MEET CHARLIE, PROJECT MANAGER
Construction work has been a big part of Charlie Stanphill’s life since he was old enough to swing a hammer. Growing up in Georgia, Charlie followed in his family’s footsteps of building things. “My dad and our extended families had to build or fix everything they had.”
Charlie worked on construction projects at his uncle’s farm or helped his father repair things around the house as a youngster. When it came to recreational activities like go-karts and a treehouse, Charlie had to build them, too.
His building expertise took him to Appalachian State University, where he earned a degree in Building Science. At school, he also studied architecture. “A lot of builders aren’t familiar with the design process, and a lot of architects don’t have as much experience with building.” I can understand and appreciate both sides,” he said.
Working at Beck
Hired two years ago as a project manager at Beck’s Tampa office, Charlie works on higher education and K-12 building projects. He is now involved in the renovation of the Jesuit High School Fine Arts Center, a high-profile project in the city’s building boom. Work on the 122-year-old private Catholic school is slated to be completed at the end of 2022.
Charlie views his role as a “utility player,” a sports term for someone who plays several positions on a team. Besides overseeing construction work, his job has included pre-construction, client relations, and new business development. “I do a lot more than being a project manager,” he said.
He enjoys working at Beck because of its integrated design-build model. This approach allows greater communication and collaboration among designers, builders and the firm’s other employees, resulting in increased efficiencies in constructing buildings. “It really helps to steer a project when the design and construction teams are working together under the same roof.”
Hobbies and Homelife
One of Charlie’s favorite pastimes is taking rafting and kayaking trips on whitewater rivers. He mastered this water sport while working as a river guide on some of the most challenging Class V whitewater rapids in the country while on a hiatus from college. Charlie lived in a camper van that he would take to his river-guiding jobs or elsewhere across the country during the summers.
When Charlie wasn’t giving river tours, he worked at various restaurants, which led him to enroll at culinary school in Charleston, SC. While at Johnson & Wales University, he worked at a local restaurant, Slightly North of Broad (SNOBs), co-founded by celebrity chef Frank Lee, an innovator of the farm-to-table movement.
While he went from cooking soufflés to building schools, Charlie still enjoys preparing meals for his wife, two-year-old son, and relatives. “When you go to culinary school, everyone expects you to do the cooking.”