Tracy Fox Construction Testimonial

by Ben Watters

Can you imagine going from factory work to a home builder? Well, that is exactly what Tracy Fox did when he started by building his own home. As a factory worker, Tracy had that entrepreneur spirit and because he had a favorable schedule he could also moonlight as a remodeling contractor building decks, replacing roofs, and room additions.

It was this foundation of knowledge that gave Tracy the courage to build his own home. After the successful build of his own house, Tracy started getting opportunities to build custom homes. People loved the fact that Tracy was an on-the-job builder, supervising and managing sub-contractors and seeing to it that all was done at a high level of competence.

While on the job, Tracy developed the skill of a trim carpenter which helped him manage others while he was putting the finishing touches on the home.

Soon Tracy was having more success and building high-end homes with fabulous finishes. In 2003, Tracy would need to make a major decision of whether to leave the security of the factory to build more homes. His business had grown so much it was now time to leave the factory and build full time. Tracy said “after much prayer and consultation” he gave the factory his two weeks’ notice and resigned.

Tracy was on his own and couldn’t help but reflect on his dad as a self-employed small engine mechanic. Tracy’s father had always encouraged him as a boy to experiment with wood and put the puzzle together as he built rudimentary go-carts and treehouses for self-fulfillment. This experimentation gave Tracy the foundation he needed to succeed as a builder.

In the early days, Tracy was also encouraged by his Father-in-law that he could do this. He told Tracy that “You’ve got to treat people right”. Tracy has never forgotten this and uses it as he works with his customers to build super high-end homes. There is a trust that soon develops between Tracy and his clients. As they see how Tracy takes care of their build they soon trust Tracy with more and more of the major decisions.

Tracy knows that his success is also dependent on having the very best Sub Contactors and a skilled and dependable carpenter crew. The lead carpenter, Gary Lester is quickly developing the same skill and attention to detail that Tracy has. After Tracy had a major fall last year Gary stepped in and has proven to be irreplaceable as a key player in Tracy’s business.

Talk about trust, Tracy learned early on that having a dependable partner like Bender Lumber and their professional sales rep Terry Dodson was also a key to his success. Tracy reminisced about a time that he had to build a post-framed building and could not purchase the material from Bender Lumber. The material came in but it was impossible for the material to be delivered to the remote jobsite. Tracy leaned on his friends at Bender Lumber to bail him out of some trouble. Ed Craig the Bender Lumber store manager and Terry Dodson devised a scheme to unload the material and then deliver it to the jobsite on smaller more maneuverable equipment. Tracy knew Bender Lumber was his partner and would do almost anything to help him to be successful.

Tracy says that his Bender Lumber sales rep is so knowledgeable about his business. Terry Dodson anticipates the next move and often calls to see when the shipment should arrive on the jobsite just in time for workers to get started.

Tracy is planning on many more years of successful construction projects as he partners with Bender Lumber. The partnership between Bender Lumber and Tracy Fox is truly a winning combination.