After reviewing this year's Legacy Award nominations for the Southwest region, ENR editors have named Mike Greenawalt, Rosendin CEO, as ENR Southwest's 2024 Legacy Award honoree.
During his 45-year career in the construction—which he started out as a journeyman wireman—Greenawalt spent 21 years with Rosendin, including serving as company CEO from 2019 until 2023.
In a letter of recommendation submitted to ENR, Rosendin Chairman Tom Sorley wrote: "Beginning his career in the field as a journeyman wireman, Mike has literally 'done it all' and has brought those life/work experiences to bear in the programs the company has developed for safety, training/development as well as innovation and technological advancement.
Sorley went on to state that "Mike looked for Rosendin to 'set the standards' for the construction industry and share those standards with others."
A couple of Greenawalt's numerous career accomplishments show his interest in attracting more people to the construction industry, and to ensuring that those men and women worked safely.
For instance, to address the issue of workforce shortages, Greenawalt partnered with Grand Canyon University in Phoenix to develop a pre-apprenticeship program for university students. According to his Legacy Award nomination, this program is now being modeled by Arizona’s Dept. of Education to create learning opportunities under the new Arizona Education and Economic Commission, of which Mike is a founding member.
Additionally, in 2017, after noticing an increase in injuries and safety risks caused by lighter, portable band saws, Greenawalt assembled a team and came up with an idea for a two-handed band saw with safety features that could not be overridden. He partnered with DeWALT to manufacture the saw for Rosendin and made it publicly available to improve all workplaces. As ENR reported, that innovation served as the centerpiece of Rosendin's recognition with the AGC of America and Willis Towers Watson – Construction Safety Excellence Award in 2019.
ENR Southwest readers can learn more about 2024 Southwest Legacy Award honoree Mike Greenawalt and some of his other accomplishments in our upcoming January 16 print issue.
