Stay tuned for final photos of our team’s work.
Please visit the project page to see more of our team’s progress!
The Village at Gray’s Crossing: Tahoe Fund
Huff Construction, alongside our business partners Verakin Capital and the Abbate Family, is proud to continue our support of the Tahoe Fund in its efforts to preserve and improve the Lake Tahoe environment for all to enjoy.
We welcomed the Tahoe Fund to our booth space at this year’s Truckee Thursdays events where they raised over $5000 in donations from the public in addition to this $5000 check presented by the Village at Gray’s Crossing.
The goal of the Tahoe Fund is to become a major source of private funding for environmental projects around the Lake Tahoe Basin with an emphasis on forest health, lake clarity, sustainable recreation, transportation, and stewardship.
Huff Team: Employee Anniversaries
We are thankful for another year with these team members!
Will Huff, Superintendent | 24 Years
Marta Lopes, Controller | 15 Years
Matt Holloway, Construction Laborer | 7 Years
Tracy Alicea, Project Manager | 5 Years
Darlene Hall, Project Engineer | 3 Years
Thank you all for another year of hard work and dedication to Building Excellence. We appreciate you!
Huff Employee Spotlight: Meet Larry Nelson, Senior Project Manager
Name: Larry Nelson
Title: Senior Project Manager
Hire Date: 1997
Where are you from?
I grew up in Salinas, CA and moved to the San Jose area right after graduating from high school. I have since moved to the Turlock area and have been living here with my family since 1987.
How did you get into the construction industry?
Well, right out of high school, I got a position as a carpenter at one of my friend’s construction companies. One of the most memorable projects working as a carpenter was a remodel for one of Alfred Hitchcock’s homes. I also worked on schools, banks, stadiums, and medical facilities.
What makes you excited to go to work in the morning?
I am always excited to come to work but what makes me most excited is working with our clients and fixing any issues or changes that come up on a project.
What’s your favorite part about working at Huff?
One of my favorite things about my position is having the ability to problem-solve. I like to work on large and complex projects because of the amount of problem-solving that is involved. I enjoy accomplishing goals as a team and working with our repeat clients.
What is your favorite project that you have built?
It’s difficult to choose one project but I really enjoyed building Samaritan Village in Hughson, CA. I have always wanted to build a mall and Samaritan Village is in a sense, a mall. It has a post office, movie theater, chapel, stores, barbershop, salon, assisted living space, and more. I also enjoyed working on the Mercy UC Davis Cancer Center in Merced, CA because it involved building a room for a linear accelerator. Some of the walls were 7 feet thick of solid concrete!
What has been your proudest moment at Huff?
I have had a few moments when I felt really proud. One proud moment is when I earned a promotion from a superintendent to a project manager back in 2005. Another proud moment working here is when my son, Kyle, started working for Huff in 2014. Anytime a project that I am working on comes to completion I like to take a step back and appreciate all of the hard work done by the Huff Team and the great subcontractors that work with us. It’s truly a team effort when it comes to building.
What sets Huff employees apart from people working at other companies? Are there certain personality traits or skills that do well at Huff?
What really sets us apart is that the owners of Huff Construction, Gary Huff and Brad Ardis, are deeply involved in every aspect of the company and they truly care about their employees and clients. They shape our company culture by setting high standards and leading by example. Their leadership translates to employees with an incredible work ethic and attitude. We truly work as a team and nobody is trying to climb over somebody else to get to the top which is prevalent in larger corporate settings.
What are your favorite things to do outside of work?
I like to work on things around my house, fishing for bass, and I also love traveling with my wife. We really enjoyed traveling to Thailand for one of our son’s wedding and also traveling to Italy which we visited in 2018. I look forward to going on many more trips.
Huff Team Work Anniversaries
We are thankful for the following team members who recently celebrated their work anniversaries with our company:
Michelle Hayes, Project Engineer | 5 Years
Alex Aja, Project Engineer | 3 Years
Michelle Ardis, HR Manager | 2 Years
We are proud to provide our employees with growth opportunities within the company. It is important for us to build a well-rounded team and create a positive work environment. Thank you all for your dedication and hard work. We appreciate you!
We are always looking for talented individuals who can grow with our team. If you’re interested in starting or advancing your career, we hope you consider Huff Construction.
