a snowy mountain tops with a meteor in the sky

Rising into the Unknown

Life is a journey, let’s chase the summits and relish the adventure all along the way.

latest adventure posts

Minnesota 2027 Expo bid Committee

I am honored to serve as co-chair of the Minnesota 2027 Expo bid committee. The bid committee and I were privileged to officially present our candidature to the BIE (Bureau International Exhibitions) today at the General Assembly in Paris. Bringing the “Healthy People, Healthy Planet” themed expo to America will provide tremendous opportunities for public diplomacy, business engagement, and political discourse that we need to achieve the world’s ambitious health and sustainability goals. I’ve enjoyed reconnecting with my many friends from Expo 2020 Dubai and making new acquaintances within the BIE while in Paris, including the Mayor of Busan Park Heong-joon, Director, International Expositions Unit at the State Department James Core, Prime Minister of South Korea Han Duck-soo, Chairman of SK Group Chey Tae-won, and the ministers at BIE in Paris.

Recognizing Pride and the LGBTQ+ Community

A big part of social progress is recognizing that people cannot be defined by one aspect of their life, whether that is gender, sexuality, or even race. This Pride Month, we celebrate the LGBTQ+ community by striving to provide equal opportunity and safe environments for people from all walks of life. At Clayco, we believe in more than constructing buildings, we believe in building welcoming communities. I’m proud of the work we’ve done at Clayco to advocate for change, including the creation of Clayco Rising – the most comprehensive diversity and inclusion program in the construction industry. This initiative is the culmination of 25 years of creating meaningful prospects and enduring structural change for our teams, minority-owned and women-owned business partners, and the communities where we live and work. The sector has a long way to go to improve LGBTQ+ inclusion, but we strive every day to provide a workplace that is inclusive, equitable, and offers a shared sense of belonging.

The Need for U.S. Gun Reform

An American Gun Crisis America is unique in our freedom of guns and the number of people, particularly children, killed by gun violence. We have been over lobbied, falsely told that our guns will be taken away, and bullied into an untenable situation whenever the topic of gun reform arises. Guns don’t make us safer, they make us the least safe developed nation in the world. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released data that showed 2020 had the highest rate of U.S. gun-related deaths in more than 25 years – a jump of 35%.

CRG Raises $450 Million for National Projects

CRG, Clayco’s development arm, officially raised $450 million as part of its U.S. Logistics Fund II. This will help build even more projects within the industrial sector. It’s exciting on many fronts, and I couldn’t be more proud of my son Shawn for leading this initiative and exceeding the initial goal.

The Clark Family Branch St. Louis Library

The Clark family is humbled to be able to do something that will impact generations to come by donating $6 million to the new St. Louis County Library Headquarters. Libraries are the cornerstones of the community and are more relevant than ever post-pandemic. My family and I joined the St. Louis County Library Director & CEO Kristen Sorth, members of the Library Board, and the St. Louis County Library Foundation on May 24th as we announced the project. Together, we plan to evolve public libraries and invest in their limitless potential.

Clayco Named One of St. Louis’ Best Places to Work

Clayco just made the St. Louis Business Journal’s 2022 list of Best Places to Work in the giant company category, amongst other industry leaders such as CarShield, Cushman & Wakefield, and Stifel. This is an honor that we’re really proud of. Every year, the St. Louis Business Journal’s Best Places to Work program is designed to identify and highlight the companies that stand out for having the best workplace perks and the strategies they have adopted to attract and retain top talent. Clayco was acknowledged for offering a challenging, creative work environment where our team members trust the people they work for, have pride in what they do, and enjoy the people they work with. Our flexible working arrangements and employee benefits were also key factors.

ADVENTURE

Building Buttercup

a fence in a field with trees in the background

I can’t describe the powerful emotion I felt at this moment, for everything lost and gained in my whole life. It was a spiritual experience, from my heart.

ADVENTURE

Climbing Capitol Peak

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Adventure

Adventure is in my DNA

Ever since I read the stories of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, I’ve looked at all of my life as an adventure. Listening and learning from my father was amazing story in history over the course of 40 years taught me that adventure was in my DNA at conception.

I’ve always been able to keep calm and have a level head and every situation I can remember. The only exception of this rule is that I don’t believe a person should not panic if they’re drowning. I would definitely drown panicking.

Beyond that all of life’s twists and turns good and bad ecstatic or heartbroken all add up to the different color crayons in your crayon box. That was a quote from my dad upon hearing some shocking news about my own colorful life.