Post on 09-Apr-2016
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l: Dee hos been oclive in ihe chopter for mony
yeors, serving ond leoding vorious councils.
2: OSU Froternily, 1975 freshmen, third from left
is Dee, second is Joy Compton. 3: Jonelle Burch,
Dee ond Sherri Burch, Angelo ond Cory Corroll,
Greg Lizonich, Ben, Groce & Melonie Burlon.
4: 2000 AGCA Notionol Build Americo Aword,
Eost Bonk Esplonode: Aon represenlotive,
Konnie Schweiger, Dee Burch, ond AGCAPresidenl Terry Deeny.
Born in Newberg, the oldest offive kids raised by a single mom, Dee
attended school in Lafayette throughthe second grade in what is now thehistoric Lafayette Antique Ma ll-thequintessential little red-school house
with multiple grades taught by one
teacher in the same room. Dee was theyoungest and smallest of all the kids. "l
was fortunate to have Mrs. Cabe the firsttwo years," he recalls. "She was nurturingbut also challenging."
The family moved to McMinnvillewhere Dee graduated high school in1974. At the time Yamhill County was
one of the poorest areas in Oregon. Atage seven, Dee, toiled in the summerspicking strawberries and pole beans,
sometimes alongside Gene, Brad, and
Jeff, his three brothers, his sister Darla,
and Peggy, his mother. He also delivered
newspapers, mowed lawns, and did
chores to earn money, and he began
saving for college at a very early age.
His father was a long-haul trucker,and it was likely a good thing that he
was out of the picture. Yet Dee never feltsorry for himself or lacked role models."My mom made up for it, plus I had
great grandparents," he says. He wasparticularly fond of his grandpa Harry
Rowland, a heavy equipment operator.Another important figure was John
Compton, the father of a classmate, who
owned a successful paving business.
When it came time for him to pick a
college, Mr. Compton offered to help pay
for his first year's tuition and also offeredDee a job on a paving crew.
"My admiration for John and
contractors like him was embedded in me
from that day on," Dee says. Comptonlater served as the president of thelocal AGC chapter, and Dee met othercontractors though him-men who were
willing to quietly offer assistance toothers expecting nothing in return otherthan hard work and the desire to findone's own way.
Dee earned a BS in Civil Engineering
from Oregon State in 1978, but with no
opportunities locally he took a job withChicago Bridge and lron. He worked the
western states building elevated watertowers, oil and ammonia storage tanks,
and nuclear containment structures. The
first three years he moved seven times,
working in Salt Lake City, Long Beach,
Portland, Denver, and Wyoming, learningplenty along the way.
ln 1981, with work drying up, Dee
joined Kiewit Pacific and moved toSeattle to build the West Seattle Bridge,
a highly sophisticated project. Just 25years old, Dee realized that he needed
help from some of the more experienced
foremen and superintendents or he
miqht be fired. 'As soon as I asked
'l975 Dod's Weekend ot Oregon Stoie University, (second ond third from left) John ond Joy Complon
(chopter presidents l92l ond 1999), Dee (second from upper right), ond Horry Rowlond (second
from lower right).
I'
10 49F.= Construction News Update Winter 2011
for help, I was mentored by several
different supervison and my esteem forcontractors and the construction industrygrew even more."
ln Phoenix, in 1988, he met Konnie
Schweiger, one of the founders of MCwho was doing some difficult underwaterconstruction (as a subcontractod on theface of the Stewart Mountain Dam. The
two men clicked, and Schweiger laid
out his vision of transforming MC intoa heavy civiUmarine/industrial general
contractor. "l was established with a
successful company and he asked me
to jump with no safety net. I was notbuying it," Dee recalls.
Several years later, however, Dee tiredof the constant traveling and joined AAC.
Co-founded in 1983 by Schweiger (who
died in 2002) and Kent Cochran, whoboth did diving work for constructionprojects and also built bridges and dams,
the company was originally named
Advanced American Diving Service. The
two men wanted more control, so theyIaunched the tiny startup. The companytook oft, and to get even more controlover the ir projects, in 1990 MC become
a marine/heavy civil/industrial general
contractor.Now a union contractor, MC
employs about 150 full time employees.
Their portfolio includes the Eastbank
Esplanade, multiple industrial dockprojects for the Ports of Portland and
Vancouver, and numerous projects forthe Army Corps of Engineen. A fewclients: Schnitzer Steel, Cascade Steel
Mills, Oregon Steel Mills, and
most of the area paper mills.
AAC is currently working on
a $10 million portion of theLake Oswego lnterceptor Sewer
Project. Built in the 1960s, thesewer line cuts a swath throughthe middle of Lake Oswego atopsome of the most expensive
residential real estate in Oregon.
Even a minor earthquakecould rupture the existingline spewing raw sewage intothe lake and creating an environmentalcatastrophe. The project, a decade in theplanning, will improve the water quality in
Lake 0swego while ensuring that the sewer
line will not fail during an earthquake.AAC's biggest customer is the Army
Corps of Engineers, with most of thework aimed at improving salmon runssuch as the Lower Monumental Dam
Removable Spillway Weir. The massive steel
structure, weighing 2.5 million pounds, was
fabricated in one piece by Oregon Steel
Works at the old Port of Portland Shipyard
and transported by tugboats on the Snake
River and installed in a spillway.Last year the AGC of America
recognized the project as a Build AmericaAward Winner, the fifth time that MC has
earned the honor. The project, one of onlythree in the world, allows juvenile salmon
and steelhead to pass through dams near
the water surface, giving the fish a simplerroute and dramatically improving salmonpassage by bypasing the dam's deadlyturbines.
"These projects are the veryembodiment of the potential andpromise of the nation's constructionindustry" says Doug Pruitt, past president
of AGC of America.'They challengeour skills, stretch our imaginations, and
capture our fanry."The.huge photos ofthe many award-
winning projects adorn the offices ofAdvanced American Construction. Dee
is rightly proud of them, but he is quick
to add: "You can never get complacentbecause you are only as good as yourlast job."
"MC's use of odvonced globol positioning systems,
pile templotes, ond cuiting edge surveying techniquesproved iheir know-how ond skill in even lhe most demonding environmentol conditions."
He relishes tackling a new set ofchallenges as AGC chapter president.
Particularly crucial is addressing
workforce issues he says. "Convincing
Generation X, Y and whatever else theyounger generation is referred to, thatworking long houn and mastering yourcraft will result in a healthy, rewardingcareer-that is huge," he says.
Attracting new members while also
spurring much more involvement fromthe existing ones is also a priority. 'Alot of companies join for the worke6'compensation or similar services. We
need to get more of these folks involvedin the advocacy, strategy, and planning
aspects. lt's all tied to the end goal
of improving the business climate in
Oregon," Dee adds smiling. "That's a
forever project." [[[
"Throughoutthe proiect,Dee woshonds on onddemonstrotedtime ondogoin thothis componywould meet thehighest expec-totions, ond lheproiect wouldbe completedon time ondwithin budget."
Construction News Update Winter 20ll Afig= 11