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Q&A with Mary Sullivan
AGC Kansas chapter's first woman
leader outlines her priorities for a second term
By Mark Shaw
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Mary
Sullivan
CEO/CO-OWNER
AMINO BROS. CO., INC.
Heavy/Highway/Utility Cntractor
Kansas City
Born: Kansas City, Kansas
Age: 51
Married for 24 years, no children
Education
B.A., Business Administration Mgt.
1978, Rockhurst College, Kansas City
Experience
> Worked at Amino Bros. since 1968
> Only woman to be elected president of
Kansas Contractors Association
Key Amino Bros. Projects
> KDOT City of Parsons Bypass
> Shawnee Station West
> KDOT I-35 reconstruction at Emporia
> MDOT 291 Highway and 150 Corridor
Awards
> 2001 & 02 Ernst & Young - Finalist
for Entrepreneur of the Year
> Safety awards from AGC of America,
35 consecutive years
E-mail:
aminoroads@worldnet.att.com
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Mary Sullivan just started her second
term in 2005 as Kansas Contractors Association president.
She is the first woman in the state to hold that position.
Sullivan has also worked closely with the governor and state
legislature to pass several key pieces of industry legislation,
including appropriations for increased highway funding.
Constructor: How did you, as a woman,
gain such a strong foothold in a heavily male sector like
highway construction?
Sullivan: I owe much
of that to five uncles who started Amino Bros. Company after
World War II. It began as a hauling business, with two dump
trucks, and gradually moved into bridges and concrete paving.
My mother-their sister-had four children and I was the oldest.
My uncles, all Italian bachelors, were like a second set of
parents.
From age 3, I spent my summers on construction projects.
That's all that ever sparked my interest. For demolition,
we were still using stick dynamite in the old Ajax boxes.
I used to get "gunpowder headaches" from handling
the boxes. But the highlight was pushing the trigger and then
picking up rocks after demolition.
I started out in 1968 answering phones in the office. Then,
they taught me how to read plans and bid jobs. Eventually,
I was doing field work and taking on some projects.
The last uncle retired from the business in the late '80s
and it came over to my sister and me. They taught me everything
they knew and never questioned my being a woman. That didn't
matter to them. They knew I was doing what I loved and that
I would carry on the family business.
Constructor: Did you find other people
in the industry just as supportive?
Sullivan: Mostly, yes.
But there was one banker early on who said, "You're a
woman in construction and you want me to do business with
you? It won't happen." And a few others here and there.
But plenty of people figured out quickly that I know how to
do my job.
Also, I was lucky enough to live here in the Midwest where
so many businesses are family owned. About 50 to 75% of small
businesses in Kansas are family operated. So most people never
made a big deal out of the fact that Amino Bros. was being
run by a woman.
Constructor: What are some of the challenges
the industry is facing now?
Sullivan: Our industry
today is shifting, mostly for the good, but I think we've
lost some of the focus on common sense and skilled labor.
There's too much emphasis on getting college degrees when
what we really need are more skilled craftspeople.
Our industry needs to do a better job of serving everyone
in it. We need to make the ground more favorable for everyone,
from the smaller companies to the big GCs.
Constructor: Is that what attracted
you to a leadership role at AGC?
Sullivan: Partly, yes.
I wanted to see the smaller companies have a bigger voice
here. The major issues affect all of us and we need a common
voice to solve them-transportation issues, highway funding,
insurance and a shortage of skilled labor.
We have a woman governor now [Kathleen Sebelius-D] and I've
been able to work with her to restore some of our highway
funds and find ways for us to compete better in a worldwide
economy.
We also need to push collectively for a good federal highway
bill that allocates funds appropriately and addresses the
country's real needs.
Our successes have been the culmination of a lot of people
working together, people who might not have done so without
a unified voice like they get through AGC.
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