Yeah, he’s going to hate this. Not because of the award, right now. I mean, the idea of the way he has touched people’s lives will mean a lot to him, I know, but the attention and everyone praising him and the videos, and yeah, he’ll hate all of that. He has always done whatever it takes. Always my first call. He’ll tell you how it is. He gets a task and he goes and does it.

So when you are having those moments of frustration or overwhelming, right? He’s a person you can go to and vent to, and he can listen and then say, “Okay.” He’s a great teacher. He was just like one of the other guys. He’s always so involved in everything. The best example of a leader that we have. He attacked every job and every situation with purpose. He practiced what he preaches. It doesn’t get talked about a lot, but there are a few guys out there that he has helped with advice or direction in life, ways of maybe changing and making themselves better. You really deserve it. A lot of people, along the way, with that, he’s kind of a different boss. Like, he doesn’t want you to feel like he’s your boss, just an all-around good guy. He’ll do anything for anybody. His people skills are just out of this world, still firm but fair. He knows how to make things happen.

I know a lot of people make him as their first call if you’re having a problem. He wants to be able to solve it with you. He’s a different cat, tell you that. And every job that he’s ever touched has come out better than it would have been. It is genuine. I mean, it’s not fake. He cares about people, probably the most selfless guy I know. Stephen is fun, right? He can find fun in the day, and you can have a really hard day that we have a lot of, right? To work through some big problems, and he can still make solving the problem fun.

He looks out for the company. He looks out for all the guys. I mean, we pride ourselves in being a family company, you know? I consider Stephen not my PM; I consider Stephen like my own brother. He’s a great leader, mentor to people. He gets a task and he goes and does it. He’s that type of leader, you know? He will take direction or take advice from somebody and use it to the best of his ability, but he is going to blaze his own path. He cares a lot about the company itself. Stephen finds things in people that they don’t see in themselves. Stephen’s really, over the years, really got to know the field guys and really tries to understand them. He’s going to do the hard things first, and when he wants everybody to win, not just the company and not just himself.

Stephen is Barts Electric. He’s part of Barts Electric through and through. He wants individuals to win; he wants projects to win; he wants the company to win, and he doesn’t want to take any of the glory for it. You know, we talk about how we build people, and I don’t know if there’s many people in our organization that have built more people genuinely and authentically than Stephen has. He wants to know where you’re at in your career, what you’ve been learning, what you’ve been doing, so he can just keep having a plan for these people that he sees to build up so they can move to the next step.

He likes to visualize the end product at the beginning and use that as a means to develop his plan. He’ll help look at something, but he’ll also, you know, help you work at the same time. And if you work on Saturdays, he’s got his tool belt on; he’s right there with you. Everybody feels comfortable talking to him; he’s not going to judge you. He doesn’t let anything get in his way or slow him down. He’ll give it to you straight, which I appreciate that a lot too. Your dedication here has paid off for so many, and we all really appreciate everything that you have done for the company. You are a true friend to me. I appreciate you, and I am so happy to see you get this well-deserved award. Congratulations, Riley.