Employee Spotlight: Thomas Collins

Meet Thomas Collins: Eleven Years, Every Kind of Job

Thomas Collins joined TNT about 11 years ago, after 12 years working in a warehouse. He wanted to try something different, and he found it. Thomas started out as a laborer, learned the trade from the ground up, and today he's one of our tuckpointers and a guy everyone wants on their crew.

What keeps him here is the variety. In any given season, Thomas might be:

• Tuckpointing on a church
• Replacing caulking on a high-rise
• Rebuilding a historic masonry wall
• Erecting scaffolding on a clock tower

That last one is where Thomas really stands out. When we have a large scaffold erection on the schedule, he's one of the crew members we lean on to get it erected correctly. On restoration projects, the access plan is one of the key components, so it's great to have Thomas on the job. He helped build the access on some of our more challenging jobs, including the Jasper County Courthouse (you'll spot him in the project photos) and the Iowa City Senior Center.

Ask Thomas about his most memorable job and he'll tell you Nauvoo. That was our historic restoration of the Brigham and Mary Ann Young Home for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo, Illinois, one of the most significant preservation projects we've taken on.

"It's nice to be part of some history."

He's just as clear about his favorite part of the job: the people. Thomas says he likes working with people he gets along with, and doing work he can keep learning from, on the job and off it. That's easy to believe. Thomas gets along with everyone.

Maybe the best sign of how Thomas feels about TNT is who he's brought along. He originally joined our team through his brother-in-law, project manager Mike Lee, and over the years he's brought his nephew and his brother onto the team too. When someone recruits their own family, that says more about a place to work than any job posting could.

Off the clock, Thomas spends his time with his family, on the golf course, playing video games, and taking trips whenever he can.

Eleven years in, Thomas is exactly the kind of versatile, dependable teammate this company is built on. Glad to have you on the crew, Thomas.

Want to build a career in masonry restoration? See careers at TNT, start our general employment application, or get in touch about your building.