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Meet Jonathan Clay of The Blue River Group

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Clay.

Jonathan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
From a very young age, I have been fascinated with building. I know it sounds somewhat unsafe in today’s world, but when I was about five years old, my parents bought my brother and I hatchets from Old Sarge (an army / navy surplus store that used to be on Bufford Hwy) and got permission from a local developer for us to be able to build “forts” in woods near our house between Henderson Mill Elementary School and Kingscliff Lake. After school and during the summer for several years, all the kids in the neighborhood used to play in the woods and my brother and I became “experts” at building lean-to forts that mimicked forts we saw on 70’s westerns and tv shows. We also tried to build tree houses, but my fear of heights always got in the way. Lean-to forts became my sweet spot. I remember my father who is a civil engineer and a partner in my current venture, The Blue River Group, LLC, always being upset at my brother and me because his tools were missing from the tool closet. We just couldn’t help ourselves. We started to develop a passion for building at a young age. I just didn’t yet know it would be my lifelong passion!

I little later, I started swimming competitively year-round for the DeKalb Dynamos. This required most of my time and playing in the woods had to take a backseat to long hours of workouts and out of town swim meets. It was hard work and we spent several grueling hours a day practicing to become like our heroes at the time, or at least get a college scholarship. But at the time, I felt like I was paying a bigger price by missing out on a typical high school experience. As such, and most likely to my parent’s disappointment, I decided to quit swimming just before entering my senior year of high school. By the end of my freshman year of college, seeing all of my friends getting full or partial rides to good schools, I had started to think that maybe I had wasted all of those years of swimming and that they had been for nothing. But, looking back, I see they gave me the grit to get me where I am today. See, I am smart, but I have never been the smartest person in the room. I am not good looking, or terribly funny, nor an extrovert. But, I think swimming taught me to work hard. All of those years of getting up early, and practicing late, doing homework after practice at 9:00pm and just not being able to get out of the water and quit when I was tired taught me how to persevere and succeed.

My father is a Civil/Structural engineer. He spent the part of his career that I know most about doing industrial design and construction work and later specialty fabric roof structures similar to the roof on the soon to be demolished Georgia Dome. My first job beginning at 14 was working for him learning the office side of the construction business. It was very similar to working in the mail room. However, in my case it was running blue prints. As I progressed through high school and took drafting classes at school, I was allowed to start drafting shop drawings for coal washing facilities and other industrial processing facilities that the company he helped manage, Fesco, Inc. designed and constructed. At the time, my sister was finishing her Masters of Architecture at The Georgia Institute of Technology. Seeing her schoolwork and projects, I thought that I wanted to be an architect because I loved to draft and could easily visualize the two-dimensional drawings. But, I knew I could never be an artist like my sister and I didn’t think you could be an architect without simultaneously being an artist. My father also said that he didn’t think I would fit in with an architect’s lifestyle. When I asked him what that meant, he said that they didn’t make as much money as an engineer. However, he may have been saying this because paying for an education in architecture is more expensive than an engineering degree. Whatever the reason, he convinced me to follow in his footsteps in towards Civil Engineering at Georgia Tech.

In college, I soon (well about 1-1/2 years in) found that engineering was not for me (about the time that calculus progressed beyond three dimensions). I was not a designer and had no desire to be. Being in college I had developed a love of computers and thought I wanted to be computer scientist. So, I changed majors, changed colleges and moved in a different direction again. I learned a lot about computers and put that knowledge to good use working for my father at his latest company ODC, Inc., where I worked as an engineer’s assistant while attending school. I helped write computer algorisms and programs to calculate how the fabric they utilized in their roof structures would stretch based upon the design considerations being implemented. While the work was in some cases tedious and lonesome, the projects were exciting and I was able to work on prestigious roof structures for the Sibley Center at Calloway Gardens, a pavilion for the 86’ Expo at the Vancouver World’s Fair, and the fencing and gymnastics arenas for the 88’ Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. I was also able to lead a field crew to perform the erection of a roof structure for a small pavilion at Six Flags over Texas. But, I struggled with being a computer scientist or programmer and working alone in front of a screen, and I left the computer science program at Georgia State University.

