Employee Spotlight
Tom Johnson, Project Manager
Tom Johnson, AFG Project Manager and Historic Preservation Subject Matter Expert, has reached a milestone anniversary of 10 years with AFG. Tom has been providing his expertise on federal projects throughout the Washington DC Metro area for over 40 years, and has led 3 separate CMAA Project of the Year Award winning projects throughout his time with AFG.
Congratulations on 10 years with AFG! How did you come to work with us?
My journey started in 1999, when I answered a newspaper ad in the Washington Post for a construction Inspector. My interview was with Paul Szmurlo at ANADAC. My employment with ANADAC led me to the White House Service Center and several company mergers, including IDENTEX and later ALION. Then, in 2005, ALION lost the contract with the White House Service Center, and my employment was terminated. I found employment with Jacobs Engineering until 2015, where I met with Paul Szmurlo (AFG Vice President, retired) and became an AFG employee.
How did you become interested in the A/E/C industry?
Before entering the United States Air Force in 1966, I worked for a Local General Construction Contractor. After retiring from the United States Air Force in 1987, I started my own company, Manor House Restoration (Historic Restoration of House and Building), mostly in the Annapolis and Baltimore, MD area.
In 1990, I became a volunteer for the Department of Natural Resources, assessing historic houses for restoration consideration. In 1991, I became the curator of circa 1805 Sandy Point Manor, which required a 100% Restoration.
What has been your favorite project?
The Netherland Carillon, the privilege to work on a monument/dedicated gift from a foreign country to the United States of America and dedicated to the men and women of the United States who gave their lives for the liberation and freedom of that country, was personal to me, being a military veteran of a foreign war.
It was meeting and working with the bell restoration crew and the installers from the Netherlands, as well as meeting the diplomats from the Netherlands and the embassy.
What has been the most challenging project that you successfully managed?
The most challenging Project was the Sydney Yates Building Exterior Façade Restoration.
Finding 3200 bricks of circa 1890 or matching the red and black mortar. After searching hundreds of brick farms throughout the United States, I was able to find a small company, Stone Art in Church Hill, TN, to which I sent 3 bricks. They returned 3200 matching color and composite bricks. This same project, Atlantic R&R, had to match the original red and black mortar. With the help of John Greenwalt Lee, conservator, and concrete company Earnest Maier, after twenty separate mixings, a match to the red and black mortar was achieved. The collaboration of these individuals ensured we were able to complete the project on time and within budget.
Plus, AFG won the CMAA award in 2018!
Outside of your work, where can we find you?
I could be found:
- volunteering for the Department of Natural Resource Curatorship program, or at the American Legion in Grasonville, MD, on the Eastern Shore
- fishing the Chesapeake
- frequenting golf courses, or
- attending Classic car shows
Truly, I can be found at Sandy Point Manor in Sandy Point State Park, Annapolis, MD — come visit!
Do you have any advice for those just starting out in AEC?
My advice is first to enjoy your job.
Be versatile, expand, and understand how each trade interfaces and conflicts with the other. Don’t be discouraged from asking for help and talking with others in the company; there is a lot of knowledge in AFG.
Don’t be an island that stands alone.