Walsh Receives Patriotic Employer Award

Nominated by Portland Project Engineer, Liz Stewart, our company was honored to receive the Patriotic Employer award from the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) in April of 2023 - which was received by President, Matt Leeding, and Oregon General Manager, Ryan Wilde.

Liz is an active military member and has enjoyed continued advancement within our company as well. Thank you for your service to your country and to Walsh.

Here is her story, in her words:

"I have worked for Walsh for over 11 years, and they have been nothing but supportive with my military career. In 2010, I came home from a deployment, joined the Laborers Union, and got my first job call to RDF Builders. I knew nothing about concrete or what I was signing up for, plus I was concerned becoming a woman in the construction industry was going to be hard and probably not fair - but my first foreman treated me like anyone else. He had me out vibrating 900 yards of concrete and even put me out on the pump line! 

Walsh has been very supportive of my annual trainings, activations for fires in 2015 and 2017, the multiple times I have been put on a standby notice to activate, and this last deployment to Qatar in 2019-2020. When I sent notice I would be deployed for a year, Walsh made sure that I was preparing not only myself for being away from work, but that I also had people to contact if my family or I needed anything. Our previous HR Director would email and update me on what was happening at work and ensured Walsh reached out to my family and myself, even sending me a care package.

Another Walsh member, Superintendent Ryan Matthews, helped my wife get a plumber to our house to fix a pipe that broke while I was overseas and would also check in on her and my son.

I've had other individuals help train and mentor me, even encouraging me to move into field management from being a Laborer. When I came home from this last Deployment in 2020, work was a little slow due to COVID, but was told I'd hear as soon as they had something for me - which came only a day later! That project gave me an opportunity to begin a transition from Laborer to Project Engineer.

Walsh has not only helped me grow but given me some great opportunities to better myself. Without some of the amazing people in this company I would not be where I am today they have truly become my family."

In addition to Liz, we are honored to employ many others who have actively served. Our company humbly builds communities in a country made free by our Veterans - something that is never lost on us.