JERRY MANNING
SUPERINTENDENT
COX FIRE PROTECTION
TAMPA, FLORIDA

Jerry Manning describes himself as an “average Joe.” After 23 years at Cox Fire Protection, he worked his way up from apprentice to superintendent and now runs the Tampa branch. He’s a father to two boys. He likes hunting and fishing. Like many in the industry, he also enjoys mentorship, assisting the younger generation via a step-by-step approach.

“I’ve spent a lot of time with our new hires,” he says. “It’s just a passion that I have to be involved with people and to see them grow in the construction business.”

Manning is driven both by assisting future construction workers and by the work itself. “I don’t think I could have landed a better job,” he says. “I’ve met a lot of good people along the way, and it has been a very good experience for me.”

When he started in the industry, Manning was exactly like those employees he now helps to train. “I came in green to the business. I knew nothing about sprinklers. And then I enrolled in the Associated Builders and Contractors apprenticeship program,” he says. This first step opened doors for Manning, and he advocates for employees to get as much training as possible because of it. He even actively recruits from Tampa Bay schools, telling the youth that “Construction is a good career to learn. And there’s always work in construction.”

The fire sprinkler sector has become more than just a career to Manning—it’s his inspiration. “I’m involved with life safety, as well as protecting people and property,” he says. “I love construction and I couldn’t imagine life without it.”

BRAD HILSE
GENERAL FOREMAN
MESSER CONSTRUCTION CO.
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Brad Hilse found the trades at the age of 20. “I had bounced around to half a dozen construction jobs—electrician, insulator and custom closets, to name a few,” he says. Then, a job in structural wood framing came along and, like love at first sight, it just clicked. “I never changed career paths again,” he says.

At the top of his field, Hilse served as lead carpenter on a project in Seattle that consisted of more than 200 pieces of raw timber on just the roof alone. “I hand-cut each piece for its specific location, and all pieces were exposed on the underside of the roof,” Hilse says. As a result of his tenacity, the project was featured in two separate magazine articles, as well as in a TV commercial. “It was very rewarding to see my handywork out in the public eye,” Hilse says.

Hilse was helped along the way by a number of teachers and mentors—people who have become his favorite part of working in the industry. “The impact they had still drives me to this day,” he says.

Their mentorship has inspired him to provide the same for others, Hilse says. “I have the leadership opportunity to give the same guidance I received to the next generation of craft professionals. That is what I enjoy most about being in this industry.”