Caring at the core of Barnhart’s work

Estimator of the Year
Mark Barnhart – VJS Construction

Mark Barnhart – VJS Construction

With more than 15 years’ experience in the industry, Mark Barnhart is an invaluable member of the VJS Construction Services estimating team.

In the past year, he has overseen VJS’s adoption of a new estimating software system. He has also spent many hours developing assemblies and writing formulas to make sure his employer would be successful once the software was in use. This was a full-time job in itself, and yet Barnhart managed to continue carrying out all of his original estimating duties.

Ryan Riemenschneider, chief estimator at VJS, said if he had to use one word to describe Barnhart, it would be “caring.”

“He cares about the work he produces and the work produced by VJS,” Riemenschneider said. “His time at VJS reflects his caring. I met Mark through one of his friends as a referral. From our first conversation, I knew I wanted to work with him. At the time I was not able to hire him, but we stayed in contact over the next year, and then we were finally able to work together.

“I have known Mark for almost a decade and his caring and compassionate manner inspires me to work to improve our team and myself. He is a person I can count on to get things done when we’re in a pinch, and I know that he will do his best with anything he does.”

Barnhart said he became interested in the construction industry through classes he was taking in high school.

“I was lucky enough to foster that interest while still in high school when I was hired by a commercial roofing and sheet metal company to help with takeoffs and drafting,” he said. “I continued to develop in that role through college and was hired by a general contractor as an estimator soon thereafter. I have been in estimating ever since, and it is a job I truly enjoy.”