PATRIOT designed and constructed the Living Legacy Pavilion and the Fallen Soldier Statue, part of the Living Legacy Forest at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD.

PATRIOT team members participating in the Monument To Monument Run To Honor.

PATRIOT, headquartered in Dunkirk, Maryland, was founded in 2009 by military veterans John Gilmore and Matt Timbario. John and Matt began this journey as a small business with a vision of creating future growth and opportunities. Today, PATRIOT is a large business that has remained true to its values of trust, quality and safety. This has led to the team’s growth into a full-service facilities and infrastructure provider, delivering complex construction projects.

The team has grown to 90 employees, coast to coast, many of them veterans—appropriate as the company started as both a certified 8(a) small business and a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business.

During 12 years of continued growth, PATRIOT has completed over 900 projects in 30 states, including more than 450 in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area from large-scale renovations to new, ground-up construction. The company’s founders remain active in day-to-day operations and management.

“We started in the federal sector as a government contractor, says Missy Hyatt, Marketing Director. “Because of the quality of our work, we were increasingly awarded projects outside of the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area.” As the number of contracts increased, the staff grew, adding project managers and superintendents—and new locations that include a central regional office in Lenexa, Kansas, and a Pacific regional office in Tacoma, Washington. The company also has a satellite office in Aberdeen, Maryland, and maintains onsite project delivery offices at many job sites.

Commercial Construction Expansion

PATRIOT has expanded its reach into the commercial construction market—leveraging previous experience with design-bid-build and design-build projects and working on jobs with architectural and engineering firms from inception to delivery.

Director of Commercial Business Development Jim Wilson joined PATRIOT three years ago as part of the company’s diversification into commercial construction. His 35 years of industry experience include managing and overseeing complex renovations and new construction projects across several markets.

“Our commercial business is growing, including projects for retail clients such as Starbucks and Lidl, office renovations for Edward Jones, and the construction of a yoga studio.” says Jim. Additional clients include state governments and local municipalities.

PATRIOT is an Authorized Builder with Nucor, one of the largest U.S. steel companies providing pre-engineered buildings. “Pre-engineered and modular building will represent an increasingly important part of building with precision, and our future growth,” Jim says.

Health Care Construction

“Health care has been, and continues to be, our largest market,” says Jim. “Our continued growth in this market is based on our focus on customer service, employee education and satisfaction, and delivering projects on time and within budget.”

In addition to health care projects nationwide, PATRIOT recently collaborated with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop cost-effective, mass-produced individual containment units to accommodate acute care treatment of COVID-19 patients. As a result, PATRIOT was a 2021 award winner of the Associated General Contractors Construction Innovation Awards for these efforts, according to Missy.

PATRIOT converted storage containers typically used to temporarily store furniture into single-room, intensive care-type units for COVID-19 patients. Each unit is fully equipped with electrical, heating and cooling, and negative pressure, similar to a patient room in an intensive care unit. PATRIOT engineered and outfitted in only eight days the first six units, which were shipped to the United Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

The success of this pilot project launched PATRIOT Spaces, a division of PATRIOT, providing cost-effective individual containment solutions for pandemic support and a range of applications, from disaster relief shelters to walk-up and drive-up testing services.

“Upon receiving additional orders, we value-engineered the units, added sinks and other upgrades, and determined how to containerize all of the components to transport them without damage,” says Jim. PATRIOT built and shipped nearly 100 units across the country, including to Johns Hopkins Medicine, Kaiser Permanente and UCLA Medical Center.

An earlier success was PATRIOT’s construction of the new Women’s Health Pavilion at the Washington, D.C. VA Medical Center. “We were excited to be a part of this pilot program to support female servicewomen and veterans,” says Missy. PATRIOT renovated and constructed about 8,000 square feet of space to provide critical care, exam rooms, mammography imaging, office space, and education and training rooms, all dedicated to female patient care.

Projects with Purpose

The company designed and constructed two structures in 2019 at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland: the Living Legacy Pavilion and the Fallen Soldier Statue, which are part of the Living Legacy Forest.

The pavilion includes 11 arches, each measuring 9 feet by 11 feet, in remembrance of 9/11. The pavilion and its surrounding grounds are used for memorial ceremonies and other events, including the Aberdeen Proving Ground Monument To Monument Run To Honor, a 5K run/walk that honors and supports America’s Gold Star Families—loved ones who are grieving the loss of military members through active duty service. PATRIOT team members participate in the annual 5K race.

At Arlington National Cemetery, PATRIOT replaced the entire underground water system, while preserving historical and sacred grounds in the busiest part of the cemetery, including the area near the Tomb of the Unknown Solider. It was a passion project for the company.

“The traditional approach to replacing this infrastructure would involve open trenching, digging along water lines to remove and replace the pipes,” says Missy. It’s a messy and intrusive process, she says. Instead, PATRIOT used a different method: underground horizontal boring.

Two years ago, PATRIOT completed the ground-up, new construction of the Liberty Building at the Kansas City VA Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The 34,000-square-foot mental health facility assists and treats veterans with post-traumatic stress and addiction-related health disorders. “Anytime PATRIOT can be part of a project that benefits the community and our veterans specifically, we jump at the chance,” says Missy.

Partnerships with Subcontractors

Subcontractor relationships are a critical factor of PATRIOT’s success. “Our relationships with subcontractors are instrumental to the timely completion and quality of all PATRIOT projects,” says Jim. “We work with some of the best subcontractors in the industry.”

PATRIOT places emphasis on building relationships with its subcontractors. “We believe in treating our contractors well by always giving our full support to ensure jobs are performed and completed correctly,” says Jim. “Ultimately, the goal is delivering the best product for the client.”

To that end, PATRIOT’s subcontractor prequalification process is fast and easy. “The form on our website is submitted directly to our Estimating Management Team,” says Missy. “We review, qualify, determine the best fit for a contractor’s capabilities, and then invite them to bid on future projects.”

Hire Right, Promote from Within

“We promote a renewable success culture,” says Missy. “We hire top talent who mentor entry-level and new employees, provide ongoing education and training, and create opportunities for growth. It’s a renewable cycle.”

Employees are committed to a “one team, one fight” mindset, Jim says. “If one department needs assistance with a bid, an employee in another department with particular expertise will jump in and provide assistance.”

As part of this culture, the company’s Vice President of Operations, Rick Wincek, was PATRIOT’s first employee. He began his career at PATRIOT as a Project Manager and has held several leadership roles during his tenure at the company.

Another longtime employee, Rhonda Baumgartner, joined PATRIOT in 2013 as a Project Manager. Based on her success and project leadership, she was promoted to Director of Operations, overseeing all project managers and projects. During last year’s national Women in Construction Week, Rhonda’s influential story about breaking into the construction industry was featured by the Chesapeake Shores chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors.

Community Stewardship and Looking Forward

PATRIOT is committed to supporting the local community.

The company is a longtime supporter of Calvert Family Advocates, which works to improve the lives of the most vulnerable citizens of Calvert County, Maryland. “Their work is unmatched in the community,” says Missy. Programs include transportation for senior citizens and veterans, summer camps and a child advocacy center.

PATRIOT also provides job training opportunities for local young adults and an internship program that encourages the future workforce to learn about the construction industry.

“Our capabilities expand into numerous markets within our industry,” Jim says. “Our people and our leadership are true discriminators.”

“We have always and will continue to operate as one team companywide,” Jim says. “Everyone at PATRIOT supports each other. I know I have the support of our team. I get up in the morning excited to go to work. It’s really a great place.”