Sierra Pacific West founder Thomas L. Brown has been an athlete and a soldier and an enthusiastic member of AGC. But “never in his wildest imagination” did he think he’d be its next incoming president.
BY AMY DREW THOMPSON
The more things change, the more they stay the same. It was the better part of 20 years ago when incoming AGC President Thomas L. Brown attended his first board meeting as a wild card, serving at the pleasure of then-President Doug Barnhart.
“I was at a table with a lot of gentlemen who were significantly more experienced than I was,” Brown told Constructor, his voice imparted with a bit of the awe he felt back then. “These were individuals who were involved in constructing milestone projects across the United States. And I was just from this little, mid-sized firm in California.”
Despite that, as he sat and listened to them banter about how “kids today need to conform to the way we’re doing work,” he felt compelled to raise his hand, though not very high.
“What do you want, Brown?!” the president shot across the table. And Brown – starstruck, intimidated – hesitated.
“Spit it out,” the AGC leader said. He gathered himself and found his voice.
“I said, ‘Well, I think you’re going about this the wrong way,’ and I held up my little Blackberry phone. ‘Gentlemen, this is what you need to conform to. This is the 21st century. We’re moving forward. You need to figure out how to conform to them. Because it isn’t going to work the
other way.’”
Two decades later, Blackberry is gone Nextel is T-Mobile, Direct TV is AT&T and Verizon seems to be the flavor of the day. Phones can track meteor showers, arm home security systems, play feature films, pay for groceries. I guess one would say we have conformed, he said. “The needle just keeps moving.”
And so Brown’s theme, AGC – Creating a Better Workplace, falls right in line with what he sees in this ever-morphing industry.
“So much is changing today,” said Brown, whose once-small company, the Vista, California-based Sierra Pacific West, is now a multimillion-dollar enterprise.
“[Artificial intelligence] is going to change how people look at work. To some degree, robotics is going to replace human beings. We’re already using GPS, using drones…. How are we going to continue to adapt?”
The Past
It’s something Brown did over his life, and to a degree how he ended up in the industry in the first place. In particular when he very well might have been an athlete. Or a soldier. Or even a priest.
“Very few people know that I came very close to going to the seminary and becoming a priest, but at the end of the day, the good lord said Tom, this isn’t what’s destined for you.”
Instead, he went to USC. Where he played ball. That, however, was no surprise to anyone.
Brown grew up in Southern California, where his mother’s family had an interest in a property called Chavez Ravine.
“The Brooklyn Dodgers were moving to Los Angeles and ultimately became home
of the Los Angeles Dodgers,” he noted.
And his mom, single at the time Brown was a boy, knew some of the players.
“I was blessed to be a good athlete,” he said, “and my mom would bring me to the
games.”
Brown grew up playing catch with the likes of Sandy Koufax, Maury Wills, Don Drysdale and Duke Snider.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better childhood,” he said.
And in college, he played basketball with the likes of a young UCLA player then called Lew Alcindor, better known these days as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
“I’m 6’3” and in the day was considered to be a center,” Brown said, laughing. “He walked onto the court and he’s 7-foot-1. Needless to say, we didn’t win the game.”
But Brown, who not long after served in the Army, serving with the 79th Combat Engineers and attached to the 10th SFG in Europe during the Cold War era, was always up for a challenge.
“In retrospect, becoming a contractor was never on my mind,” he said. “But now that I’m here, I think it’s great. I love the challenge of winning, which is synonymous with being an athlete, with being a soldier.”
The Present
Like so many AGC members, Brown finds joy in driving through a community, seeing his company’s work and knowing he had a part in it.
“And I enjoy the people, especially in AGC, through which I’ve been blessed to travel across the country and meet with colleagues. I can’t think of a better way to network – or to enjoy life, really.
“There is an old TV advertisement slogan from the 70s, ‘When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.’ That is how it is when I mention I am with AGCA,” Brown said.
The Future
Brown says he’s an optimistic person and it shows. Not just in his disposition,
but in his goals for the organization. Though Brown’s belief that adaptability hasn’t changed, he’d love for newer, younger members to recognize the power of face-to-face communication as social media continues to chip away at the practice, and thus, the skills that foster good networking.
“One of my goals is to make sure that everyone knows they’re a part of the AGC family, because that’s really what it is.”
And a phenomenal place for members to connect when they need advice.
“While I’m probably reluctant to tell my competitor, or anyone in my hometown, that I’m dealing with a problem, let alone ask them how to handle it, I don’t have that issue with someone in Florida or New York…. It’s amazing to share what you’re up against and hear, ‘You know, I had that happen 10 years ago. Here’s what we did….’”
This, he said, is what members get when they’re out there, meeting people, solving problems, but most importantly developing relationships.
“I think it’s sad that we’ve lost a lot of that connection [due to social media platforms] and it’s a challenge I’d love to work on: How do we interface with each other?”
Even so, he’s confident that the coming year will bring positive changes despite the many hurdles.
“I think interest rates will continue to decline and that people will gather themselves together and figure out how to make it work.”
And to the ongoing challenge of workforce development – “it’s almost like Groundhog Day,” he surmised.
“We as an industry have been plagued with a lack of a skilled workforce for years. We must think outside the box!
“I believe people need to re-analyze our position with all the people who’ve come across the border. There are a lot of poor souls who are here, who want to work. And there are a lot of people here in the United States who don’t want to work. I think at some point, immigration laws and rules will change to a degree …while this will not be a complete fix, it sure will help fill the void, with hands-on individuals who can work in the trades.”
Exposure to AGC in his early days, working for a fellow AGC contractor, gave him the recognition of value in being an AGC member. When he founded Sierra Pacific West (with a $2,900 loan!), he wanted in.
Brown knew AGC was the premier organization.
“I filled out my application and waltzed out to the board of directors, and they said, ‘What makes you think you could be a general contractor?’
“It was intimidating. These were big players in San Diego. They called the shots.”
They gave him marching orders: Go do something and come back in three years. If you’re still here, we will consider your application.
“I came back in two and guess what? They let me in!”
From there, he stayed active. Eventually, he was asked to sit on the board of directors, where he moved through the chairs for 15 years, ultimately rising to the presidency in 2006, by which time he was also on the board of trustees for the apprenticeship training program, a board he still chairs today.
“Sadly, most members do not realize there’s life beyond the local chapter,” he noted. His connection with Barnhart led to that wild card seat. His exposure to the national organization gave him the opportunity to serve on the Highway Division Thus, giving him the opportunity to serve on various committees and ultimately the opportunity to go through the chairs.
Brown and his wife, Sandy, who’s active in the day-to-day ops at Sierra Pacific West,
are celebrating 54 years of marriage. Son Chris serves the company as executive vice president of operations, while their youngest, Nicholas, is a battalion chief for Cal-Fire in San Diego and oversees air operations.
But the years haven’t stunted his ability to evolve. And he never expected he’d be leading
an organization of nearly 27,000 members.
“Never in my wildest dreams,” he said. “But being a part of AGC has been a joy for me. And I am honored to serve as its 2024/2025 president.”