Advertise on podcast: Sargent: On Track Podcast

In this episode of the Sargent: On Track Podcast, guest host and Business Development Director Glenn Adams is joined by Cianbro's Corporate Director of Operational Human Resources Dan Coffey and Retirement Benefits and Organizational Development Manager Rachel Ervin in the Flywheel Studio for a special Employee Ownership Month conversation. Cianbro began its transition to employee ownership in 1979, when the founding brothers chose to pass the company on to the people who helped build it. Dan and Rachel talk about how ownership shows up in the field, from crews caring for tools as they would in their own garage to a safety culture where everyone is expected to speak up for each other. They also share how Cianbro educates team members about the ESOP and why veteran employee-owners are often the best advocates for new hires. If you liked this week’s episode and are interested in becoming an Employee-Owner at Sargent, please visit our careers page on the Sargent website. https://sargent.us/apply/ If you have an episode suggestion, please send your idea to: [email protected]

In this episode of the Sargent: On Track Podcast, guest host Business Development Director Glenn Adams is joined by Vice President and General Counsel Amy Tardiff and Chief Financial Officer Matt "Matty" Tardiff of J.S. McCarthy Packaging + Print for another National Employee Ownership Month conversation. The sibling pair explain how their Augusta-based family business became 100% employee-owned in 2019, a move with some history behind it. Along the way, they share how employee-owners have driven real improvements in safety and rework rates, and what they would tell other companies considering an ESOP. If you liked this week’s episode and are interested in becoming an Employee-Owner at Sargent, please visit our careers page on the Sargent website. https://sargent.us/apply/ If you have an episode suggestion, please send your idea to: [email protected]

In this episode of the Sargent: On Track Podcast, President & CEO Eric Ritchie is joined remotely by Project Executive Peter Schaaf of Harkins Builders during National Employee Ownership Month. Peter explains how Harkins, founded in 1965 by Thomas Harkins, became an ESOP after former president Blaise Cook, who started with the company as a laborer, set up the plan in 2002 to secure the company's succession and give employees a real path to retirement. Harkins became 100% employee-owned in 2014. Peter and Eric talk about how Harkins keeps its employee-owners informed about the ESOP, what the phrase "protect the ESOP" means in the field and the office, and how ownership has built a culture where long-tenured people choose to stay on and teach the next generation of builders. If you liked this week’s episode and are interested in becoming an Employee-Owner at Sargent, please visit our careers page on the Sargent website. https://sargent.us/apply/ If you have an episode suggestion, please send your idea to: [email protected]

In this episode of the Sargent: On Track Podcast, Business Development Director Glenn Adams guest-hosts and is joined by DeBlois Electric CEO Mitch DeBlois and President Steve Morin in the Flywheel Studio for a conversation about employee ownership, just ahead of Employee Ownership Month in October. Mitch shares how the Lewiston, Maine company grew from a small, mostly residential shop started by his father in 1967 into a commercial electrical contractor of about 80 people. The two walk through their decision to become an ESOP rather than sell, which was driven by a desire to take care of the people who helped build the company. If you liked this week’s episode and are interested in becoming an Employee-Owner at Sargent, please visit our careers page on the Sargent website. https://sargent.us/apply/ If you have an episode suggestion, please send your idea to: [email protected]

In this episode of the On Track Podcast, President & CEO Eric Ritchie is joined by VP of Finance & CFO Tasha Gardner in the Flywheel Studio to kick off National Employee Ownership Month! They share recent project wins across New England and a strong outlook for 2027, then talk about why Sargent celebrates employee ownership twice a year. Eric closes with a reminder that the real strength of employee ownership comes from people taking the ownership piece seriously every day, and that the only way to keep it is by giving it away. If you liked this week’s episode and are interested in becoming an Employee-Owner at Sargent, please visit our careers page on the Sargent website. https://sargent.us/apply/ If you have an episode suggestion, please send your idea to: [email protected]

Steve Perry showed up at Sargent the Monday after his University of Maine graduation in 1975. By 6:30 that morning, he was out in the field pounding grade stakes. He retired 46 years later as the company's head of business development. In between, he worked his way through the estimating office under Dale Jellison, helped run a satellite office in New Hampshire, and eventually became one of the central figures in how Sargent evaluated, priced, and won work. He was there for the foreign ownership years, the Mid-Atlantic expansion with BFI, the rebuy in 2005, and the ESOP transition in 2013. In this episode, Steve talks about the shift from highways into utilities and then into renewable energy, and how Sargent was designing and building wind projects in 3D CAD before most of the competition even knew what was going on out in those woods. He's candid about what the foreign ownership years felt like from inside the estimating office, what the rebuy meant for the people who had stayed, and why he thinks the company's real edge has always been the ability to spot what's coming and get positioned before the market catches up. Forty-six years. One company. Steve saw all of it. If you liked this week’s episode and are interested in becoming an Employee-Owner at Sargent, please visit our careers page on the Sargent website. https://sargent.us/apply/ If you have an episode suggestion, please send your idea to: [email protected]

