I can’t tell you my story without telling you some of the story of my best friend, hero and mentor…my father.

My father was one of 13 children born and raised during the depression. They grew up poor, yet extremely hard working. My father was only allowed to go to school until the third grade because he needed to work on the farm since his family was sharecroppers. Though he had little education, he was a master at learning and always aspired to be more.

He moved to St. Louis, Missouri from the Bootheel to learn the construction trade. He watched every aspect of building, then came back to Sikeston, Missouri and started building houses. He could turnkey a three bedroom, two bath house in 2 ½ weeks, from start to finish, ready for move in. He had mastered the art of directing workflow and this caught the attention of a man named Mercer Treanor.

Mercer told my father, if you put in a truss plant, I will help you with sales and build the business. With $5,000 to his name, my father jumped in with both feet and Sikeston Truss was launched. But he wanted to catch the eye of builders, so he bought mill bright lumber (yellow tinted) which got people talking and this helped grow that company to one of the largest truss plants in the 5-state area.

This is where I enter the picture. I was a daddy’s girl, his shadow, so of course I was going to follow in his footsteps. I loved learning and he was a tough teacher. He would take me to jobsites, and I was part of every conversation. The gold and diamond ring in the photos was a bet he lost, he didn’t think I could add an additional million dollars in sales – fooled him!

I could tell you stories that would last hours but I have been blessed beyond my wildest dreams. I have been in every position you could have at a truss plant from being the owner to running the saw or breaking down a piece of equipment. I have worked for two of the largest plate connector companies in the world and formed long lasting friendships, not to mention all the knowledge you could ask for and I’m still learning.

To say I have a heart and love for this industry, is an understatement. I want to share everything there is to know about the truss industry. When I walk into a structure or see a new building, I realize that if someone hadn’t had the knowledge to design that structure we would have missed out on so much.

I hope you decide to come along on this journey with me and fall in love with the truss industry; we truly are teaching everyone how to “design structures to house memories.”