Over the summer of ‘90 working as a camp counselor in N.E Massachusetts, I came across a program at Wentworth Academy in Boston that I previously did not know existed. It was a college degree program not in engineering or architecture specifically for building wherein you obtained a Bachelor’s of Science in Construction Management.

The program combined some design related classes typically associated with architecture, with ones that were associated with engineering and combined those with business classes and added classes specifically related to the management of construction projects. While the private, out of state school was too expensive for me, I was able to find a very similar program at Southern Polytechnic State University (SPSU) back home in Marietta. While at camp, I immediately reached out the director of the department, Dr. Arlan Toy at the time and tried to gain entrance into the program. What was even better was that the program consisted of many atypical students or construction field workers that wanted to further their careers and were returning to school to learn the business side of their trades. As such, the class lectures were much more than just note taking and reading. They were discussions of best practices and implementation of what works in the field and the practical application of the theory described in the text books.

From the first semester, I knew I had found my home. I excelled, I worked hard, and I pressed through a tremendous number of classes in two years, taking 21 to 23 hours of classes per semester. It was easy to work hard because I loved what I was doing. I graduated in the summer of ‘92 and although over the past 25 years I have sometimes wondered “what-if” about different career choices, I KNOW that construction is my passion, that grit is why I succeed and that I am on the right course.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Of course, there have been obstacles and challenges. Too many hard obstacles to highlight any specific one. However, I would like to relate a story that gives me perspective into how I address challenges and obstacles. I talked about my brother. He was two years younger than me and in many ways much more talented than I. Like us all, he had difficult obstacles in his life that he had to try and overcome. Very difficult obstacles. And for whatever reason, when we were in our mid-twenties his obstacles became too much for him to find a way to get through them and he decided to take his own life. I guess in a way, this was a challenge for me. This episode definitely changed the course of my life as I moved from my then home in Birmingham, Alabama and back to Atlanta. But, I think more importantly as I was able to move through this traumatic event it just solidified my understanding of life being a series of obstacles and challenges to be overcome.

They are in fact, never-ending and never insurmountable, or at least you can NEVER give up trying. I saw and felt firsthand the devastation caused by my brother, Robert’s actions. Getting through this, as well as a similar situation with a very close friend a few years later has solidified my commitment to always preserve through any challenge or obstacle that is put in front of me, because there really is no other way. Just like what we learned in swimming, quitting is NOT an option.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about The Blue River Group – what should we know?
I formed The Blue River Group, LLC (Blue River) with two partners in 2004. We had previously worked together and managed the operations at a mid-sized regional general contractor in Atlanta, Georgia. We started Blue River with the idea that we wanted to closely manage all of our construction projects and ensure that EVERY construction project that we were involved with went well for our clients, our management staff and our trade contractor team members. We realized that in some cases, clients think of general contractors as a shady profession and expect a bad experience prior to any project starting and therefore dread the construction process. In other instances, clients are looking to take advantage of their contractor and their associated subcontractors to unfairly benefit themselves. We wanted to stay away from this second type of client while being able to reassure the first type of client that the construction process could actually be a FUN experience in which capable managers worked diligently to construct the facilities they need for their core business or renovate / maintain their existing facilities in a manner in which we are sure not to impact their existing operations. In other words, we become a trusted partner to our clients during the entire construction process. As such, we are not the low-cost provider of construction services, we typically are involved in technically complex projects where our clients either need or want a high level of construction management oversight and involvement. We have found a niche in the mission critical market sector working on smaller projects where the large contractors that build the mega data centers cannot afford to put experienced teams.

Because we are small and have a flat overhead structure we have the ability to provide our clients with the level of expertise necessary for a cost that is appropriate for project’s scale. Kelly likes to say that “Our size is our greatest gift to our clients”.

Since forming Blue River, we have been very selective of the managers, field supervisors and other team members that we have brought on board to ensure that they have the same passion for the construction process that I began to develop from a young age.

Over the last 13 years we have developed a culture where repeat clients know that we will not let a project fail under any circumstances, we plan for worst case scenarios and celebrate when we succeed as a team.

In December of 2016, Blue River redeemed my partners ownership to allow them to retire. My family infused the company with additional capital and my wife, Kelly Clay joined the company as Vice President. Kelly had also worked with us at our previous company and in addition to marketing, business development and contract administration skills, has extensive background in human resources that will help take Blue River into this next phase of growth.

