The week of March 8-12 celebrates Women in Construction, raising awareness for the growing roles of women in the industry and the contributions they make in the office and field. We are proud to highlight two women at Enterprise Commercial Paving who bring expertise and professionalism to our business.
Kimberly Cramer, our Controller, has been with ECP for almost 3 years. She manages the day-to-day accounting department activity, including managing lien notices, customer terms, sub-contractors, accounts payable, job costs, payroll and inventory. The key in construction is to work closely with Operations. What happens in the field impacts what will happen in the accounting department. This is essential to keep the company moving in the direction designed by the leaders of ECP and hit company goals. As a small team, Kimberly’s group also wears many hats, and helps with HR, safety and other projects that serve ECP’s staff and customers.
Having 10 years in the construction industry, Kimberly has seen the role of women evolve. Her hat is off to the many women in construction, both in the office and in the field making it happen. Kimberly attributes her team’s success to an experienced staff who knows how to switch gears quickly. “During the past 12 months with all of the additional challenges, my team has not lost traction in servicing our customers whether on the payables or receivables side. The experienced men and women at ECP know how to pivot quickly and navigate challenges.” says Kimberly.
Kippi Graves serves on the accounting team as AR/Contract Administrator. She has been at ECP for 2 years, handling all of the contracts and MSA’s, billing and accounts receivable. She brings 25 years of experience of accounting in the construction industry.
Kippi has also seen a growing number of opportunities for women in the industry. “Over my 25 years in construction, I’ve seen more women owned minority businesses and women in executive positions, in the office and out in the field. When I started as a ‘Field Secretary,’ I was the only woman onsite for the General Contractor as well as the subcontractors. Today I’m seeing more women listed as field point of contact (project managers, estimators, document management).” says Kippi.
She has also seen women’s titles change in a positive way such as “Secretary” to “Admin” to “Executive.” She has seen firsthand how more professional titles can motivate employees to take pride in their positions and work harder.
We are thankful for the contributions from Kippi and Kimberly not only to ECP’s staff and customers, but to the construction industry in the Greater Houston Area and beyond. We support the growth of women in construction and tip our hats to all females in construction.