“Give it your all and just remember, Sargent is partly yours, treat it as such.” -James Burnette
Give a brief description of your career.
I started at Sargent back in September of 1998 as a laborer. From there, I quickly moved up to a rear dump operator for about two to three years. When an opportunity arose for me to hop in a bulldozer, I jumped right in the seat. I’ve been in that seat now for 20 years. There’s no place I’d rather be. The people I work with, and the way Sargent treats its employee-owners, makes it the ideal company to work for. I look forward to many more years here.
What do you like about your position?
I’m the one who gets to make things look pretty. I take a lot of pride in that.
Name a mentor & what you learned/received for wisdom.
I’ve had many mentors over the years that I’m eternally grateful to, but the one person that really comes to mind is Jeff Marsh. Jeff taught me to always look ahead and plan my next move and that has helped me prevent loads of re-work over the years. He’s a great man, and I’m thankful for his wisdom.
What does being an employee-owner mean to you?
For me, it’s very encouraging to know that if my fellow employee-owners and I treat Sargent as ours, it will in turn be very rewarding, not only financially but culturally as well. I love going to work every day knowing that Sargent is partially mine and what work I get done today, brings value to everyone else.
Quote from a co-worker:
Mid Atlantic Regional Operations Manager Justin Porter says, “From commercial sites, to landfills, to airports, James has spent the past 20 years honing his skills as a dozer operator. He has pushed millions of yards of dirt and finegraded thousands of acres across the Mid Atlantic Region. His technical ability and passion for his craft is second to none and he always has a smile doing it.”
