1. JEFF TAYLOR » MONROE ROADWAYS
Who: Jeff Taylor joined Monroe Roadways in 2002 in a managing capacity and
became president in 2008.
Where: 300 Hogan Road.
Interesting fact: Taylor is married, and he’s the proud father of four girls. “In
a contractor’s world, you’re working primarily with men, but I’m outnumbered
at home significantly. I’m only the boss at work — not home.”
DIGGING UP BUSINESS
Jeff Taylor was brought up in the con-
struction industry. His father owned a con-
struction business in the ’60s.
Today, he is president and co-owner of
Monroe Roadways, a site contracting com-
pany that’s been in business for 50 years.
Heandhisteamarecurrentlyworkingona
number of projects, including the Univer-
sityofRochester’sCollegeTownandRoch-
ester Institute of Technology’s Gene Polis-
seni Center.
As a site contractor, Monroe Roadways
is responsible for everything that happens
on a site where a building will be — paving,
excavation, underground utilities, land-
scaping and more.
The Gene Polisseni Center will include
a pedestrian plaza outside of the 4,150-seat
arena at RIT. “There are nice landscaping
featurestoenhancetheproject,andbench-
es,seatingandtrashreceptaclesthatwe’re
doing — when it’s all said and done, it’s like
a park out there,” Taylor said.
ThecenterislookingtobecomeLeader-
ship in Energy & Environmental Design-
certified by the U.S. Green Building Coun-
cil. To do so, all the contractors on the job
are required to use LEED-certified build-
ing materials.
“It’s all about … finding use for any-
thing you demolish,” Taylor said. “We take
concrete and asphalt from a demolition
and bring it to local quarries where it’s
crushed and resold, or crushed and turned
back into asphalt again.”
Over at UR, the team — which averages
50 in the busy season and 20 in the offsea-
son — has begun work on College Town,
which will turn 14 acres of university-
owned property into a shopping and dining
destination,withhousing,hotelandconfer-
ence facilities, parking and more.
The site construction company will be
responsible for site demolition, utilities,
paving and more. It will also construct a
new city street running through the pro-
ject, called Celebration Drive.
Eleven years ago when Taylor started
withthecompany,itsfocuswasonbuilding
subdivisions. But with the collapse of the
housing market and the downsizing of the
construction market after Eastman Kodak
Co., Xerox Corp. and Bausch + Lomb Inc.
scaled back, Taylor had to get creative.
“Ithinkwehavemorphedasacompany.
We made adjustments to our workforce
and equipment to think differently, plan
ahead, become more aggressive in our
pricing and provide better service to our
customers,” he said.
Shengulette is a freelance writer cov-
ering the Rochester area.
Monroe Roadways CEO Jeff Taylor stands at the College Town site where his company
is doing road construction. ANNETTE LEIN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Monroe Roadways
working on projects
for UR and RIT
Jinelle Shengulette
TIPS FROM JEFF TAYLOR ON RUNNING A BUSINESS
Exceed expectations. We keep customers informed and involved, provide the highest-
quality product without cutting corners and provide competitive pricing.
Empower employees, and praise their success. We empower employees by getting them
involved with our customers. … Many customers ask for our employees by name when
doing their next project with us.
Trust your instincts — they are seldom wrong. I use my instincts when searching for
projects to bid or negotiating contracts. … My instincts help me find customers that
understand a good value and not only the lowest price.
Enjoy what you do, and do it well.
DemocratandChronicle.com D Sunday, October 13, 2013 Page 3E
Business ConNextions Success stories
and solutions for
small business
To submit your new hires or promotions, use our form at http://on.rocne.ws/OTMove.
LORNA WRIGHT
Company: Genesee Land Trust.
New job: Director of conservation
programs.
Previous job: The Nature Conser-
vancy.
Home: Rochester.
JOSEPH ZACCARDO
Company: Adrian Jules Custom
Clothiers.
New job: Professional wardrobe
consultant.
Previous job: Not provided.
Home: Webster.
SHELDON MEYERS
Company: Rochester Meat Co.
New job: Vice president of market-
ing.
Previous job: JFS/Curtze.
Home: Brockport.
CYBIL J. EVERMAN
Company: Five Star Bank.
New job: Area sales manager, vice
president.
Previous job: Remains branch manager.
Home: Dansville, Livingston County.
LEIGH NORMOYLE
Company: City Blue Imaging.
New job: Supervisor of digital printing
and mail services.
Previous job: Penny Lane Printing.
Home: Conesus, Livingston County.
BILL WOOD
Company: Next Step Education
Group.
New job: Lead developer.
Previous job: Storm Frog.
Home: Chili.
On the move
The
PROfile
Welcome to NextUp, a new weekly
feature that will highlight events
entrepreneurs can use to help run and
grow their businesses. Email ideas to
RocNext@DemocratandChronicle.
com.
Helping hands
Rochesterians like to help. It’s a
big reason why the community ranks
among the best in charitable giving,
volunteerism, mentorship and just
being there for others in need.
Similar helping hands efforts hap-
pen in the business community as
well. This area puts together a hefty
schedule of business seminars and
networking events as well as training
and development sessions. Many of
these are run by volunteers, and some
are even free. Here are three:
Meet other pros
Get out and network at the August
Group’s monthly “mega” networking
event, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
at Johnny’s Irish Pub, 1382 Culver
Road. The monthly networking event
is among several hosted by the volun-
teer organization looking to help pro-
fessionals in the area with a variety of
events, such as career fairs, seminars
and more.
Admission is $6 and includes re-
freshments, pizza and, according to
the website, beer. For more, go to
augustgroup.org.
Learn
Those looking for help starting a
business — or wanting to know more
about funding, marketing, social
media, patents and more — might
want to check out the Entrepreneur’s
Conference Friday hosted by the
Saunders College of Business at
Rochester Institute of Technology.
Headliner Scott Wilson, founder of
Chicago-based branding company
Minimal, will be joined by RIT faculty
and alumni and some local entrepre-
neurs. Registration for the public,
which includes lunch, is $25.
For more information, go to
rit.edu/cob/entconf/2013.
Boot camp
Many local business-
es likely have found
ways to incorporate
technology in the work-
place. Business owners
who want to know more
can turn to a Boot Camp
offered by the Small
Business Council of Rochester.
Bob Dunning and Justin Cope of
Innovative Solutions will lead a Top 10
IT Tips for Small Businesses seminar
at 7:45 a.m. Wednesday at Mario’s
Italian Restaurant, 2740 Monroe Ave.
They’ll explore the latest technol-
ogies to help firms, and more. Admis-
sion is free for members; $25 for
non-members. For more information,
go to rochestersbc.com.
NEXTUP
Bob
Dunning
New column
focuses on help,
events for firms
Staff reports
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