Curtis Smith is a Lead Estimator who has been with Sundt since 2015. He’s also been a member of the Army National Guard for the past 14 years, one of our company’s many citizen soldiers and veterans.
He is responsible for our company winning the Patriotic Employer Award, which recognizes businesses for their support of Guardsmen and Reservists. He nominated the company for the award, which is presented by the Department of Defense. We are proud to be given the honor and to be the employer of choice for several of our nation’s heroic servicemen and women.
Curtis recently took time to answer a few questions about his service and Sundt’s support of our country’s military.
How did the Patriotic Employer Award come about?
I have been in the Army National Guard for 14 years. I have been deployed twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan). On both of my deployments, I had several briefings from the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. In these briefings they told us they have awards that you can nominate your supervisor or employer for due to their support of citizen soldiers. I have worked for Sundt for over a year now and the company has been extremely flexible and supportive of my obligation to the National Guard, which has allowed me to be an effective National Guardsman. One of the most important reasons I nominated Sundt for the Patriotic Employer Award came about after I approached (Preconstruction Manager) Rich Gohl to attend a month-long Army Advanced Leadership Course. After explaining the importance of this course to Rich, he was immediately on board to support me. Rich got involved with our fellow employee-owners to find out how I could take off a month and maintain all of the benefits that Sundt affords its employees. Due to his diligent efforts and engagement, I wanted to present him and Sundt with this award as a thank you from myself and the National Guard community.
What does it say about Sundt that the company readily supports its service members?
The company is accommodating and supportive of the National Guard community. Sundt is the first employer I have worked for that will continue all of my benefits and pay while I am at my annual training events with the National Guard. It is also the first company I have worked for that looks at my training events as a benefit to the company and not a detriment because of my absence. Even though I am going to retire from the National Guard in six years, I am looking forward to working with Sundt through those years knowing that I am going to be supported 100 percent.
How did you get into the construction field?
After moving from Connecticut to Phoenix in 2002, I joined the Army National Guard in order to have the amazing opportunity to serve my country and get financial support to go to college. Though I had several choices on what I could be in the Army, I wanted the most likely civilian job opportunity, so I became a Heavy Equipment Operator. After a couple of years, I wanted to learn more about building vertically, which is why I pursued a degree in Construction Management at Arizona State University. After my sophomore year of college, I began an internship with a small general contractor where I started to become knowledgeable in building construction and began my career in the industry.
How has your service time made you a better employee-owner?
Being an Arizona Army National Guard Soldier provides a multitude of opportunities and challenges that have helped round me out as a person and an employee-owner. As a soldier, we live by Army Values, which are based on the acronym L-D-R-S-H-I-P: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless-Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage. I have lived by these values since I joined and feel that all of them apply to my activities as an employee-owner. The Army value that I feel stands above the rest is Integrity. Sundt takes pride in having great integrity in all aspects of construction from the owner to the subcontractors we work with. Having this quality as a contractor has made a huge impression with me and allows me to go home proud every day after work.