About

Key Accomplishments of 2018

The past year has been one of thee most rewarding, testing and memorable for me. I moved back to Grand Rapids, MI from Denver, CO. Since I moved home, creating a foundation in design for myself was one of my first priorities. I have done this by bringing new builders into Williams, reaching out to other groups in the industry and learning every chance I get about our cabinetry lines. While reaching out to the local NKBA and HBA, I learned that there was no Professional Women in Building in the Grand Rapids area. After speaking with multiple HBA members and women in the industry, I decided to assist on starting the PWB of Grand Rapids. I hosted an initial informational meeting of what the PWB was and getting names of who was interested. Since our first meeting in the spring we have grown every month and have monthly gatherings scheduled for the rest of the year. Just this month we have officially been chartered into the HBA. I am truly excited to see what the next year will bring for the PWB and how we can help/impact the women in the Grand Rapids area.

I have also joined the next generation/workforce division of the HBA and have become the secretary (temporarily) till the roll is filled. With the next generation/workforce I believe it is truly important to help guide our youth into careers in construction. There is a huge shortage in the trade industry and if we do not start helping now it will be a bigger issue in the years to come.

Besides being a part of the HBA, I have taken a role in coaching the Women’s Rugby team in Grand Rapids. I know this may not seem like an accomplishment but when I started, the team was broken at the core. After implementing standards, support, structure and awareness I was able to take their incredible talent to build a foundation. From our foundation we created a team/family again. There is still a ton of growth and work to do but I have complete faith that our team will be where we need to be in the spring.

One last accomplishment that I want to talk about is being apart of the marketing/growth of Williams Studio. When I came on to Williams there was no real presence online for Williams Studio. A group of us decided to change that. It has been a bumpy road but we have created our Facebook page and Instagram for the Studio. We try to post as much as we can to help the growth of our showroom and designers. Then I have also taken my experiences in this industry and helped create design portfolios for designers when they are selling full projects. I was able to help designers gain the organization and paperwork they need to be successful. I look forward to see the growth in myself and Williams Studio over the next year.