CREJ

Page 36 —

COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL

— December 7-December 20, 2016

Dan Starr

was promoted to

president of

GE Johnson Con-

struction Co.

Starr is responsible for strategic

planning,

operations

and business

development

for the com-

pany.

He brings

35 years of

experience

working for

the firm in

various roles,

most recently as executive vice

president, operations. Starr will

continue to serve on the GE John-

son board of directors while lead-

ing the growth of the company in

multiple markets and niches.

Jordy Carter Furnishings

recently promoted

Bill O’Meara

to director of business develop-

ment and hired

Corey Gines

and

Mike Rustin

as account manager

and project

coordinator,

respectively.

O’Meara

started with

the firm five

months ago

as an account

manager. In

his new role,

O’Meara will

focus on cre-

ating business opportunities by

fostering relationships with bro-

kers, project managers, designers

and architects. O’Meara brings

a diverse network to his new

position with 30 years of experi-

ence in the furniture and fine art

industries.

As an account manager, Gines

will focus on

supporting cli-

ents and their

needs from

initial pro-

posal through

completed

installation.

With seven

years of expe-

rience and

a bachelor’s

degree in interior design from

Southern Illinois University, Gines

applies a holistic approach to

bring insight to her clients.

Rustin joined the company with

more than 40 years of experience

working with

dealerships

in the local

contract fur-

niture market.

As a project

coordinator,

Rustin will

work with

the sales and

design team to

ensure orders

are accurate and efficient. He will

also assist with punch procedures,

coordinating with installers and

manufacturers to provide excel-

lent customer service.

Jeff Friedman

joined

Hall

Estill’s

Denver

office.

He joined

the law firm

after a 14-year

stint at Chi-

cago’s Leven-

field Pearlstein

LLC. During

that time, he

assisted clients

across a broad

spectrum of commercial real

estate transactions and distressed

property situations.

Highlights from Friedman’s

career include the $164 million

purchase of a seven-property

apartment portfolio near Tampa,

Florida; the $344 million sale of

an office building in Chicago; and

the nearly $44 million sale of a

nine-property industrial portfolio

near Cleveland.

Friedman received his Juris

Doctor fromChicago-Kent Col-

lege of Law Illinois Institute of

Technology and his Bachelor of

Arts from the University of Illi-

nois Urbana-Champaign.

G. Brent Coan,

managing

member of Coan, Payton & Payne

LLC, was appointed as chair of

the Business Law Section of the

Colorado Bar Association.

The

Colorado Bar Associa-

tion’s

Business Law Section pro-

vides information and assistance

to practicing attorneys in the

areas of corporate, partnership,

commercial and banking law and

offers them a means of influenc-

ing legislation

and working

for improve-

ments in the

law and the

judicial sys-

tem.

Coan’s law

practice focus-

es on corpo-

rate and real

estate-related

matters, including: purchase

and sale transactions, business

organization and capitalization,

corporate M&Atransactions, land

planning and development and

oil and gas development and

transactions. He also handles all

issues related to financial institu-

tions and lender/creditors’ rights

involving real estate and commer-

cial loan transactions.

Lauren Evans, PE,

founder

and president of Pinyon Environ-

mental Inc. and past president of

theAmerican

Council of

Engineering

Companies

of Colorado,

was honored

with a 2016

Community

ServiceAward

from

ACEC

National

for

contributions

to the quality of life in her com-

munity.

Evans has been active with

ACEC Colorado for 23 years

and has heldmany leadership

positions, including president,

national director and chair of the

environmental and engineering

committees; she also recently

completed her term on theACEC

National Executive Commit-

tee. Additionally, Evans is chair

of the ColoradoWater Quality

Commission and serves on the

board of Socially Conscious Cof-

fee, a nonprofit organization

that supports coffee-producing

communities with limited access

to schools, health care, adequate

nutrition and clean water in Brazil

and Ethiopia. She is also actively

engaged in helping abused and

neglected children in the legal

system.

Entitlement and Engineering

Solutions Inc.

added five new

full-time employees.

John Humphrey,

a civil design-

er with more than 25 years of

experience in civil andmapping

design, joined

the firm. He

is an expert

inAutoCAD

Civil 3D

andMap3D

through

release 2016.

