I grew up a latch key kid with parents who worked for everything we owned. As my parents often spent long hours away from home, I gained an independence and work ethic that has served me my entire life. I landed my first job when I turned legal working age. From that moment on, there hasn't been a day in my life when I was not working. I was the first in my family to go to college, but I struggled to find the work/school balance that I needed.
While my college career was ultimately cut short, my professional career was just beginning. I joined my Dad and now husband working on the road as an Oil & Gas Landman. We traveled to different cities and towns, researching in various courthouses for oil companies to explore and drill. As my family began to grow, my needs evolved, and I found myself looking for a change. The many people I met throughout my interview process at EHRA made me feel at home. I knew right then and there I was where I needed to be.
This company has seen me through several life-changing milestones and has made sure I know I have a long-term home here. EHRA leaders allow me the freedom to be a mom and wife first, never missing a cheerleading event or ball game, by trusting my professional commitment to accomplish work goals in a timely manner. I started my career at EHRA in January of 2014 as a platting coordinator and have never looked back.
From the very beginning, my mentor, Carol Redd, took me under her wing and we built a friendship and mutual respect for one another. She always joked about retiring and leaving it all to me one day, but knowing how much she loved this company, I never thought she would be ready to let it go. So when she told me she was discussing an exit plan, I was shocked and filled with emotion. During our time together at EHRA, Carol was an amazing mentor to me. Her influence will continue to shape me as a professional, and I can only hope to inspire and grow my team the way she inspired and grew the best in me.
Carol taught me just how important it is to put the extra time, attention and care into every plat. Carol never let the details go unnoticed, and her keen eye for specifics stuck with over all these years. In business, all you have are your name and reputation, so I make it a point to ensure it is always in good standing . With Carol’s retirement, came the opportunity for me to begin building my own team. We have since then hired two new platting assistants that are making the role their own. Seeing these new team members come together to learn new skills and facets of platting motivates me as their leader. The learning never stops—something I am discovering as I maneuver this new role as a project manager.
Like bookends on a shelf, platters are the beginning and end of every project. We help prepare cost estimates, review and submit preliminary and final plat packages and follow through to plat recordation. Plat recordation is crucial for our clients to begin selling lots to builders who can then turn around and sell lots to families! It is our job to facilitate all documents and requirements from the client and different taxing agencies to ensure we have everything that is needed to keep the project progressing.
Regulations and ordinances vary by entity. We have to be ready and able to immediately jump from one set of regulations in a city into another. This makes staying up to date with City ordinances and developer agreement changes imperative. While this takes time and practice, I have found that lists are a platter’s best-use tool.
Our team reviews plats in excruciating detail before they leave our office. We work closely with surveying and engineering to make sure our plats are correct and that they precisely align the construction plans. As individuals, we may not be perfect, yet we strive as a team to make sure the product we deliver is impeccable. Our ability to walk upstairs or across the hall to attain answers from colleagues in real time is an invaluable asset. Further, this advantage invariably increases overall project efficiency, a strength that is often noted by our valued clients.
We experience projects from concept to completion on a two-dimensional piece of black and white mylar paper. Seeing the final product come to life and the impact it has on a community of people is the best part of the job. Because of this, our team strives at least once a year to make a day of site visits to see the accomplishments of our work.
I am honored that EHRA and my leaders trust in my ability to develop this growing team. I do not take the task lightly and am excited to see how far we will go together. Although we have graduated from a small to mid-size firm, the original family values, founding family lines and warm family atmosphere remain intact. I am proud to play a part in this company’s future because it is my home.
