Stadiums, high rises, retail complexes, medical offices, hotels – the list of construction projects is endless. The building of each structure requires many teams of workers, but it is the design of the outward façade that attracts the eye and that gives each structure its character. So who makes sure that the beauty and personality of each building is captured? Joe Hoyle has fulfilled this role for many such endeavors and is currently working as Senior Project Manager for John W. McDougall Co., Inc., headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.

“When I was in high school and for some time after,” he reflects, “I really had no idea what I might like to pursue as a career. Right after high school, I worked for a while as a dietary aide at Autumn Care, but I soon realized that I wanted more out of my life. I had really enjoyed East Burke art classes like those taught by Jeff Sigmon and Roseanne Pritchett, and many of my friends had enrolled in Western Piedmont Community College, so it seemed like something I should do as well.”

After earning both an Associate’s Degree in Fine Arts and an Associate’s Degree in Arts from WPCC, Joe went on to UNC-Charlotte to study architecture. “It was there in architecture classes, where my work was judged compared to my fellow students, that my competitive nature helped me to succeed. I really enjoyed the open-ended seminar and studio classes. I liked the unstructured way that students could work on projects in the studio at any time of the day or night and for as long as needed. It was a competitive atmosphere, and it inspired me.”

Joe earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Architecture in 2011 and a Bachelor of Architecture in 2013 and went right to work after college for Eastern Cladding Services, Inc., in Charlotte, a company that specialized in fenestration, the “envelope” that encapsulates a building, including windows, doors, and the metal panel system. Cladding is the covering or coating of a structure, and it is a construction specialty that requires an artistic eye as well as architectural knowledge. Joe began as an estimator and was later promoted to assistant project manager. “My job was to manage preconstruction duties such as submittals, material requisitions, and consumer correspondence according to the estimate I made for the project.”

In 2015, he moved on to MillerClapperton, a construction company based in the Atlanta area, where he served as a project manager. “My duties involved managing panel projects right from the ‘kickoff’ to completion. I reviewed contractual documents and specifications, performed estimates on all projects, and managed the schedule of values and all submittals. I attended all required jobsite meetings and checked drawings while troubleshooting details. These tasks along with others helped guide the project until it was contractually complete.”

After a successful time at MillerClapperton, Joe wanted to move nearer home and returned to Eastern Cladding as a senior project manager. “My assigned task was to build the company, to revamp the engineering, manufacturing, estimating, and project managing departments.” While there he managed a team and coordinated all the work awarded to the company. Through his strategic hiring and training, the company was able to complete nearly three hundred projects in three years with fewer than twenty personnel. When Eastern Cladding was bought by NC Interiors Contracting, Joe focused on training and growth, supervised multiple project managers, and coordinated all the work through all of the departments for the company, which often included more than fifty projects at any one time. While there, he increased the company’s contracts tenfold and expanded their value by millions of dollars. “It was a real pleasure to work with, train, and maintain such great employees and to help the company grow.”

His most recent move is to the John W. McDougall Co., Inc., based in Nashville, so Joe divides his time between Nashville and Belmont. He will continue to manage projects such as high rises, stadiums, and large commercial endeavors valued at tens of millions of dollars.

Joe further explains his role. “I am not a construction person. I do not work on the building myself. I manage the fenestration of each project by talking with the architects and owner to supervise the scope and schematics of the design. I work with engineers, drafters, programmers, everyone. It’s my job to push everything along and to get the tasks completed successfully and on time. Over the years, I have supervised the fenestration of many structures including several high rises in Charlotte. The costs of projects have ranged from $20,000 to multi-millions of dollars.”

The projects that Joe has supervised are far too numerous to name, but some of the more recognizable ones include the luxury high rise apartment complex at 1200 Figuroa Street in downtown Los Angeles next to the Staples Center; the new Omni Hotel complex in the Battery near the Atlanta Braves stadium; The Square at South End in Charlotte, which is a ten-story mixed-use development at the corner of Tryon Street and West Boulevard; Elevation Church in Charlotte and Concord; the renovation of Campbell Stadium at Florida State University; and the expansion of the Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, home of the Sooners.

“I really enjoy working. I think part of my success has come because I am able to look at the entire project objectively and to know exactly where I am.”

In addition to his specialized training and management experience, Joe also uses his creative skills by designing and making furniture and is a skilled stained-glass artisan.

Joe’s successful career and his other creative pursuits are excellent examples of how interests, time, and circumstance can lead a person along a pathway that he never suspected he would travel.

Published January 2022