Women of asphalt
A Woman of Asphalt: Meet Maymead’s Dawn McGee AsphaltPro: What do you think is the most important skill you’ve brought to your position as a distributor operator in the asphalt industry? Dawn McGee: Patience has been my most valuable skill coming into my job. I have also learned how to be more patient. I would advise any women coming into the construction industry to be patient with yourself and others teaching you. Remember, you are training. Nothing is ever perfect, but it is okay and it will work out. Set goals for yourself as you learn and conquer those one at a time. When I began, I gave myself a timeframe to learn everything and feel comfortable before moving on. You can ask questions because if you do not ask, then how will you know? And there is never a stupid question.
She started out in customer service, which lends itself well to a career in asphalt paving. Dawn McGee is now a tack truck operator for Maymead Inc., headquartered in Mountain City, Tennessee, and she’s sharing with us the path she took to become a woman of asphalt, starting in 2018 when she joined the all-female paving crew.
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AsphaltPro: Could you share with the readers your career trajectory and what challenges you’ve overcome along the way? Dawn McGee: I had worked in customer service after high school, and decided to go to college in my 30s to teach. I still was not satisfied with my career. Browsing job listings, I came across the ad for the all-female paving crew. I decided to apply and have been here since—I love it. Shovel (laborer) I think it is still my favorite job. I started with the shovel and learned how to do that properly before learning how to operate and perform each job that makes up our paving crew, including the dump truck, milling machine, rollers, broom, skid steer and backhoe.
I have to be able to fix the truck or anything like an air leak or busted line if necessary.
AsphaltPro: Could you share with the readers what your job as a distributor operator for Maymead requires? Dawn McGee: Being the distributor (tack truck) operator, I have to be an hour (or sometimes two hours) earlier than everyone else because of heating, filling, and getting it to the job on time and ready to go. You must be dependable and responsible because normally there isn’t a person to fill in your position. I have also had to learn a lot about diesel mechanics and the Etnyre distributor controls, pumps, and spray bar.
AsphaltPro: Why did you become a distributor operator? What about that position is “most cool” to you? Dawn McGee: To be honest, the crew at the time needed someone for the position. I kind of just went with it and it has stuck with me. I wanted to learn everything to be able to help where needed. The coolest thing about my job is driving the big Freightliner or International truck. When I arrive on a job, people do not expect this little lady to jump out. Their faces can be priceless!
16 // May 2021
Dawn McGee is a distributor operator for Maymead Inc. She’s been with the company since 2018, starting out as a laborer and working in a number of positions, including operating the dump truck, milling machine, rollers, broom, skid steer and backhoe.
AsphaltPro: What would you say was the most challenging “obstacle” you, as a female on the asphalt team, had to overcome in the past three years, and how did you overcome it? Dawn McGee: The biggest challenge I have faced is being a female wanting to work in a mostly male-dominated career. Being overlooked when something happens on the job and decisions are being made, I sometimes feel like my ideas or advice weren’t needed or heard, even if they were correct or helpful. I have learned to be louder when speaking or just fix it and not say anything. I know it's scary sometimes feeling like the outsider but you have to realize you are not really—this is your crew or “my people,” as I like to say. Just learn when to speak up! Normally they are never excited to see me come in on a new job but they always want me to come back—not because I am a woman, but because I work hard and show them how capable I am.
