John Grubb accepting the 2007 BSI Man of the Year Award.

By Kate Parrott

John Grubb describes his years in the stone industry as a "colored history." With nearly 21 years in the business — which Grubb considers an accomplishment in itself — and five years as a BSI member, Grubb has made promoting the stone industry a way of life.

His passion for stone developed more than two decades ago, when he first started working with Luck Stone in Richmond, Va., his current employer. He was first employed in a crushed stone scale office, dispatching trucks. At the time, Luck Stone sold small amounts of building stone and flagstone, along with various types of other products. Within a couple of years, Grubb was working full time with the architectural stone division of the company, which was developed in 1977 to offer consumers a complete line of stone products for the home, landscape and business.

Back then, Grubb was doing it all — selling the product, picking the orders, packaging them, delivering them and collecting for them. "At that point, it was a very young part of our business and we used to do it all," he said. "It was fun because you didn't know what you were going to be doing the next minute."

John Grubb with the 2006 BSI Person of the Year Brenda Edwards.

Since his early days in the business, Grubb has transitioned to different positions in the company, from estimating to project management. He's been involved with sales, and also conducted some operations management for a brief period. "But," he said, "I found my current calling as a product specialist to be where my strengths are. I tend to be notoriously curious about stuff, and I think the stone industry is an industry that calls for a certain amount of curiosity. It's an industry where you kind of have to self-train. The nice thing about what I've gone through in the stone industry is that I don't just sell one product." Grubb said that learning about the many products out there that will work for his clients is the most exciting part of his job.

However, his enthusiasm for stone doesn't end there. Grubb's work in the industry transcends his nine to five job. For the past six years, he has been a member of the Construction Specification Institute (CSI), an organization dedicated to creating standards and formats to improve construction documents and project delivery. Grubb said his involvement in the institute surprised even himself: "Usually, I don't like to take the lead," he said. "I kind of like to follow." That may be true, but not with CSI. Grubb has served as chair for a variety of committees, doing product expos and helping to promote new building products. He currently serves as president of his chapter in central Virginia.

John with fellow BSI member Diane Sante during the teambuilding event "Build Your Own Boat"contest at the BSI convention.

Last year, Grubbs also was asked to serve as the Building Stone Institute (BSI) Technical Committee chair. "I really should have built the committee last year, but didn't do that," he said. "What I did was act more as a resource to questions that would come in from all over the country. Grubb said people would call BSI or send e-mails with technical questions about installations or product issues. He then would research and reply to customers' issues. "I kind of acted as a technical resource for the Building Stone Institute, but really didn't have a committee of other individuals that we tasked to write articles and things like that," he said. Forming a full committee, Grubb said, is this year's task.

He said the committee has currently been working on ASTM issues related to the stone industry for product specifications and installation specifications. "We're moving along," he said. "At this point, we've got a ways to go to really make an impact with our technical committee. ... In going forward, our goal is to figure out how to educate members and the design community on the selection and proper use of stone products.

One of his greatest accomplishments, Grubbs said, is being honored as the Building Stone Institute's Man of the Year.

"I feel very honored and very humbled by it," he said. "I'm more honored that the people I learned from would nominate me for what I've done, which is basically passing on the knowledge that they've created in the industry. I'm honored to represent the people who created and figured out all the stuff about stone."

John participating in the BSI strategic Planning session.

BSI Past President, Rick Jones, said Grubbs is an ideal role model. "John has been faithful to make all our meetings," he said. "He was given the chore to work on promoting thin stone application fabrication and did an exemplary job. He's been a BSI and natural stone promoter for years. I think John was the right man at the right time at the right place."

Not only has Grubbs been a promoter of BSI, he's also been a supporter. "I feel like BSI's involvement in the industry is currently fantastic," he said. "Especially from the legislative involvement that BSI has participated in when it comes to trying to address issues for our members related to laws and issues that affect the industry."

Grubb also commended the Designer Education Series, which he says is behind the true meaning of BSI. "It's about educating people about the stone products and what the benefits are," he said. "I think that's a tremendous function of the institute." The series was established to offer base level stone fabrication and installation information to architects and designers. The courses are held annually nationwide.

Following his achievement of Man of the Year, Grubbs said he plans to continue what he's been doing. "My goals for the future are to continue to be a resource for all aspects of the construction industry when it comes to stone products — selection, application of, and troubleshooting. That's what I do now, and that's what I hope to be doing until I retire."

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