This is one of many installments of a monthly series of interviews highlighting some of the BCA’s most talented members for their accomplishments in the construction industry. The monthly interviews are conducted by Jesse Abercrombie, who is a BCA member and a financial advisor for Edward Jones Investments. Interviewing these prominent members of the BCA is one of his voluntary duties to the organization. The spotlight will first feature the conversation that took place between Jesse and the spotlight member and information on their company will follow. This months BCA member spotlight is Don Vestal, owner of Vestal Builders, Inc., (VBI).

Jesse: How long have you been in business?

Don: VBI was established in 1998.

Jesse: Tell me more about the services you provide?.

Don: VBI is presently a Texas based company specializing in General Construction, Construction Management and Design / Build, serving a variety of clients in both the public and private sectors. VBI provides planning and coordination of construction projects from conceptual design to facility occupancy and operation. We also provide management services that include project management, project controls, cost engineering, cost estimating, scheduling, claim avoidance, document control, value engineering, constructability review and quality assurance. Our mission is to provide project support to our clients, serving as an extension of the client's staff during all phases of the project. Our primary objective is to ensure construction quality and integrity while complying with precise engineering standards, stringent cost controls and rigid schedule requirements. We have successfully provided general construction, project management, construction management and Design / Build services to a vast and notable list of clients too numerous to list, however, a representative listing includes DFW International Airport, City of Dallas, DART, Parkland Memorial Hospital, Friendship West Baptist Church, Centex Construction, Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, ATA Airlines and TSA. The scope of our team's services range from high-rise office buildings, underground tunnel construction to custom and tract residential homes.

Jesse: What is your key role with Vestal Builders?

Don: I serve as President and Director of Operations, ensuring that the efforts of the Marketing / Business Development, Estimating and Site Operations teams, all work cohesively. Also, assure that construction is executed with standard, proven methodologies, which institutionally support a coordinated effort. I develop a management plan with effective procedures for managing multiple projects simultaneously with multiple subcontractors, while maintaining quality, budget and schedule control.

Jesse: What did you do prior to owning Vestal Builders?

Don: Prior to opening Vestal Builders, I was employed by HCB Contractors for 10 years. Prior to graduating from Tuskegee Institute, I was recruited by HCB as an Office Engineer and ultimately earned the title of Assistant Construction Manager. Immediately following my employment with HCB, I was employed by the Tetra Group for 6 years as a Project Manager / Construction Manager and was later recruited to lead the Operations of Stephen & Associates Builders, Inc. as Vice President of Commercial Construction. After having a successful career with Stephen & Associates Builders, Inc., I was inspired to start my own firm Vestal Builders, Inc., in 1998.

Jesse: What's made you successful so far?

Don: I credit my success to my firm belief in GOD, His guidance in my life and the gifts / talents that he has bestowed upon me. Secondly, I attribute my strong, integral foundation of Christian principles, which maintains order, wisdom and integrity throughout the corporate structure of VBI. Also, by having a competitive drive to be the best in all of my endeavors and being a result oriented professional with abundant hands-on experience in all phases of construction.

Jesse: What makes you unique from all of the other general contractors out there?

Don: I believe what distinguishes our firm from other general contractors is the "personal touch" that we offer our clients. As a small family run operation built on Christian principles, we began our operations with the intent and purpose for building churches. Maybe this was Divine Intervention, but with no monies allocated in our advertising budget, we were able to secure construction projects by word-of-mouth from several satisfied ministers. In addition to our initial endeavors, we were awarded major contracts such as DFW International Airport - IDCS, DART, and Friendship West Baptist Church just to name a few. Moreover, our business has since grown without losing the "personal touch". VBI is committed to our client's satisfaction and providing our client the highest value construction service achievable.

Jesse: What are some moves you made early on that you wish you could take back?

Don: Well, I have to say my biggest regret is not listening to God early on and starting my own business sooner. More to the point, I developed a habit of performing a majority of the duties initially and this eventually lead to my thinking / believing that I had to do everything myself and failing to delegate some responsibilities to other capable employees. This mistake was probably my greatest lesson learned and not to be repeated.

Jesse: What sparked your interest to becoming a contractor?

Don: As a young adult, my part-time job subsequent to basketball and track practice was working for a general contractor as a labor escalating to a carpenter. I have been always mechanically inclined. I was always building things; even to the point of pondering how I could make the product better. Most people don't have a specific interest upon entering college, but I knew my interest was drafting, designing and building. It is my opinion that it is in my blood. Later in life I found out that my grandfather owned a construction company called Vestal Builders.

Jesse: I assume that's where the name Vestal Builders came from?

Don: Yeah, initially, I struggled with a name for my firm, but after much soul searching, I decided on Vestal Builders, as a tribute to my family and my belated grandfather, whose construction firm was named Vestal Builders This is a family owned operation, moreover, we view all of our employees as part of our family.

Jesse: What job sticks out most in your mind?

Don: The job that sticks out the most in my mind is the North Central Expressway - Cole Park Detention Vault (NCEPDV) and Cityplace Center East. NCECPDV was a $29 million, three-year project that ran 24/7. This project was a storm water detention facility for the City of Dallas and was constructed 100 ft under an existing City Park. The detention basin was composed of mining 11,084 ft of vaults and 1100 ft of bypass tunnels. The vaults comprise of 13 parallel storage vaults, 41 ft high by 24.4 ft wide with perpendicular connecting vaults at opposite ends. The reinforced Shot Crete vaults and reinforced concrete collectively form a storm water storage capacity of 71 million gallons. This project was a very unique experience in that we were exposed to underground water and pollutants, not to mention the extra precautions we had to take in regards to structural safety mining 100 ft underground.

Cityplace Center was a $165 million, 2.9 million sf, 42-story office tower. This office building consisted of cast-in-place reinforced concrete frame, interior structural steel columns and beams in a concrete cellular metal deck. The exterior skin is composed of granite and a glass envelope.

Jesse: What do you like most about being a minority contractor?

Don: In as much as I have pride in completion of a job well done, I also feel a greater sense of setting a positive example for other minorities that have aspirations of starting / operating their own business.

Jesse: As a business owner, what has been your biggest challenge?

Don: In my experience, thus far, there have actually been two big challenges. One of our biggest challenge(s) especially since we are going through a growth period is a project owner reimbursing VBI for services rendered in accordance with contract terms. The second challenge is obtaining financing and bonding to pursue my dreams and goals for Vestal Builders.

Jesse: What do you like to do for fun?

Don: My son plays basketball almost year round and one of my daughters now plays basketball in college. I enjoy watching them play. I enjoy basketball, martial arts, music, traveling, electronics gadgets and relaxing at home and enjoying some peace and quiet.