James Taylor, Jr. named the 2010 Richard H. Hagemeyer Award recipient

by Kathy Rummage — last modified 2010-05-18 14:57

CPCC alumnus honored for contributing to quality of life for U.S. military personnel and mentoring young professionals

 Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) announced today that James “Jim” Taylor, Jr., president of the Military Housing division of Balfour Beatty Construction, is the 2010 recipient of the prestigious Richard H. Hagemeyer Educational Advancement Award. The award recognizes a former CPCC student who has significantly benefited from experiences at the College and whose efforts have helped the community. Taylor will be recognized at CPCC’s commencement ceremony on May 18 and a one-year scholarship will be granted to a CPCC student in his honor.

Taylor graduated from Garinger High School in 1969 and attended CPCC but left after one year to join the U.S. Navy. For two years, Taylor served as one of the “Seabees” from the Navy’s Construction Battalion; his tour took him through several locations, including Vietnam and Guam. When Taylor returned to the U.S., he headed back to CPCC attending on the GI bill and graduating in 1974 with an Associate Degree in Civil Engineering.

After graduation Taylor worked for J.A. Jones Construction Company, where he began his career as a field engineer and progressed to the role of senior vice president/chief operating officer. Then in 2001, Taylor moved to Atlanta to establish an office for Balfour Beatty Construction, a world-class engineering, construction services and investment company headquartered in London. In 2008, Taylor was named president of the newly-formed, Atlanta-based Military Housing division, where he is responsible for the oversight of preconstruction services, marketing, estimating, project management, staffing, strategic planning, scheduling, procurement and business development.

“We’ve been able to elevate the housing and improve the lives of men and women who defend our way of life,” Taylor said. “We feel we’re a very important part of providing quality of life.” To date the company has built about 5,000 homes with some 10,000 more under contract. “It is rewarding to me to see something on a piece of paper, then to go out to the field and see an empty lot, then at the end of the project to know you’ve created something from nothing.”

CPCC instilled a passion in Taylor that he brings to everything he does. He puts that same passion into mentoring young professionals, paying forward what so many in the Charlotte community and at CPCC did for him, including one special instructor, Retired Colonel Sam Williams. In fact, Taylor considers it one of his most important jobs to serve responsibly as a role model to a younger generation of workers. “The most rewarding thing to me is to see young people come in and grow in the business, “Taylor said.  

“I had people who were important to me in my construction career early on. I think that’s what instilled in me, in my career, that it’s important to mentor young people.”

The award is named after Dr. Richard H. Hagemeyer, CPCC president for 23 years, who led the College from a trade school with 1,200 students to the state’s largest community college. Previous award winners include Elaine Lyerly, Gary Mims, Ronald Caldwell, Sheriff Jim Pendergraph, Dr. Margaret Stanley Hagan, Paul Griffin, James White, Joe Weatherford, Chief Luther Fincher, Dr. Kenny Welch, Frances Queen, Richard Zollinger, Stanley Law, Cindy Castano and Fabi Preslar.

To learn more about the Richard H. Hagemeyer Educational Advancement Award, please visit www.cpcc.edu/foundation/alumni.