By Mary Klett, ASA Communications Team
DeLano Sheffield, Executive Director of Kansas City ASA recommended I chat with Martin T. Rucker II, and find out his Always Something Awesome story. It ends with a doozy.
As with any professional sports player, your life is consumed with getting better and being the best you can be. And Martin did just that, playing professional football for five years, before an ACL tear got him thinking about life after football. He knew he wanted to own his own business, but what would be best suited for him?
So he got to thinking…What do people always need? Healthcare (“Do I really want to go to medical school?”), Funeral homes (“Just can’t do it.”), BBQ (“But I can’t compete with Gates.”), and…construction (“It slows down, but still never ends.”) His mentor suggested Martin meet with Jim Kissick, who owned one of the larger civil contracting companies in the region. Jim advised Martin to come work for him. “Lose a little of my money before you go out on your own and lose all of yours.”
At Kissick Construction Company his first job was installing water lines outdoors in the winter months before the new streetcar lines. After six years, he was a project engineer, in the interim soaking up how to run a business, how the industry works, how projects work. He noticed that there were never enough trucks to haul debris away.
In 2019 he saw his opportunity and bought three trucks. From April through December he hauled asphalt and other construction materials. Just as COVID-19 closed down the country in 2020, he bought nine more trucks. Many businesses closed, and he was able to provide jobs for school bus drivers and others that needed critical income. Martin T. Rucker Development LLC went from 3 employees in January 2020 to 23 in August of 2020, with an impressive 33% female and 60% minority makeup. He has less than that now, but is actively hiring and looking for good employees (hint, hint. Contact mrucker at mruckerdevelopment.com or call 816-237-0015).
Employees typically work solo, so masks and vaccinations are not mandated, although he has stepped up cleaning measures, sanitizing trucks between drivers.
As far as being a member of ASA? “It’s a no-brainer! I spoke to a buddy from college who’s a member, and also chatted with DeLano. He’s got a lot of great ideas, and I look forward to having a positive impact on our chapter.”
A bible version from Proverbs directs his life: “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” And football taught him another lesson – “Never get too high, or too low. Keeping an even keel alleviates a lot of stress.”
He’s going to need those thoughts in the near term, as the most amazing Something Awesome happened on August 14, when the Rucker family welcomed Martin T. Rucker, III into this world.
Welcome, Martin, to the ASA family, and keep being awesome!
Felicia, a school bus driver, joined Martin T. Rucker Development when the pandemic hit and schools were closed.