In this episode of the On Track Podcast, President & CEO Eric Ritchie is joined by Project Manager Scott Bartlett, Project Manager Ryan Cullen, and Project Executive Bernard Lupini in the Flywheel Studio to talk about the WingtraRAY, a new drone the Mid-Atlantic region picked up this year. The group breaks down how the drone covers ground far faster than the old quadcopter drone. Bartlett, Cullen, and Lupini talk through how that faster data helps coordinate daily work with foremen and superintendents, keeps GCs and subs on the same page, and gives project executives more solid numbers for billing and forecasting on large-scale earthwork. WingtraRAY Video: https://youtu.be/cKYpSy7LdBI If you liked this week’s episode and are interested in becoming an Employee-Owner at Sargent, please visit our careers page on the Sargent website. https://sargent.us/apply/ If you have an episode suggestion, please send your idea to: [email protected]

Tim Folster started at Sargent in 1979, fresh out of college and assigned to a road crew in Kenduskeag. He retired 40 years later, having worked as a foreman, general superintendent, and head of operations through many major chapters the company has lived through. In this episode, Tim covers a lot of ground. He talks about the early days of H.E. Sargent, what it was like to work under Jim Sargent during the growth years, and what the company felt like before and after the sale to foreign ownership in 1988. He's candid about what that era did to the company and what it meant when Herb R. Sargent bought H.E. Sargent in 2005. You'll also hear Tim on the expansion into the Mid-Atlantic, the wind farm years, the early days of the ESOP, and what he thinks carries a company through the bad stretches as much as the good ones. Forty years puts you in the room for a lot. If you liked this week’s episode and are interested in becoming an Employee-Owner at Sargent, please visit our careers page on the Sargent website. https://sargent.us/apply/ If you have an episode suggestion, please send your idea to: [email protected]

In this episode of the Sargent: On Track Podcast, President & CEO Eric Ritchie is joined by Workforce Advancement Manager Pete Parizo in the Flywheel Studio, along with three guests joining remotely: Senior Foreman Alex Morgan, Junior Superintendent Jacson Blais, and Dozer Operator Chandler Plante. The conversation centers on the paths these three employee-owners took from the Sargent Construction Academy (SCA) into leadership roles. Each former student shares what drew them to Sargent, often through family connections to the company, and describes their experiences going through the Academy between 2016 and 2019. They talk about their first days on the job, the mentors who helped them grow, and the moment each of them stepped into more responsibility on their crews. The conversation shifts into leadership, with Pete Perrizo noting that leadership isn't tied to title; it's something everyone practices every day, for better or worse. If you liked this week’s episode and are interested in becoming an Employee-Owner at Sargent, please visit our careers page on the Sargent website. https://sargent.us/apply/ If you have an episode suggestion, please send your idea to: [email protected]

In this episode of the Sargent On Track Podcast’s Sargent 100 interview series, Sebastian sits down with George Thomas, whose 40 years of service began in 1972 as a field office clerk and evolved into a career spanning accounting, finance, and leadership. George reflects on the company’s interstate highway years, the first steps into out-of-state work, and the values and work ethic that made Sargent stand out. He also shares his candid perspective on the sale of H.E. Sargent to overseas companies, his “famous phone call” that brought him back to Maine with Sargent & Sargent, and what it took behind the scenes to earn confidence during a pivotal chapter in the company’s story. If you liked this week’s episode and are interested in becoming an Employee-Owner at Sargent, please visit our careers page on the Sargent website. https://sargent.us/apply/ If you have an episode suggestion, please send your idea to: [email protected]

