Jim Folkemer, CCM

Title: Project Manager

Like many of Oak's project managers and superintendents, Jim started his construction career in the field and has risen through the ranks to project manager. Although the construction industry wasn't Jim's initial track, he has built a solid career on delivering high performance buildings.

Jim is a native to the Baltimore metropolitan area growing up in neighborhood not far from Friendship Airport, now known as BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport. He recalls the amazement of watching planes fly over his house as young boy. Even though he grew fond of aviation, he pursued a degree in marine biology upon graduating from Andover High School in 1971 and moved to Florida to attend the University of Tampa. When he wasn't in class or studying, Jim spent his time working as a union construction laborer, not to mention the occasional motorcycle drive over to Clearwater Beach to hang out with his college cronies.

After two years in Tampa, Jim decided to return home and follow his interest in aviation. While continuing to work in the construction field to make a few bucks, Jim attended a private pilot course and earned his license in a few short months. Enthusiastic about a career as a Navy pilot, Jim remembers driving to DC for an interview. To his disappointment, the post-Vietnam War economy was faltering and Navy pilots were staying put, which meant no openings for newcomers.

Jim's initial experience in construction began with the McShain Company as a layout engineer. McShain's company became one of the biggest builders in the nation with his most noteworthy projects located in Washington, D.C. including the Jefferson Memorial, the Pentagon, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. When the McShain Company pulled out of the Baltimore-Washington area, their local building was sold to a senior project manager and Oak Contracting was founded. Jim remained at Oak until 1984 before furthering his career with Omni Construction Company and Jack H. Kidd Associates, Inc. He returned to Oak in 1997 as a superintendent and was promoted to project manager the following year.

Throughout his career, Jim has worked on various types of building. His most memorable experience was the CNN headquarters building in DC while working with Omni Construction. He recalls cutting a large hole through two floor decks in order to install a monumental stair complete with glass railing. The space also consisted of many TV studios, including Larry King's. The most unique project for Jim was the Target Simulation Enclosure at Aberdeen Proving Ground while working at Oak. A two-hundred foot circular foundation had to be laid out with precision. The concrete foundation extruded from the ground eight inches and had a one-inch anchor bolt every sixteen inches. The bolts secured a tent-like material that inflated upon pressurization. At one end of the building was an igloo-like entrance with a pressurization chamber so that tanks could enter the dome. Once inside, tank operators could train on various maneuvers using high-tech laser and targets projected onto the dome.

While Jim has worked on a variety of building types, his most recent focus has been churches and schools – ironic since his father was a Lutheran Minister and his mother an elementary school teacher for Anne Arundel County Public Schools. In his spare time, Jim enjoys boating and fishing in the Chesapeake Bay. He also loves sports fishing and is pictured here with a nearly six foot, two-hundred pound blue fin tuna caught off the coast of Ocean City. Jim and his wife have two children. Matt is in his sophomore year at Virginia Tech and Pamela, after graduating from the University of Maryland, is in her second year pursuing a Physician Assistant Degree and a Masters in Medical Science. With his passion for the construction industry, and the high cost of tuition, Jim has ensured that he'll remain at Oak for many years to come.

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