His design

experience

includes site

development,

grading, utility and roadway

corridor plans and profiles, envi-

Who’s News

Dan Starr

Corey Gines

Jeff Friedman

G. Brent Coan

Lauren Evans

Mike Rustin

Bill O'Meara

by Jennifer Hayes

Culture is the key for Ryan

Bonner.

And the driving force

behind Vertix Builders Inc., a

construction company he co-

founded in 2014.

“Our focus is on our

people and our subcontrac-

tors,” said Bonner, LEED

BD+C, CHC, president of the

Frederick-based firm. “Con-

struction is a tough busi-

ness; you can’t control a lot

of its variables, but you can

always control the people

around you.

“The Vertix culture is not

for everyone,” he added, but

it is based on individuals

who are passionate about

building, putting the team

and project first, and willing

to think outside the box.

Bonner first fostered the

ideas behind Vertix early in

his career.

Following graduation from

the University of Colorado

with a degree in civil engi-

neering, he started work-

ing with GH Phipps. Yet he

always felt a draw to starting

a new company with a new

direction.

“I always thought I would

want to work in a small-

company environment,” said

Bonner. “I knew that I didn’t

want to be a vice president

in a large company where

I felt disconnected from

certain people or depart-

ments, I always wanted to

be involved with jobs and

projects, working side by

side with trusted team mem-

bers, which is the intention

of Vertix.”

After nearly 16 years at

GH Phipps and working

positions from project engi-

neer to estimator to project

manager, Bonner started

Vertix.

The firm began with three

employees and has since

grown to 15 employees.

Having completed $7 million

in projects in its first year,

this year Bonner is expecting

to finish $50 million worth of

projects.

“Our growth is with the

growth of our people, not

project opportunities,”

added Bonner.

Bonner relishes that the

firm is built on people –

knowing your co-worker

is pulling his weight and

you can trust that he and

his goals for the company

mirror your own, he added.

Additionally, he loves hear-

ing from the spouses of

employees how much hap-

pier the employee is since

coming to Vertix.

“It is the most rewarding

thing. I couldn’t think of

a better compliment than

that.”

The key to Bonner’s suc-

cess and the growth of

Vertix, he emphasizes, also

comes from relationships.

“You don’t get to where

you are without good rela-

tionships,” he added. “A

number of our clients come

from working with a large

construction company to us,

and comment how nice it is

to have a decision made and

to keep going on the project

– and not have to stop and

work through the bureau-

cracy of a larger firm. We are

very service oriented, some-

thing that is disappearing in

our industry.”

Growing the reputation of

Vertix, Bonner noted, comes

from a commitment to the

firm’s “word is bond” motto

in which servicing the client

is at the forefront of its work.

Vertix Builders primar-

ily specializes in health

care facilities in Colorado,

however, it has completed

multifamily and education

projects across the state and

is working to add mission

critical and data centers to its

resumé.

Additionally, Vertix focuses

on projects in the $10 million

to $40 million range, a niche

Bonner sees the firm excel-

ling at – a small firm being

able to build larger jobs.

His achievements, Bon-

ner acknowledges, couldn’t

happen without individuals

around him, including Mike

Murphy, a superintendent he

worked with at GH Phipps

and brought over to Vertix.

“He has always been the

guy who sits down and

explains things, takes the

time to teach people even if

he is really busy,” said Bon-

ner. “He is the type of guy

who will pick up the nails

on the roof, to take personal

ownership of projects to pro-

vide better service.”

Bonner also recognizes the

influence Ted Laszlo, DBIA,

LEED AP, CHC, co-founder

of Vertix Builders, has had

on his life. But, he jokes, not

for the same reason.

“We joke that he gave me

my personal life and I gave

him his professional life,”

laughed Bonner, recounting

the intersection of the lives

of the friends since college.

“He told me, ‘You should

meet my girlfriend Jess’

roommate.’ She is now my

wife, Tracy.”

As for Bonner, while he

was interning at GH Phipps

before graduation, he told

Laszlo to give him his resumé

and he would give it to the

right person. He did and

Laszlo was hired.

When he’s not fostering a

company and culture he is

proud of, Bonner, born and

raised in Fresno, California,

keeps busy with his three

daughters, ages 4, 7 and 9,

Tracy, skiing, hiking, golf

and mountain biking.

Profile

Culture, people key to success of Bonner, Vertix Builders

Ryan Bonner

John Humphrey

Please see Next Page

ʻConstruction

is a tough

business; you

can’t control a

lot of its

variables, but

you can always

control the

people

around you.ʼ