The DEWALT Patriot Scholarship, now in its third year, was created to recognize two veterans, or those who are currently serving in the United States Military, who have valiantly served their country and have chosen to enter a career in the construction industry. Thank you to DEWALT for honoring our military and to our scholarship recipients for their service to our country. These two special scholarships were presented at the MCAA Awards of Excellence Breakfast in Orlando on March 20th by Jon Howland (U.S. Navy Veteran) and Greg Polk.
Jeff Woodard served in the U.S. Navy for five years as a Hospital Corpsman, attaining the rank of Hospital Corpsman Third Class (E4). His entire military career was spent as a field medical service technician with USMC infantry and special operations units and consisted of multiple deployments. While deployed, his job centered around combat medicine, humanitarian aid, and casualty evacuation.
Jeff is studying Construction Management and anticipates graduating in May 2026 from the University of Nebraska’s Omaha campus. This summer, he is interning with MCAA Member, Mainelli Mechanical Contractors.
“When thinking of company values that are appealing to me, the first that comes to mind is one I learned in the military – servant leadership. I don’t mean that I expect a leader to be subservient, but that their leadership style comes from a place of mutual respect and a shared vision. Leaders who keep their employees accountable and encourage them to be the best version of themselves on whatever project they’re working on are conducive to getting the best results and maintaining job satisfaction.
Then a second value that I find important is work-life balance. I’m married and have two sons. I like work and look forward to getting into an industry that will change and push me, but in order to get the best work out of people, they also need time to decompress and play catch with their kids.
As a new construction management student, many of the meetings, classes, and webinars that I’ve been invited to with my student chapter have already presented me with more knowledge about specific industry practices and procedures than many of my classes. Topics ranging from How to Read Drawings to more broad subjects like Project Engineering Fundamentals for people new to the industry have both confirmed my decision to pursue mechanical contracting and given me a head start on the material that I will be expected to learn along the way. I hope one day to be able to put back into the organization to help future students because of how beneficial the MCA has already been for me.”
MCAA and the John R. Gentille Foundation congratulate Jeff on this prestigious scholarship and thank DEWALT for their commitment to supporting students interested in pursuing a career in the mechanical contracting industry.
