By: Fara Foster, Director of Communications & Community Engagement
Of the 320 people who work for our family of companies, 33 have been with us for 30 years or longer. That includes five men who will be celebrating their 30th anniversary this year. Two of those, James Dukes and Solomon Trantham, Jr., work at Fly Pit. Yet, they are not the most tenured at the plant – that honor goes to Kenneth Leland.
In lieu of our standard “3-for-30” highlight, we wanted to celebrate these three men as a team, just as they work daily.
KENNETH “BUD” LELAND – Ticket Writer
Bud joined the team in the gravel pit at Plant 8 in September 1988. Since there was no conveyor system to move the materials from the pit to the plant, Bud’s first responsibility as a ute driver was to move that material by truck. He later transitioned to servicing our customers as a front-end loader operator. Ten years later, he was a part of the team that opened Fly and has been a major component of that team since.
SOLOMON TRANTHAM, JR. – Wash Plant Operator
Solomon learned our operations first on the road teams, working under Walter Woods doing mat and seal work. His first venture on the aggregate mining end of our business was at the Batesville Joint Venture (BJV) plant before moving to Brassel until it mined out. He joined the team at Fly in 2012. He played a big role at Brassel and continues doing so at Fly, not only operating the plant, but training others and serving as a mentor.
JAMES “BUBBA” DUKES – Plant Foreman
Bubba also started on the asphalt side of our business when he started in August 1990. After learning to operate an asphalt plant under Tommy Kendall, he moved to Fly when it opened in 1998. Initially working as a ticket writer, Bubba transitioned to foreman in 2008.
Like any strong team, this group of men shares similar values. The first thing they will tell anyone about the reason they enjoy working for our companies is the people they work with daily. They believe in honesty and hard work, and value working with others who do the same. They also appreciate our companies’ commitment to safety. All family men, they share a love for the people waiting at home.
