Hi! My Name is Lisa.

As David Carrithers leaves Centennial to pursue an opportunity with a startup outside of the construction industry, he passes the baton on this blog to me. David’s shoes are big ones to fill, but he has assembled a team at Centennial through the last five years that will continue the important work he has accomplished. It is hard to overstate how far Centennial has come in this time. We went from virtually no branding beyond a dated logo to a comprehensive branding program including branding standards, a suite of advertisements and direct mail materials, and a brand store. More importantly, there is clarity across our organization about what the brand means, and what it is that we are selling to our customers (hint: it isn’t just construction). The brand was brought to life as the promises we make and keep to our customers.

But there is another role that David played within Centennial that I believe is critical, and that is as the conscience or “gut” of the company. Seeing and feeling where we might not be living up to the brand and inspiring us to do better. Watching the industry and being the bellweather for where the opportunities are.

Big shoes to fill, indeed. David was a marketing guru. I’m more of a construction gal. So the tone of this blog will inevitably change, but it will still bring you the latest news from inside Centennial and highlights about the difference Centennial is making in our world.

Centennial Writes Article for Commonwealth Contractor

Our very own Vice President of Human Resources, Rick Wilson wrote an article for Virginia ABC’s Commonwealth Contractor. In “Why Investing in Your Employees is a Good Business Practice…Recession or Not”, Rick provides contractors with a look at programs Centennial implemented in an effort to reduce voluntary employee turnover. The results—voluntary turnover went down 16.6% in four years.

Here are a couple of quick highlights from the article:

• The Centennial College of Excellence helps employees get career training and advance their careers at Centennial
• Managers get leadership training annually at the Leadership Conference which helps them become people managers rather than project managers
• A variety of recognition programs reward hard work and promote company initiatives, like safety and sustainability.