Company: Webber Construction
Company Description: Curtis Van Cleve is a highly respected heavy highway construction executive with over 30 years of experience in the industry. Curtis most recently started a branch of SEMA construction in Texas going from 0 employees to over 200 and from $0 to over $300 million in work in just three years.
Nomination Category: Management Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Executive of the Year - Transportation

Nomination Title: Curtis Van Cleve, District President

Tell the story about what this nominee achieved since January 1 2012 (up to 525 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

From the trunk of his car before he had even secured office space, Curtis Van Cleve started a business in Texas that went from zero to 300 million in three years. In 2012, his 5 year business plan for SEMA, a heavy highway civil construction company, was only 3 years young when he reached his goal of 200 million in backlog and 100 million in revenue.

Curtis created the business division in Texas, hired over 200 employees, built relationships with industry suppliers and vendors solely based on his experience, and reputation, for honesty and integrity. He was able to persuade some of the most talented people in the industry to join him and the new company, based on his strong belief and clear vision for future opportunities. His passion and excitement for being a part of a new business was infectious and spread like a wildfire through the state of Texas. Many industry leaders and major players had expresed doubt that this could be done, but Curtis set out to prove them wrong and to build a company that would make Texas proud. From hiring all permanent staff to securing office space, Curtis took on every aspect keeping the one mantra he always repeated, that it is all about the people. He would always say that the people working for a company, was the company, and that as a team, nothing was impossible to accomplish.

Due to Curtis’ efforts, the company won an award from the state of Texas, Project of the Year, for one of the most highly profiled interchange projects in the state of Texas. From bidding the project to building it, three months ahead of schedule, within budget and at projected margin. Curtis was elected Area Chairmen of the Association of General Contractors from January 1, 2011 thru January 1, 2013, and was responsible for the highest private donations for the local PAC. Those donations were used to provide campaigns dedicated to infrastructure funding levels to help keep people employed, thus impacting the quality of life for many families in Texas. Through Curtis' personal leadership, every employee Curtis hired took pride in their work and in their contribution on every project.

Curtis should be recognized for his commitment to the safety of his employees, the general public and the special consideration he demonstrated for the environment. In the planning for each and every bid, Curtis looked local first, always searching for the opportunity to utilize area businesses and resources that helped the local economy and communities. Curtis demonstrated leadership in his title of President, which was admired from every employee, office secretary to engineer who witnessed the outstanding care shown for the people he employed, as well as their families. In a downed economy, the bottom line is often the most important responsibility and focus of the president; however, when the pressure was on, Curtis always made sure that company valued its people first and their contribution individually as well as a whole. 3 years, 200 employees and $300 million dollars later, Curtis still attributes the success of the business to the people he hired.

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Provide a brief (up to 125 words) biography about the nominee:

Curtis Van Cleve is a highly respected heavy highway construction executive with over 30 years of experience. He started in this industry at the bottom many years ago and has worked his way up through hard work.  He most recently took SEMA construction in Texas from 0 employees to over 200 and from $0 to $300 million in revenue in just 3 short years. Now, Curtis has moved on to a Design and Build Executive role with the largest construction company in Texas, Webber Construction which is owned by the one largest construction company in the world, Ferrovial. Curtis' contributions to this company will no doubt leaving a lasting impact on the industry..