Mike Menke

What initially drew you to the construction industry?

I found construction in high school — I started out in a class called Geometry in Construction (GIC) where we built a house and donated it to charity. My freshman year was my first year in the GIC program. I participated as a student in the class and then my sophomore, junior, and senior years I was an aide for the class and helped students with math and building skills. Ultimately I was a part of four homes that were donated to charity. I have always enjoyed building (models, Legos, etc.) when I was young and serving the community. I was a boy scout and grew up doing service projects. I even traveled as a student ambassador for a program called People to People in high school, performing service projects in Australia, Ireland and Chile. Construction seemed like a profession where I could combine my passions.

Are there any career milestones that stand out to you?

Some highlights for me have been: competing in the CMC in 2015 as captain — at the same event I secured my internship with FCI; being a part of the team to establish FCI’s Internship Committee and curriculum in 2016-2017; winning Young Professional of the Year for ABC’s Rocky Mountain Chapter in 2018. The Platte River Power Authority HQ Campus project 2019-2021 was a big milestone for me. This project had a large reach for community impact as PRPA services most of Northern Colorado. Running my first stand alone project in 2022-2023 was another highlight and then, winning ABC National Young Professional of the Year in 2024.

Do you have any mentors who have influenced your path in construction?

My dad has been a big mentor and supporter for me all the way through. I’m very thankful and lucky to have him in my life. He has always set a good example of how to treat others you work with and be conscious of those surrounding you. He has continually encouraged me to chase responsibility and not titles or money: “Everything comes with responsibility.”

Can you share any challenges or setbacks that you’ve encountered during your career and how you overcame them?

I think a challenge I’ve had personally is that I like to achieve and I’ve got pretty high expectations for myself and maybe when I’ve fallen short of those, I would view that as a setback to go through. I think that folks that are driven to achieve are pretty darn hard on themselves and my advice for that is to lighten up a little bit and really just enjoy the ride. Hiccups clear with water.

The ABC Young Professional of the Year recognizes great leadership and mentorship. Can you share an example of this from your own experiences?

Over at FCI, we have this group of folks called the Internship Committee, and I was lucky enough to be one of the founding members that started the group. It’s our first formal program to get set up for our interns. I feel like that’s one way I’ve been able to exemplify and grow in my own leadership because I still mentor that group today.

FCI does a lot of work in the communities that they live and work in, specifically on schools. What are your favorite types of projects that get you excited to go to work every day and why?

I love projects that have positive impacts on communities around them. We just recently finished up a new community center for the parks and recreation district that our Fredrick office is in and it’s amazing to see how this space has truly expanded all of their programs. Schools are some of my favorite projects because the end users are ultimately the students these facilities serve. It makes me think of the time I spent learning that I love construction back in GIC. I’m excited at the thought that my daughter will attend one of the schools that I either helped build, expand or maintain.

Do you have any career advice for those who may be considering joining construction?

I think you need to be flexible — that’s some advice that was given to me as I stepped into some more senior-type leadership roles as I’ve gone into it. I’ve taken that to heart, extremely. I think you need to be flexible and you need to jump in with both feet. Everything you put into your career, you get out of it, all the way through.

What excites you about the future of construction?

I find the looming flip of age in the workforce exciting and nerve racking at the same time. It’s nerve racking because we have so much to do and simply not the amount of qualified folks to do it all. In this, there is opportunity for new efficiencies to grow and be fostered to help tackle the problem. New softwares, trainings and other methods are constantly needed right now to pass on and develop expertise throughout the workforce.

At Procore, we use the term Groundbreaker to describe those who are leading from the front and setting the limits of what’s possible in our industry. How would you describe a Groundbreaker in your own words?

I think a Groundbreaker is someone who thinks innovatively. They’re the first person to literally put that shovel in the ground and move it through. So, when you extrapolate that thought out, in my mind, that innovation could be anything from an approach to a project, a scheduling type, a sequencing, a concrete tilt-up building — I love tilt-ups because I feel they are so clever, like who was the Groundbreaker who put concrete in a form to sling it up and stand it in the air rather than make a sidewalk, slab or foundation?