Lick follows father’s footsteps into industry

Listen to this article

When Candia Lick was growing up, she’d use a hammer to straighten out nails for her dad — a carpenter by trade.

He’d give the nails names like six penny, eight penny and 10 penny.

“To me they really were penny nails because for every nail I straightened and put in the coffee can, he gave me a penny,” Lick said.

That formative experience no doubt played at least some part in making her feel comfortable choosing construction as a career after she graduated from Fox Valley Technical College in 2004. She worked for Miron Construction for nine years before being hired by Catalyst Construction in 2013 to be the company’s first project coordinator.

She has since worked on projects whose total value exceeds $100 million. They’ve ranged from hospital renovations to multi-family buildings to a mass-timber tower.

As if that weren’t enough, Lick also oversees the day-to-day operations of Catalyst’s Fox Valley office.

“Catalyst gave me the opportunity when I was hired to define the project coordinator role, responsibilities and processes,” she said. “They have placed their trust and confidence in me to be able to work independently and with our team to make sure all the administrative duties on our construction projects are handled properly. I could not have dreamed up a job that provided a better fit.”

The admiration is mutual. Alyssa Young, business relations coordinator at Catalyst, called Lick “the backbone” of the company’s Neenah office.

“She monitors contracts, keeps track of documents, arranges project schedules, calculates construction costs and handles client relations,” Young said. “Candia has exceptional organizational, time-management and communication skills and is able to juggle multiple projects at one time.”

For Lick, the need for improvement never ends.

“I have always strived to better myself and have received nothing but respect and encouragement from everyone who mattered and made a difference in my life,” Lick said.

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/CvCGRRPTtUQ” title=”YouTube video player” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe>