Meet CAGC’s Top Young Leader Award Recipients for 2018
Carolinas AGC (CAGC) presented Top Young Leader Awards to Traci Griswold Strickland (Eldeco, Inc.) and Tyler Turnbull (Catalyst Surety Partners, LLC) at this year’s Summer Summit & Expo at Jekyll Island, Ga. CAGC’s Top Young Leader Award recognizes those who play critical roles in the community and professional arenas of the construction industry.
“Carolinas AGC is very proud to recognize Traci Griswold Strickland and Tyler Turnbull as our recipients for the 2018 Top Young Leaders Awards, representing the best of the best,” said Dave Simpson, Carolinas AGC President and CEO. “Our Young Leaders program now has grown to more than 100 members and it is extremely important for the construction industry to help prepare our next generation of leaders for the great careers and opportunities that are out there.”
Traci Griswold Strickland, Office and Marketing Manager for Eldeco, Inc., Greenville, S.C., moved from the medical field to the construction industry when she joined Eldeco, Inc. in 2005. She started out as a receptionist and has worked her way up to handling just about everything, from general office administration to the company-wide marketing efforts. Out of the many responsibilities Traci has at Eldeco, her favorite and most rewarding is working with the next generation in construction. Traci is fortunate to be able to work with young and upcoming talent at Eldeco, as well as through her experiences as a member of the Carolinas AGC Board of Trustees and Vice-Chair of Young Leaders. She has served on the CAGC Young Leader’s action team for two years and will serve as our Chair in 2019.
Tyler Turnbull, Partner with Catalyst Surety Partners, LLC, Charlotte, N.C., was exposed to the construction industry at an early age by spending a couple of summers during his high school years working for a family friend’s residential remodeling company. After graduating from The Ohio State University with a degree in Finance, he found his way back to the construction industry, but in a different capacity – as a construction surety bond underwriter. Tyler spent the better part of a decade as a bond underwriter for Travelers and Liberty Mutual – the two largest surety companies in the United States. As a bond underwriter, Tyler was responsible for assessing the surety’s risk for contractors ranging from start-ups to ENR Top 25 companies.
In 2014, Tyler and fellow bond underwriter Scott Pelin founded Catalyst Surety Partners – an independent insurance agency that exclusively focuses on providing surety bonds. Since the agency’s formation, Catalyst has leveraged their team’s bond underwriting expertise to help over 200 contractors enhance their bonding capabilities.
While Catalyst Surety Partners is technically a service provider to contractors, their agency’s success depends largely on the well-being of the construction industry. As a result, Catalyst seeks to support the overall construction industry in any capacity possible. One way they achieve this is through their support of CAGC. Tyler’s involvement and activity in CAGC includes currently serving on CAGC’s Board of Directors; currently serving as Chair of the Supplier Council; acting as a member of the Supplier Council since 2014; serving as a member of the Young Leader’s Action Team from the inception of the Young Leader’s group through 2017; along with stints on various other CAGC Committees and teams over the past few years.