In this episode of the On Track Podcast, President & CEO Eric Ritchie is joined by Assistant Equipment Manager Brandon Mace and Instructors Mike Boyd and Lowell Gardner of Eastern Maine Community College in the Flywheel Studio for a conversation about the heavy equipment program that's been feeding skilled technicians into the industry for decades. The group digs into what makes the two-year program tick, from its AED accreditation and hands-on shop time to the industry advisory board that helps shape the curriculum based on what employers actually need. Mike and Lowell share what separates a good mechanic from a great one, while Brandon talks about the long-standing partnership between Sargent and EMCC, including the recent donation of a 2020 Cat 320 excavator and the interns who've graduated into full-time roles. If you liked this week’s episode and are interested in becoming an Employee-Owner at Sargent, please visit our careers page on the Sargent website. https://sargent.us/apply/ If you have an episode suggestion, please send your idea to: [email protected]

In this episode of the Sargent: On Track Podcast, President & CEO Eric Ritchie is joined by VP of Finance & CFO Tasha Gardner in the Flywheel Studio to wrap up the series, answering questions submitted by employee-owners at the all-employee meetings. In a “lightning-round” format, Eric and Tasha cover the company's strategic planning efforts, including the completion of the first phase of a five-year roadmap focused on building the bench, growing people and capabilities across both regions, and keeping safety woven into everything the company does. The two dig into how New England and the Mid-Atlantic are stronger together, with each region's diversity of skills and geography serving as one of the company's greatest assets. With special guest Board Chair Herb Sargent, the conversation also dives into employee-owner questions about business transparency and the legal reasons certain acquisition details can't be shared. Herb also weighs in on the age-old staffing challenge, shares a piece of company history, and reminds everyone that this company was never built on perfection — just doing what you can, with what you've got, every day. If you liked this week’s episode and are interested in becoming an Employee-Owner at Sargent, please visit our careers page on the Sargent website. https://sargent.us/apply/ If you have an episode suggestion, please send your idea to: [email protected]

In this episode of the On Track Podcast, President & CEO Eric Ritchie is joined by Equipment Manager Tim Richards, Assistant Equipment Manager Brandon Mace, and Mid-Atlantic Assistant Equipment Manager Jeff Marsh in the Flywheel Studio to answer equipment questions submitted by employee-owners at the spring all-employee meetings. The guys cover a lot of ground: how the fleet has grown over the last decade, the rent-versus-own philosophy, why the team is rethinking the hour mark on machine changeovers, and why letting a diesel sit and idle costs you more than just fuel. If you work around equipment or you're just curious about how these decisions get made, it's a good one to have in your ears. If you liked this week’s episode and are interested in becoming an Employee-Owner at Sargent, please visit our careers page on the Sargent website. https://sargent.us/apply/ If you have an episode suggestion, please send your idea to: [email protected]

In this episode of the Sargent: On Track Podcast, President & CEO Eric Ritchie is joined by Vice President of Operations & COO – North Douglas Morrison, Vice President of Operations & COO – South Justin Porter, and Safety Director Cam Haggar in the Flywheel Studio to cover project wins, upcoming work, and safety — topics drawn directly from questions submitted at the all-employee meetings. Doug and Justin walk through active and upcoming jobs across New England and the Mid-Atlantic and highlight project wins. The conversation then shifts to safety, with the group discussing accountability at every level, proper incident reporting, first aid requirements in the pits, real-world "Take 5" examples from job sites in both regions, and the importance of mental health and clear-headedness on site. If you liked this week’s episode and are interested in becoming an Employee-Owner at Sargent, please visit our careers page on the Sargent website. https://sargent.us/apply/ If you have an episode suggestion, please send your idea to: [email protected]

In this episode of the On Track Podcast, we continue our series answering questions submitted during the all-employee meetings with Pete Perizo, Workforce Advancement Manager; Vice President of Human Resources, Amanda Martin; Chief Operating Officer - North and Vice President of New England Operations Doug Morrison; and Chief Operating Officer - South and Vice President of Mid-Atlantic Operations Justin Porter. The group covers a wide range of topics, including how to better yourself in your daily role, what career advancement really looks like at Sargent, how the Construction Academy works and who it's for, cross-training opportunities in the field, and what it takes to earn trust and move up in the company. The conversation also shifts to benefits and compensation, touching on how Sargent uses the Employment Cost Index rather than a standard COLA adjustment, what's being evaluated in this year's benefits review, how the high-deductible health plan and HSA work together, the boot reimbursement program, and how profit sharing is calculated and paid out. Workforce Advancement contact information: Pete’s Work Phone – (207) 817-7558 Email – [email protected] If you liked this week’s episode and are interested in becoming an Employee-Owner at Sargent, please visit our careers page on the Sargent website. https://sargent.us/apply/ If you have an episode suggestion, please send your idea to: [email protected]