Founder and owner of Pioneer Millworks, J. Ohhhh plays as hard as he works - on a sunny Friday lunch hour you'll often find him tooling down the muddy inclines of Victor's single track. On the home front, Jonathan enjoys the craziness of family life with witty Sierra beginning adulthood on the west coast, adventurous & quizzical Jake River chasing after Dexter-the-dog and the ever-patient Maxine who manages to keep them all in health, in love and in line.
Jered started with us in 1997 and is an avid fisherman, railroad buff, drummer, and Dad. He and wife Jamie enjoy a good weekend or two around the campfire in the summer with their two boys exploring the nature of fireflies. With a BFA in Interior Design, he helps customers navigate our myriad choices of flooring and millwork products.
It's not everyday we run across someone with not only sawdust in their DNA, but a working knowledge of the character and challenge that is the reclaimed wood niche. Ray has a decade of experience helping architects, designers, and homeowners realize their visions with reclaimed wood. He has skied, hiked, and climbed his way through most of the west coast. The only thing he enjoys more than his hobbies is spending time with his 8 year old daughter Nadia who shares his passion for the great outdoors.
Ross was born and raised on the west coast, leaving only to earn his business degree from Tennessee State and to travel the world and mountain hop to hone his snowboarding skills, of course. Along the way, he lived in a teepee and earned a grand champion prize for pig showing. Outdoor skills aside, we knew Ross would be a natural fit to our sales team as he's spent most of his career helping architects, designers, and builders find sustainable materials for their projects. Now settled in urban Seattle with his wife Abby, daughter Brixton, and baby boy Banks, Ross need only travel down the road a bit to Pike Place Market to bring home the bacon.
Kevin is part of our East Coast sales team dedicated to PA, MD, DE, VA, and DC. He has extensive building construction experience, including owning/running a construction company in Maryland that built over 1,700 houses/townhouses. Builders, Architects, and Home owners appreciate his big-picture knowledge as they incorporate reclaimed wood into their plans. Kevin lives in PA with his wife Beth, their two children Kevin Jr and Kirsten, and the family dog, Tonka. The family is heavy into sports – lacrosse, soccer, swimming, volleyball — so Kevin is often taxi-ing, coaching, and sometimes participating. His personal sporting passion is boating on the Chesapeake Bay, catching the biggest Rockfish he can.
Roblyn is a key memeber of our East Coast sales team. With a degree and loads of experience in residential and commercial interior design, a background in fine tile, and an intense love of remodeling, Roblyn is a favorite among our pro design clients and homeowners. Walking the talk, Roblyn makes a habit of updating her home, over and over again. In between she spends time with Rocco, the sweetest, mean-looking dog ever, reads any book she can grab, and laughs at her cat, Francis.
Chris is responsible for laying a foundation for our west coast sales and project management team members to grow. He came to us with two decades of experience with custom wood projects for major fixture and cabinetry manufacturers. Chris is an avid cyclist and even met his wife, Joy, through a shared passion for riding the road. With two kids already in college, and one about to start, they're looking forward to more riding and the next big thing. Chris regularly competes on a velodrome track in Portland, Oregon where he’s won multiple championships, and earned his share of scratches and scrapes.
Alex takes on many roles a day in the mill and around the office. Often he is creating samples for the sales team, but he also fills in on the production line catching boards, defecting, applying finishes, packaging, and more. From time to time he travels for acquisitions reclaiming timbers/flooring from barns and industrial buildings. Alex has a wicked racquetball serve and (although he tries not to let anyone know, we've found out) he's a great cook!
Don’t let Rick’s gruff exterior and coach’s voice fool you – this Scout Master, youth football coach, amateur sports photographer, golfer, and proud dad of a Marine is the guy we go to when stuff needs to get done. In his past life he was a football star at Alfred University. A team member for well over 10 years, he keeps the mill running smoothly and can identify just about any wood species at a glance.
Michele is a veteran of the days when we were a tiny little operation in Shortsville. She's still with us, though often out of the office digging through a ramshackle building talking the value of timbers with demo-guys. In addition to buying wood, she manages our wholesale sales, and our barn crew. Michele's most happy, however, spending her time with her two beautiful daughters, her guitar riffing son Evan & her Remington 1100, given to her by her beloved Dan.
JoAnna had filled in for us here and there in the past and we're glad to have added her full-time to our group. With her experience in medical/clerical she'll be able to handle our needs with ease. In her spare time, JoAnna enjoys gardening, fishing, and spending time with her two children (Alana and Alex) and husband Ben. She is also an avid quilter.
Gnarly timbers in, clean timbers out. TJ and Carl run some of the biggest bandsaws in the industry, and do so with skill and dedication to quality. A love of showing off the latest pics of the kids, a jam session on the weekends, and the good natured patience it takes to coax the balance of grade and story from each timber they encounter.
It's just board stock until Jeff and Dave turn it into fabulous tongue and groove flooring, or any of the many custom and standard molding profiles we can turn out. Thanks to these precision-minded woodworkers, professional installers and homeowners alike sing their praises noting the quality of the fit. An important feature when you're paying your installer by the hour, or looking to finish your floor quickly.
What to say about this motley crew? Jesse, Dave, Jeff, Andrew, Dave, and Josh are a tough buncha' guys, who work in the cold & the humidity to pull the metal oddities out of the timbers we buy from across the country. They may seem at first rough, but either the close quarters they work in or the team work it takes to do what they do has softened their dispositions to that of an amiable lot.
