Who is Chad?
Most of you probably know I was born and raised in Effingham County, GA. I was raised by my parents along with two younger sisters outside of Springfield. My dad worked for Savannah Electric (now Georgia Power) and my mom was a probation officer. I can assure from experience, whether it’s a bad grade, an afternoon detention, or a speeding ticket; there is no excuse or explanation you can come up with that’s acceptable to a mom with 20+ years experience being a probation officer.
I attended Effingham County High School and played baseball all 4 years. I drove a 1965 Ford Mustang in High School. I graduated and went to Georgia Tech in Atlanta. After a year and a half, I made the Dean’s List, it just wasn’t the Dean’s List everyone wants to be on. Due to grades, I had to sit out that Spring semester. I was reinstated that summer and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering on schedule. I began working at Kern-Coleman 2 weeks after graduating and been here ever since.
I currently live in Guyton. I have a dog named Pistol that loves to go hunting with me. I am also the proud new uncle to Baby Jewell. My eldest sister had a baby girl on October 27, 2010. My longest baby-sitting task to date is about 2 hours.
What are your hobbies and interests?
Most of my hobbies and interest involve the outdoors. During the spring, I like to fish, my favorite is off-shore, but I like in-shore and freshwater fishing as well. In the summer, I spend a lot of time on the water, most weekends I’m either at the lake or at the river wakeboarding. The majority of my spare time during the fall is spent hunting. My favorite is duck hunting, but also like doves, quail and deer. My favorite winter activity is snow skiing, I try to take a snow skiing trip out west every year. I’ve got a trip planned in March and this will make the 8th year in a row.
What is your favorite sport?
I admit I like to keep up with football, baseball, nascar, golf, etc. But I went to an event about three years ago that impressed me more than any of these. It was Professional Bull Riding. These guys are great athletes and obviously have no fear. They get on the back of a 2000 lb bucking bull and try to ride for 8 seconds. The most unique thing to me is how much appreciation these guys show to their fans and supporters. You can hang out in the hotel lobby before or after an event and have a conversation with most anyone competing. I’ve been going to 2 or 3 events every year since my first one.
Times are tough right now, what is one piece of advice that you'd give to new college grads in any field?
There is a lot of competition out there in any field right now. Don’t become frustrated because you can’t land the ideal job you worked so hard in college to get. Look for an opportunity to get your feet in the door with any company and gain some experience. If you work hard, opportunities will come your way sooner than later.
Why I love Kern-Coleman…
My favorite thing about Kern-Coleman is the relaxed work atmosphere. There are a lot of workplaces that judging by looking at the people there, you would think it’s against corporate policy to smile. Here, as long as you get your work done on schedule and it’s done correctly, nobody’s going to tell you how to go about accomplishing your tasks.
