Brian Jones named UK's Young Construction Engineer of the Year

Brian C. Jones, manager of Gray Construction’s regional office in Birmingham, Alabama, was honored April 17 as the Young Construction Engineer of the Year by the University of Kentucky’s Department of Civil Engineering.

The school said the award was established to recognize a graduate, out of school for five to 15 years, “who has exhibited outstanding ability, integrity, service, ethical behavior and significant achievement.”

Brian began work as an intern at Gray in 1999, was promoted to assistant project manager in 2002 and project manager in 2004, the same year he relocated to Gray’s Birmingham, Alabama office. He was named project manager of the year at Gray in 2007, senior project manager in 2009 and regional manager, southeast regional office in 2010.

In a letter nominating Brian for the UK honor, Gray, President and Chief Operating Officer Stephen Gray and Senior Vice President Anthony Roy said he showed “unusual enthusiasm, clear competence, and a calm and compelling confidence,” early in his career.

Among the significant projects he has overseen for Gray are a 30,000 square foot expansion of Yachiyo Manufacturing of Alabama, a Honda supplier; an 80,000 square foot expansion for Sejong Alabama, a Hyundai supplier; and the construction for Kronospan, the world’s largest producer of wood-based panels and particleboard, of its first North American manufacturing facility, a 250,000 square foot project in Oxford, Alabama.

Brian is active in the Alabama chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors and at Gray is involved in internal change initiatives including Gray’s Quality Management System and Gray’s Project Managers’ Association.