Steve, Anthony, Ed, and Tony are the guys who take timbers and turn them into blanks for the moulder crew to mill into the flooring you love. They're the ones who decide which grade which board belongs in, they cut out defects, they feed the hog, they play in bands, they fish, they joke, they make for a pretty entertaining bunch.
The barn team spends their time around regional barns investigating the contents and evaluating their worth in wood. They've often been captured on film as siding harvesters, honey gatherers, amateur art collectors, arm wrestlers, or trying to make their way into the latest PBS documentary. A note on barn rescue: If a barn or agricultural building can be saved and left in place, it should, and we're happy to make that recommendation. Unfortunately, time, changes to farming methods and so much more often conspire to suggest other uses for great old barns, otherwise they fall in rot and abandonment. If you know of a building that may be at the end of its life, call us at the Pioneer Millworks office in Farmington, NY or email us.
Josh has the task of having to sort and categorize the timbers that come into our yard as well as manage our inventory system. [Not an easy job when you consider the 9 acres of timbers this guy calls his office.] Amazingly gifted in his ability to identify wood species, he can spot a quality timber from 300 feet, inform you on the latest-coolest-hip-musician and create a fine home brew. To see a hysterically funny tutorial on wood identification visit the Pioneer Millworks' YouTube channel.
The World's Most Eco-friendly Engineered Flooring (and paneling) wouldn't exist without Dan, Cal, Patrick and Carl. These seasoned craftsmen have sawdust in their DNA. Not only do they run our engineered line, they apply custom finishes, make tables and fixtures, handle reclamation of our limited edition stock, make local deliveries, and do just about anything else that needs to be done. Cal and Dan hold a wealth of knowledge that only comes with being key players on our teams for over a decade. Add in photography, fishing, hunting, and storytelling — there is always something to learn from this eclectic bunch.
When Jennifer isn't lurking in the sample rack - you'll find her pouring over the latest industry trends, figures, campaigns and guerrillas [advertising, not Primates]. Inspired by the curiosity of her three boys and her husband Will's rock star musings, it's only on the crystal ski slopes in NY that her body gets to catch up with the pace of her creativity.
A native of the Rochester region, Pam stepped in as our Finance Manager in Farmington NY with positive energy and a contagious smile. Outside of work, Pam and her husband Jeremy are honing their swimming and soccer jargon thanks to their daughter Ella and son Connor’s avid interest in both sports. When she has a free moment Pam can be found shopping – she can hold her own with any bargain hunter – or jogging. Last year she ran her first 5K and we know she’s planning to conquer a few more in 2012.
Karen has been a vital member of our community for 19 years. She's now in "retirement" continuing to help out in our finance department and heading up our Human Relations a few days a week. While she tries to project the personality of a pit bull, once you get to know her she's actually all warm & fuzzy. Grandchildren, amateur dramatics, boating, her duties as a Rotarian and several new volunteer positions fill her time when she's not in the office.
Kori is a member of our finance team supporting both Pioneer Millworks and New Energy Works. She handles all our accounts payable and a handful of other number crunching, bean counting duties. She’s quick to laugh and enjoys stirring things up. A breakfast fiend, she has the office group addicted to breakfast pizza and even the occasional chain-restaurant egg sandwich. Her son, Michael, is a senior in high school and we expect once he’s off to college Kori will fill her free time honing her already formidable billiards skills, sharpening up her dart throwing, and poolside relaxing.
Jan joined our finance group after owning and running a small manufacturing business while acting as assistant manager for the ARC. Needless to say, she can handle most anything thrown her way with ease! When asked about her free time, Jan laughs saying she and her beau Mark have "a bunch of kids!". They spend much of their time camping, geocaching, and hiking with Kay, Nathan, Adam, Michael, and occasionally Joshua (who is now in the Air Force). Jan is also a trustee for a local public library, a good fit as she is an avid reader.
Craig joined us in January '08, after a spell of freelance work. A man of many talents, he's at his best when immersed in the world of colors, shapes & typography, pulling together the elements of design to make our stuff look groovy. If you have any comments about this site, let him know. Outside of work, he's a rock star, (alternative rock) and a Bob Villa wanna be, working tirelessly on his new home. His roots in the upstate NY soil are a little deeper, as he and wife Kathryn have a son, Owen, and their newest addition, baby Violet.
After a good gallop across the countryside on her horse, Megan can be found putting her creativity and multitasking abilities to work in the office. A stickler for making things happen accurately and on time, the only place she lets things slide is at home with her husband. You might hear Megan's voice when you give us a call, but be warned, if you ask about her horse you're in for at least a half hour conversation.
Mike joins us with an extensive background in mechanics and a knack for making things run smoothly. While his passion lies with cars and motorcycles, his skills easily overlap to forklifts, milling machinery, dust collection systems, plumbing, and just about anything that needs to be fixed. A true gearhead, at every opportunity Mike along with loyal canine companion Holly, continues to tweak his dragster (currently running an 8 second 1/4 mile) and customize a few other car-centric projects.
What could be better than an enthusiastic doggie greeting? If you visit in NY you'll likely be greeted by Charlie, Betty, Henry or Sprocket. Charlie is our official office greeter. Guests are met by a wet nose against their hands, his big brown eyes and constantly wagging tail. While visiting us in the office has to be one of Charlie's favorite things (who wouldn't like getting pet and treats from everyone!) he also loves chasing his red Frisbee.