As we continue forward in our 14th year, we have embraced a mobile, diverse workforce.

As a small company with a national footprint, our field managers (superintendents) work on mission critical projects nationally. Our clients are generally located outside the Atlanta area and this allows our project management staff to conduct business at locations of their choosing. Because our personnel are so dedicated and our trust in them implicit, we allow them the freedom to determine how to manage their work day.

If they desire to spend time volunteering at their kid’s school during the day, and perform certain work tasks at odd hours, that is completely acceptable. They can also work from home if they have sick children, etc. The bottom line is they know what is expected to get the job done and I don’t have to look over their shoulders to ensure that it is being accomplished. They know Kelly, I and the other office staff are there to provide assistance when necessary and know when I need to be involved. I believe this freedom provides for a better work life / balance and as we grow and have more personnel on staff, I hope this will only improve for us all.

When I think about what makes me most proud about Blue River it has to be that we have been able to go 14 years thus far with what I believe is 100% client satisfaction.

This was a somewhat unrealistic goal when we started in 2004, but at this point I see no reason to adjust the goal going forward.

I think what sets us apart from other companies is our team. Many people like to think of construction management as a commodity. But, unlike a widget every project that we construct is a one of a kind – planned, designed and implement undertaking. We have been able to develop a culture where failure is not an option. A team that has the same grit that I developed swimming day in and day out with the Dynamos for a decade. A team that does not quit. A team that I am proud of and that our clients repeatedly compliment. Like every team, we all have strengths and weaknesses. But, our culture is one in which we shore each other up, assist one another instead of competing against one another. It is true TEAM, and it is what sets us apart from our competition. We call it The Blue River Way.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
So many people have played important roles in my life that have brought me to where I am today.

To begin with, my parents have given me untold opportunities throughout my life. It is hard to fathom that I would where I am today without the dedication, resilience, persistence and commitment that they have shown to my continued growth throughout my childhood and continuing throughout my career. Whether it be shuttling me to swim practices and meets through-out my childhood. Ensuring I had the best public schools at the time in DeKalb County, and pushing me to pursue the hard classes and always pushing me to do my best. They helped me developed the grit that has made me who I am. In addition, they have always sacrificed to provide the financial backing I needed to wander through my college experience and later when I wanted to start Blue River and then have our family take full ownership of the organization have been there to provide the support, backing to make it possible; and throughout, my father has been a trusted advisor.

Melanie Jatuso Ford was my first female mentor in construction shortly after leaving college. She showed me that a small female could command respect as a project manager through hard work, dedication and GRIT. She taught me the nuts and bolts of project management and it was a great experience to learn these things from one of the first woman project managers in Atlanta.

Melanie is a shining example to me of what women can accomplish in the construction industry and STEAM careers in general.

Later, Arnie Silverman, became a strong mentor to me as we worked together on the clean-up of a difficult project at Duke University. He taught me to push a construction project, to develop systems to manage it more effectively, to always be responsive in a timely manner, and to MANAGE a project. Later when I worked for him at Silverman Construction Program Management (Silverman) he taught me the importance of developing partnerships with your clients. Although it took me leaving his employment to fully understand the importance of these partnerships, I look back upon my time with Arnie with admiration and appreciation for all that he taught me.

While working at Silverman, one of my first clients, Marjorie Bush, Suzanne Shaffer and Sue Wiggins of St. Jude’s Recovery Center became friends and confidants. Together, they showed me the importance of working for a client that appreciates what hard work and dedication can bring to the construction process. Over the past 20 years, we have developed a partnership of helping each other where we can and I believe they are some of our best cheerleaders. Although as a non-profit, they cannot always afford our professional services, I can always count on them to get out the good word about Blue River, and they can always count on Blue River to be there when they do need us.

Finally, my most important supporter, cheerleader, advocate, AND Teammate is my wife and business partner, Kelly Clay. She has always played an important role in my success and now does so directly within the business. She is my memory at times, my editor, my ethical compass, a sounding board and emotional support whenever necessary.

When my introverted batteries are running low, she puts her extroverted nature to work. She is my ROCK that I tether to when the seas are too rough. Without her, the Blue River team would be working for other people. That is the bottom line.

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Image Credit:
Jonathan Clay
Kelly Clay
Janine Timmermann

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