 Hi, I'm Stella McQuarter and I am a 2020-2021 4-H state ambassador from Cleveland County and today I'm conducting a career interview with Mr. Jay Groves of Ray Lynn Construction. My name is Jay Groves with Ray Lynn. Okay, so Mr. Groves, the first question I want to ask you is what was your major in college? My major in college was building science at Auburn University and I graduated in 2002. Okay, and what is a day like in your role and what is your role? My role is we, well I started with Ray Lynn in 2002 when I graduated and so I'm about to begin my 19th year with them. We're based out of Carrollton, Georgia and I spent the large portion of my career working in and around Georgia and in 2015 they let me open up an office in Oxford, Alabama where I serve as the vice president of the Alabama division. We just manage all the construction projects within the state of Alabama. Alright, what would you say is the best thing about your job? The best thing about my job is there is never a dull moment. There is no getting bored with what you're doing in the construction industry because every day is a different challenge. Every hour is a different challenge so there's no complacency in the construction industry. Okay, what kind of problems do you face in your line of work? Well, as within any line of work there's always challenges. I guess the biggest challenge we have to face is basically taking a set of documents that an architect would draw in two dimensions and actually put that document to work in vertical construction and with all the challenges you're faced with conflicts of mechanical electrical plumbing, making everything work because just because an architect draws it doesn't always mean that it can be done the way they draw it. The other challenge is the environment you're working in because in construction you cannot control the weather so weather is a huge challenge. The other challenge we have in our industry as with a lot of industries is the availability of skilled manpower and skilled manpower is steadily declining and has been declining in just my 19 years. What kind of hours do you work? Long hours, lots of hours. Usually speaking the construction work day is generally a 7 to 330 work day but when you're in leadership role you're basically on call at all times so our biggest tool is our phone obviously and at that phone is on we are typically on call and working because questions get answered and questions get asked and answered before hours and after hours. What do you think has been your greatest success in your career? The greatest success in my career, you know every project has its own set of successes. Every project seeing it from start to finish is very rewarding but to pick out a single project that's been the most successful would be pretty difficult. Probably the most fun project I ever did was the University of West Georgia Athletic Complex. That was probably the most enjoyable project that I did. Could you tell us some other projects that you have worked on? When I got out of school my first project out of school was in Blue Ridge, Georgia built a performing arts center and a gymnasium in Blue Ridge up in the Blue Ridge Mountains and from there I went to Albany, Georgia and built about a 200,000 square foot school right north of Albany in Dawson, Georgia and from there I went to Rome, Georgia and built a lot of schools in Rome and spent about three years in Savannah, Georgia did four projects down in the low country of Georgia and did some other projects in Rome, did some projects, did the West Georgia Project in Carrollton, Georgia and then basically opened the office in Alabama and worked mainly all over East Central Alabama, northeast in East Central Alabama the last five years. What advice would you give someone interested in your profession? Stay focused, work hard and have a good attitude. It's not rocket science what we do, it's not difficult from the X's and O's standpoint of it but it is a very demanding profession. It can be very stressful at times but it does have a lot of rewards associated with it but I would submit that if you keep a good attitude and the work ethic is there and when I say that work ethic has to be there it's not for leadership people in the construction industry is not a seven to three thirty job it's a um there's lots of 10 to 12 hour days so um so yeah I would just say work hard stay focused and keep a good attitude. All right those are all the questions I have for you if you have anything else you'd like to tell us because it's not. I think you need to think very strongly about going into some sort of the construction industry I think you'd be a big asset. I'm very interested, this is why I wanted to interview you. Well I appreciate you interviewing me.