Check out our careers page to view open positions.
Women in Construction Week
In celebration of Women in Construction Week, we’d like to recognize all of the hard-working ladies who are a part of the Huff Team.
Women only make up about 11% of the construction industry workforce. At Huff Construction, women make up 29% of our total workforce.
Tracy Alicea, Project Manager at Huff Construction, has over 20 years of experience working in the construction industry and has this to say about working in a male-dominated profession:
“It has been challenging at times, especially in the ‘old days.’ Sometimes I have felt like I had to bite my tongue, and other times I’d let them have it. I used to feel like I had to really prove myself to be respected. Today, I am glad to be working at Huff Construction. There hasn’t been a time when somebody mistreated me or made my job more challenging because I am a woman. That says a lot about the culture at Huff Construction and the great subcontractors that we work with. A mantra I live by is to treat others with respect, and others will respect you.”
(Pictured are just a few of the many incredible women who work at Huff Construction)
Huff Employee Spotlight: Garrett Ardis, Project Manager
Here at Huff, we look to build a strong well-rounded foundation for employees by allowing them to learn every aspect of the business through what we call the “Huff Way.”
Garrett has been a great example of the “Huff Way.” He has had the opportunity to work his way up through various positions from the ground floor. Garrett has been around Huff Construction his whole life and officially started working at Huff in October of 2018. Before working at Huff, Garrett attended the University of Arizona, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Urban and Regional Development with a minor in Business Administration. Get to know more about Garrett by reading below.
Name: Garrett Ardis
Title: Project Manager
Hire Date: October 2018
Where are you from?
I was born and raised in Modesto, California.
What is your job and tell me about your recent promotion?
I am a Project Manager. Before my promotion, I was assisting project managers and managed manpower vehicles as well as worked on small projects. Now I am managing my own projects with an on-sight superintendent. I am now more focused on the budgetary aspect of the job and making sure the project is constructed correctly.
What did you do before working at Huff Construction?
I worked in commercial real estate for PMZ.
What makes you excited to go to work in the morning?
The wide variety of tasks that construction has to offer every day. Each day differs from the last which makes me excited and keeps me on my toes. I love problem-solving and every day has a new challenge to overcome. At the end of a project, I get to see a complete physical result of my hard work and that makes it all worth it.
What’s your favorite part about working at Huff?
The team! There is a good relationship between the guys in the field and the office staff. I am also lucky to have a great boss that gives me a long leash and allows me to learn and problem-solve. We are not micromanaged but we get support when needed and I thrive well in that type of environment.
What has surprised you about working at Huff?
I always figured that the construction industry was regimented but I didn’t know just how serious of an industry it really was until I actually started working at Huff. After coming from the real estate industry, it was a bit of a change for me but I really enjoy that aspect of the job, it allows me to stay organized and on top of my projects in the best way possible.
What has been your proudest moment at Huff?
My proudest moment thus far has probably been my work on Joe’s Premium Carwash. To be able to lead the design-build process, hire the design staff, go through every meeting step-by-step, direct the team out there to build the building, and now to the point where the car wash is open and running. I really enjoyed the whole process and having a successful outcome feels good.
Are there certain personality traits or skills that do well at Huff?
Yes, people who are hardworking, passionate, thick-skinned, determined, focused, resilient, and most importantly have great problem-solving skills.
What do you enjoy most about being a part of a family business?
I have gone my whole life knowing members of the Huff team whether it’s relatives or long-time employees. I have always had great personal respect for them but I have gained a newfound professional respect for them now that I have actually gotten to see firsthand the hard work that they put in.
Why are family Businesses are important?
For generations, we have seen family businesses being important to the growth of our local economy. Economies around the world thrive off of family-owned companies. Being able to be taught by your own father, to learn from his successes and failures in business is a great opportunity to be given to anyone. To pass down those types of skills in the business world is important for future generations.
What are your favorite things to do outside of work?
I enjoy golfing, watching sports, barbecuing, traveling, working out, and spending time with my animals.
What is on your bucket list?
I would like to have the opportunity to travel to Europe one day.
Where is your favorite place to eat?
Kimos in Maui. Kimos has the best views and the best Sashimi.
Any random facts you could share with us?
I have been playing the guitar for 17 years.
Where is your favorite place to travel to?
Tahoe!