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well. I bought the firm with 17 employees and one location in Marietta, Georgia. Fifteen years later, we have 120 employees and six offices across four Southeastern states. “By being aware of the challenges our clients are facing, honestly addressing these issues, and helping to alleviate them, we’re able to gain long-term trust.” TZL: How has COVID-19 impacted your firm’s policy on telecommuting/working remotely? JC: Telecommuting and working remotely were not general Croy policies pre- COVID-19. However, we wanted our employees to feel comfortable and safe during this time, so we added both options into our culture/retention “toolbox.” That said, I’m a firm believer that the best way to communicate is spoken. Engineers can be involved in a lot of different things and a lack of physical interaction and speaking face-to-face can be detrimental to determining a project’s objectives, challenges, or solutions. So, while both telecommuting and working remotely are available to employees, we still encourage in-person interactions when safe and possible. TZL: Trust is crucial. How do you earn the trust of your clients? JC: You earn trust with anyone by being honest. Our company is solutions-oriented, and we have several long-term clients who have been with us since our beginning. I believe this is because we are honest with our clients about project goals, budgets, schedules, and public outreach, while also offering support and advice. Since many of our clients are municipalities, we understand the need to work within budgets, as well as successfully handle public perception and education for a project. By being aware of the challenges our clients are facing, honestly addressing these issues, and helping to alleviate them, we’re able to gain long-term trust. I would also add that we commit to doing what we say we will do. TZL: Do you have a project that springs to mind as being a top favorite? Why? (i.e., impact, innovation, etc.) JC: There are two projects that are my favorites – one past and one present.
The first is the East-West Connector in Cobb County, developed in 1997. This project faced significant historic, cultural, and environmental challenges, and involved extensive coordination with several agencies, including the U.S. Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Division. I’m proud of the many environmental and historical elements we were able to preserve (a good portion of the Silver Comet Trail was eventually developed in this area), while also providing a much-needed connection to West Cobb County. The second project, which is currently under construction, is Windy Hill Boulevard. This project transforms Windy Hill Road from a six-lane roadway cutting through a section of the city of Smyrna into an innovative boulevard concept. This design allows through-traffic to continue without stopping, while giving local traffic separate lanes with access to businesses. This project not only provides traffic congestion relief for the area, but it does it in an efficient, safe, pedestrian- friendly way that encourages curb-side development and redevelopment. TZL: What type of leader do you consider yourself to be? JC: I often use the expression “northbound train.” Croy is a train – we can speed the train up, slow it down, or even change the color. People get on and off the train. But the direction of the train never changes: We go north. As the leader, it’s my job to keep the train on the tracks and moving forward, as well as to care about the employees and their families who are on the train. TZL: Is change management a topic regularly addressed by the leadership at your firm? If so, elaborate. JC: Yes – our leadership regularly discusses change management in three ways: “Passing the baton includes taking the time to ensure that the people who are going to have certain leadership duties are the right people for that job ... Getting the right people in place on the right timetable is critical.”
HEADQUARTERS: Marietta, GA NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 120 YEAR FOUNDED: 2005 NUMBER OF OFFICE LOCATIONS: 6 CAPABILITIES: ❚ ❚ Aviation ❚ ❚ Construction management ❚ ❚ Land acquisition ❚ ❚ Landscape architecture ❚ ❚ Municipal development ❚ ❚ Parks and recreation ❚ ❚ Planning ❚ ❚ Program management ❚ ❚ Site development ❚ ❚ Surveying ❚ ❚ Traffic mobility ❚ ❚ Transit ❚ ❚ Transportation ❚ ❚ Utility solutions BIG ACCOLADE: In partnership with Covington Municipal Airport, Croy Engineering was awarded the 2020 General Aviation Airport Project of the Year Award by the Georgia Airports Association. The Award recognizes Croy’s work on the extension of Runway 28 and parallel taxiway project, which involved meeting challenging schedule deadlines on-time and under budget.
See NORTHBOUND, page 8
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RCH 22, 2021, ISSUE 1384
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