Member Contractor Spotlight: Mark Maddox Electric Company
Mark Maddox of Mark Maddox Electric Company comes from a family of electricians. He was taught that this trade could take him anywhere. But if he wanted to do it, he needed to become an apprentice. When asked what made him a successful apprentice, Maddox replied, "I wanted to be that apprentice who didn't have to be told twice what to do....I wanted to be dependable."
In 2002, Maddox decided to leave the company he'd worked at for ten years and start his own business. "I wanted to control my own future," said Maddox. So he built Mark Maddox Electric Company from the ground up, creating a team that would function as a family unit. It's no surprise Maddox Electric has been prospering ever since. Mark's 36 years of electrical fieldwork expertise, now focusing on water and waste water municipality, has clearly given him a competitive edge.
When Maddox talks about his work though, it's clear he credits his successes to the strength of his team above all else: "I'm most proud of my guys, not so much the job itself....it's the guys who take that initiative to bring [in] the projects."
His preferred crew is a team that works together, as equals - with one core value: integrity. Maddox describes his most successful team members as self-starters; "Dedication to the trade I think is the strong point....the guys who really like what they do, they just excel....the best employees are those who enjoy their craft, who take pride in their craft, and their willingness to help their team members."
This family-style functionality is one motive Maddox cites when discussing his membership with WECA. "When I spoke with WECA, I felt that they had a more contractor- and employee-friendly group." When I mention that WECA, like Maddox's company, also functions as a team, taking care of our students in and out of the classroom, he declares that he couldn't have put it better himself.
Maddox was quick to offer an important piece of advice to any apprentices looking to replicate his success: "The most important thing an apprentice can do in this day and age is be open to the technical advances that we are experiencing at lightning speed. We have to retrain ourselves constantly....don't lose sight of the continued education you need after becoming a journeyman."