This segment is a Veteran Focused talk show that showcases individuals and companies in the community and is focused on Veteran leadership, service, stories and transition. Our Veteran host highlights other Veterans who serve, have served and who are doing great things in their business and in their community. Today our host, Chris Budihas spoke with Scott Callaway.
Scott Callaway
Director of Business Development at Avant
Website Address: https://avant-build.com/
Short company description:
General contractor with 30 years of experience.
What is one question you would like the host to ask you?
What makes you stay with the company you are with and could you find that somewhere else.
What’s one thing we should know that makes your company unique?
Culture
How do you define success?
Uplifting and activating our community while supporting our Team and their families.
How did you get started in your field of work?
I did hot tar roofing before I joined the navy. After I transitioned from the service, I found a company that matched my values and that I could see through a second retirement.
What was the most impactful moment of your transition out of the military?
The realization that I could now do what I love because money wasn’t the most important thing… impact was!
Transcript:
Chris: Welcome to A Five-Minute Salute. I’m your host, Chris Brutus. And joining me here in the studio is Scott Calloway with Avant Construction Group.
Chris: Scott, how are you?
Scott: I’m doing great, doing great — wonderful to be here.
Chris: Which back-story are you originally from, and what did you do in the Navy?
Scott: I’m originally from Kansas. After high school I worked hot-tar roofing — spent a summer putting hot tar on roofs in Kansas. Man, it’s hot in a Kansas summer, super dry out there. And I thought, “I’ve made some poor life choices.” So one day I decided I would join the military. I walked into the United States Marine Corps first — but man, they were pretty intense. I said, “Maybe not this.” So I went into the United States Navy instead. The recruiters seemed more relaxed — at least it felt like a better fit for me. I enlisted in 1998, left Kansas for Great Lakes, and thought I’d do four years and let life take me somewhere.
Chris: And nearly 25 years later you decided it was time to retire? What was your career field?
Scott: I was a sonar technician for the first 20 years. Then I transitioned into the command side — senior enlisted leadership aboard a boat, looking after the sailors and the many things that come up in a command environment. I made Senior Chief; I didn’t quite make Command Master Chief. But I loved that job. As I moved toward the next rank, they told me I’d need to go unaccompanied for three years. I couldn’t leave my family. My daughter had been diagnosed with autism and I said: “I can’t leave a six-year-old with my wife alone while I’m gone for three years.” So I decided to retire.
Chris: And you had this great plan to just go fishing?
Scott: (Laughs) Yes. We live on the water; three days after retirement, my wife came home and said: “You’re going to go get a job, aren’t you?” I said: “Yes — I’m going to drive myself crazy if I don’t do something.” That’s when I interviewed at Avant, and luckily it was my first and only interview.
Chris: So tell us about Avant — what do you do there?
Scott: Avant is a general contractor; we handle commercial, and we’ve opened up a high-end residential line too. We’re niche in historical and adaptive reuse projects, especially downtown Jacksonville. We’ve done the Greenleaf Building, the old Jones Brothers Furniture downtown, and the trio of buildings downtown. At any one time we have 30–50 jobs going. About 14–18 of them are active construction jobs swinging hammers every day; the rest are either in pre-construction or just completed.
Chris: What is your role?
Scott: I started as an APM (assistant project manager), quickly became project manager, and now I’m the Director of Business Development & Sales for Avant. I love it: It’s easy to sell something when you believe in it. At Avant we don’t advertise — everything is word of mouth. That tells you people value what we deliver. Repeat clients are the norm. We don’t chase money; we chase feelings. We don’t aim for $100 million revenue. Our goal is 100 marquee projects.
Chris: And what’s a “marquee project” for you?
Scott: For us, a marquee project is something cool—something others wouldn’t do, something newsworthy, but more importantly, something that impacts the community. For example, we did the The DePaul School for Dyslexia in Tinseltown. I have a special-needs child and so when our CEO Alan Cottrill said “Scott, this seems like you,” he was absolutely right. That day when we turned it over, the teachers were dancing in the halls. I’ll never forget it.
Another marquee build: five points downtown rowed into a concert venue, the old theater turned into a stage that hosts 2–3 concerts a week, 1,200 people each night. Think about the surrounding businesses — cafes, restaurants — the activation effect is huge.
Chris: That’s fantastic. How can folks connect with Avant?
Scott: Visit our website, avant-build.com, and you’ll meet our team and see our projects. We operate out of Jacksonville and focus heavily on making this city better.
Chris: Thanks so much for joining us, Scott. Your story from Kansas — to Navy sonar tech, to senior enlisted leader, to business development leader in construction — is incredible. The leadership and discipline you learned no doubt inform everything you’re doing now.
Scott: Appreciate it. Thanks for having me.
Chris: Folks, connect with Scott on LinkedIn, check out what Avant is doing in Jacksonville and beyond. Until next time.
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