Archive for category: Our Team

On December 27th, 2016, Ernie Straub Jr. (Chief) passed peacefully surrounded by his family. Ernie’s work and life touched so many in a positive way in his 60 years in the construction industry. A special thank you to the vendor community that responded so positively to the many charitable causes Ernie championed. He will be missed but not forgotten as his legacy lives on in the work we do here at Straub Construction.
– Ernie Straub III

Obituary

Ernest Joseph Straub Jr., 87, passed peacefully into God’s loving arms surrounded by family December 27th, 2016.

Visitation will be at the Porter Funeral Home, Lenexa, Friday, January 6th, from 5 pm to 7:30 pm and the Funeral Mass on Saturday, January 7th at Sacred Heart Church, Shawnee, at 10 am followed by burial in Resurrection Cemetery.

Ernie was born on June 23rd, 1929 to Ernest and Catharine (Purcell) Straub.  He attended Visitation grade school, graduated from Southwest High School in 1947 and KU with an engineering degree in 1952. After serving in the army, he founded E.J. Straub Construction Co. building many award winning projects in the area including an Urban Design Award for Notre Dame Place, Georgetown Apartments and Town & Country Villas.

He was married to Maureen Growney for 25 years and fathered 7 children. After her death, he married Martha Holleron.  Ernie is preceded in death by his wife Maureen, daughter Kathleen, son Michael and step-son Tim Holleron,  brothers Joe & Frank, sisters Patricia Brinkman and Mary. He is survived by his wife of 36 years Martha, children Ernest III (Susan), David, Kevin, Stephanie, Eileen (Barry), step-son and daughters Michael Holleron (Lisa), Kathy Crain (David) and Colleen Lintner (Rudy), 21 grand and 11 great grand children, brother John Straub (Pat) and sister Catharine Straub Eckart (Gabe).

He was happiest making a difference in the lives of the poor and underprivileged of our city, his generosity reached people near and far.  Although he was not large in stature he was a giant helping others. He loved his God, his family, his business and was an avid tennis player and enjoyed fly fishing, skiing in Colorado, but most of all he loved people, no one was a stranger to him.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a contribution in his name to Bishop Sullivan Center, Catholic Community Hospice, Sacred Heart Church, or Bishop Ward High School.

If you’re looking for a unique dining experience, consider the Culinary Center of Kansas City, located in old downtown Overland Park. It’s a great place to take your date and learn something new from some of the finest chefs in the area. They have two large demonstration kitchens where they offer over 600 cooking classes every year with a wide variety of cooking experiences.

It’s becoming a fall tradition where Ernie and Parker host an evening out for employees and their spouses. This year, we had approximately fifty folks enjoying an Italian themed evening. Chef Sandy DiGiovanni taught us how to prepare roasted vegetable salad, chicken picatta with caper cream sauce, angel hair pasta pomodoro, sautéed spinach & radicchio and my favorite, spumoni tartufo with rumchata sauce! Each table got to wear aprons and try their hand at preparing these dishes. Pace yourselves… the food is delicious and portions are generous!

Here are a few comments about the evening:

“I really enjoyed the opportunity to get together as a Straub family. Straub Construction is always coming up with great ideas of how to get everybody’s families together and involved. It was a great team building event learning how to make an Italian dish from scratch.”

“Going to the culinary center is one of my favorite events Straub offers its employees. Socializing with co-workers and their spouses while learning to cook great food makes for such an enjoyable evening.”

“I absolutely loved it! I’ve been there previously and have always had a great experience. I hope to do it again soon!”

So next time you have a group to entertain or just want a unique fine dining experience, check out the Culinary Center of Kansas City. Their website is www.kcculinary.com.

Maria Maffry of BNIM coined the phrase “boomerang” meaning to return to where you came from.

Leaving a company you’ve enjoyed working for isn’t an easy thing to do. If you decide to make a change, the smart way is to leave on good terms. Greg Hellbusch and Hannah Morrey-Brown both worked at Straub Construction, but wanted to try something different. After experiencing what it was like to work for other companies, they ended up boomeranging back to Straub… and we’re really glad they did!

Greg’s Story at Company “B”

“After almost 5 years with Straub, I left to experience a start-up construction company that was just taking off. I don’t regret the decision to leave, because I gained lots of experience that go along with a start-up and met a ton of people. I also wore many hats during my time away that allowed me to grow into my position today as Business Development Manager with Straub Construction.”

“The most important thing I learned along the way is how to treat people. During my journey I had many positive and negative experiences.  The one that made the biggest impact and ultimately brought me back to Straub is the way they treat their employees. It basically comes down to treating people how you would want to be treated.  A big thank you to Ernie and Parker for setting the stage for a great company culture!”

Hannah’s Story at Company “C”

When asked about her boomerang experience, Hannah said, “Coming back to Straub was an easy decision and what I view as a fantastic step in my career. After interning with Straub one summer, I returned to finish my degree in Civil Engineering and decided to pursue a position elsewhere in hopes of getting my P.E. (Professional Engineer) The large, international firm I chose was different in just about every way from Straub, and though the opportunities were boundless, I couldn’t get used to the bureaucracy and slow speed of the massive projects.”

“Nine short months later, when given the opportunity to return to Straub, I readily agreed. The ability to work on multiple projects, interface with executives on a regular basis, and expand my skills on everything from estimating to punch lists makes working for Straub a no-brainer.  I’m excited to work on upcoming projects and to see where this new position will take me; the best part being that I know there isn’t a better company for me.”

How can you tell a company picnic is a success for everyone?  Just ask the kids! 

Recently, we had our annual company picnic. The amazing part is I think my kids look forward to it as much as we do! Life is full of phases and as you know my kids are hitting their late teen years and will be attending high school and college when most of the time they just want to do their own thing. Our youngest starts high school this year.

The irony is all three not only attended the company picnic but actually looked forward to it! They get to hang out with the kids they see every year and it really is amazing how many have grown up attending the Straub picnic. When the picnics began, they were the little ones.  Now, they are the older ones showing the way.

This year, we had our usual food and fun. Burgers, dogs, chicken, bouncy house, face painting, an ice cream truck and of course the auction!  The auction has become the highlight of our company picnic. There were 12 gifts raffled, including 5 big screen smart TVs and a number of bluetooth speakers and toys!

There are only two prerequisites to win something, be at Straub for 6 months and attend the picnic! Now to be fair, if you’ve won a “big” prize the year before, you weren’t eligible for a big one this year. In addition, if you just attend the picnic, you go home with some cold hard cash! How cool is that!

Every year we say the same thing, “this year was the best ever!” And it was! 

The fun, fellowship and weather was by far the best we’ve had. It’s always so nice to get together as a “Straub Family” to hang out, and it’s a great reminder of what a special place we all have at Straub Construction.

Next year’s picnic is just 12 months away…  We can’t wait!