Raleigh Paving / Pave South

When Harold first got here a few weeks ago we couldn’t figure out what to call him. Most of us were perplexed. We hadn’t had a “Harold” in the company before. How do you shorten the name Harold.  Hal was suggested but Harold didn’t remind us of a rogue computer from 2001 – A Space Odyssey and anyways he didn’t know what we were talking about. So we asked him to write his own bio and from that we would try to figure out a name for him. Here is what he wrote:
“I was born and raised in Mecklenburg County. I have a background in grading and commercial/residential concrete.  I began my journey in construction at a young age helping my father turn wrenches on equipment and automobiles. At the age of 16 I worked for a grading company building catch basins and operating equipment. Since that time I have not been able to pry myself away from the industry.  I attended college at Western Carolina University and UNC Charlotte.  After college, I got married to my wife, and we now have two children.  I enjoy fishing and spending time with my family. Sometimes people call me Hub.”

Hmmm… so much for embellishing your life’s story.  Hub it is then.

Mike Beavers came to work for us 6 years ago. Formerly an employee of a staunch competitor D&H paving, Mike decided to make the move when Eastern Services began to expand its operations into N.C. Mike has been around the block growing up in Buffalo and serving in the US Army 5th Special Forces as a rigger making over 50 jumps. He served in harm’s way in both Iraq and Grenada back in 1991. He has 3 children, 2 in college and 1 married with children. His first job was with his grandfather, Big Russ Costello making $20 a day whether you worked 2 hrs or 15 hours. We didn’t ask him what he was doing.

Besides being a committed father, Mike and his family are committed to the community through their church and working with the homeless with a group called “Friends of the Night People”. Mike is a true Christian and wears it on his forearm, literally. He has a large tattoo on his forearm of praying hands which is a very ample sign of his faith.

Mike enjoys spending time at the ocean with his family and parents and claims to have a 9 handicap in golf.  Of course, like most golfers, we think he probably exaggerates. Really Mike, a 9 handicap?  He probably thought that one up enjoying his favorite beverage, Jack Daniels (Green Label). According to Mike, “Now that I"m trying to quit smoking, running has helped and I am starting to look at the world a little differently. My outlook on life is stress will make you old and  not nice to be around so love life, be nice to one another and  have some Jack.”

Jim has been with the company since 1993 and serves as our superintendant of grading and sitework. Generally when there is a large complex project going on, Jim is managing and working it. He has ensured the success of many projects through his diligence and commitment. Jim's first job was pumping gas at full service gas station for $1.50 an hour. Since full service gas stations haven't been around in over 50 years, this tends to give away his age which we don't like to reveal in these biographies. Jim is a long time Knight of Columbus at St. Mary Magdalene's Church in Apex, NC. He has served on the fish fry committee along with Paul for the last four years and has seen it grow from serving 100 meals a night to 500 meals a night. Jim has 2 children and his wife, Terri, who he likes to spend his personal time with when he is not making beer. Jim likes to put his beermaking hobby into perspective, "I find my family a welcome diversion at times."

Jack is the chief financial officer for Eastern Services. He arrived here in 1995. A graduate of Canisius College in accounting, Jack has been doing this work for over 30 years. His first job was doing handyman work for $1.00 an hour. He spent the early years of his career with the defense contractor, Sierra Research. Jack and owner, Paul Thomann, grew up together and went to grammar school, high school and college together. They used to play baseball virtually every day during the summer at Lindbergh Park in the town of Tonawanda and both used to wonder why Marty Marian could always hit it over the fence. Jack outside interests include only three things besides work, his family, country music and the Boston Red Sox. As Jack puts it: "Family, country music and Redsox, Redsox, Redsox!" While Jack has had a lot of personal challenges in his own life including the death of his first wife, he is admired throughout the company for his positive and upbeat spirit, "I hope I had some positive influence on the lives of my co-workers, family, children and now our grandchildren. Hold on tight to your faith as you live both the ups and downs of each day."

Brian Smith is one of the newest members of our team. A graduate of ECU with a bachelors of science in construction management along with a minor in business administration. Brian's first job was as a soccer ref when he was 14 years old for $10 a game. He belongs to Tau Epsilon Fraternity and enjoys golf, fishing and sports particularly ECU football and the Boston Red Sox in baseball. Brian has lived in a few different states including Connecticut, Georgia and NC. He feels his greatest accomplishment was getting his degree and feels that honesty and a good work ethic have served him well. The most significant event in his life? 9/11. He was only in high school at the time and the significance of the event made a big impact on him.

Joe Thomann runs the day to day operations for Eastern Services and is also the Senior Estimator. Joe has been with the company since 1996 when he started at age 14 chipping the mortar off of old road bricks and cleaning them for resale. His wage, 10 cents a brick. Joe has a business degree from the University at Buffalo. His dream growing up was to be a professional hockey player, it's safe to say he fell short of that dream. Nonetheless Joe is a big hockey fan, has played his whole life, and still plays in a men's league in Raleigh. He's become a huge Nascar fan in recent years, and enjoys attending races, watching a bunch of cars turn left. Joe is married to his wife Kelly. They have a 2 year old daughter with a son on the way. Joe's most significant life moment was the birth of his daughter. Not only did he become a father, but he that ensured his bank account would be empty for the rest of his life.

Dan fills multiple roles for Eastern Services, from repairing computers and managing the network, to surveying, CAD design and estimating for public bids. Dan's first job was the same as Joe's, chipping mortar off of old road paving bricks receiving ten cents for every cleaned brick. He learned a lot that summer; in particular the location of every blackberry bush in the woods adjacent to the company's property and that he wasn't going to earn much money. Being an Eagle Scout and Assistant Scout Master of BSA Troop 104 in his hometown of Kenmore, NY fueled his passions for history and getting lost in the woods. He received his Bachelor's degree from Buffalo State College in the field of Anthropology. Dan immediately went on to work as a professional archaeologist for several years. He was able to get lost in a variety of woods up and down the eastern US eating blackberries and hunting artifacts. He even found himself in the high desert of the Indian Himalaya and the sweltering heat of the Bahamanian jungles hunting for lost civilizations and eating whatever he found that didn't look like it would kill him. Eventually, though, he came to his senses when he realized that while archaeology fulfilled his desire to travel, it did not fulfill his bank account or relationships. When the family business offered him a job he packed his bags, moved to Raleigh, got an affectionate black lab and found a wonderful girlfriend. To this day Dan still loves wild blackberries.