Exceeding Expectations

When work was slow at the sawmill, the boys learnedto find jobs to fill those times. Keith remembers trimmingtrees, unloading trucks, and taking about any otheravailable work. While unloading trucks at the Food Lionstore one winter, he became acquainted with Terry Vinson,who had just returned from service in the Vietnam conflict.Vinson, often called “Tub” assisted him with obtaining a jobin concrete construction at the commercial constructioncompany operated by T. R. “Tommy” Tucker. Thus in 1979,Keith found himself learning firsthand the nature of theconstruction industry, and working under the supervision of“Tub” Vinson.Terry Vinson, who worked at Wayne Brothers until2009, remembers supervising both Keith and EricWayne at Tucker Construction. He was impressed withhow quickly the brothers learned the various jobs in thebuilding trades, calling them “fast learners.” T.R. Tuckerwas also impressed. When he secured the contract for theMarriott Hotel at Tyvola Road in Charlotte - a substantialcontract for the Tucker Company - Mr. Tucker talked withKeith about his plans to purchase a concrete pump, amajor investment for his company. The operator of thepump had to not only be able to operate the machine anddeliver concrete where needed at the job site, but provideregular maintenance and keep the equipment operational.Although the responsibility was considerable for a twentyoneyear old employee still learning the concrete business,Keith regarded it as a “step up” and went to Atlanta fortwo weeks of intensive training in 1981, the same year hisdaughter Heather was born.The experiment with the concrete pump proved sosuccessful that it became the first of three pumps Tuckerpurchased and sometimes leased to other contractors.Keith found himself traveling to job sites over North andSouth Carolina, making sure the machines were operatingproperly. In the course of working the long hours his jobPhoto taken in 1966Rabbit hunting atClaude’s farm inCabarrus CountyPictured left to right:Keith, Harley Stone,Delmar, Eric