Family Album

She's Seen It All
By: Susan Garritano

The year is 1975. Your IBM Selectric typewriter and a pad of carbon paper are the absolute heights of technology. You're an 19-year old woman, in your first job, and you're working with an army of grizzled construction guys — all of whom want whatever they're looking for NOW.

How long do you think you'd last before packing it in? A week? Maybe a year?

Try 29 — years — and counting. That's Karen Frossard's resume at McCarthy.

Most likely known to most McCarthy employees for her ubiqui-tious e-mails announcing the availability of McCarthy's three condos — Karen has been a witness to the incredible heights (and lows) that the company has endured over the last 30 years.

Starting as a secretary to the Project Directors in the heyday of McBro (the company's pioneering CM-only healthcare company), Karen managed everything from travel (McBro owned a jet and was literally building in all four corners of the country) to parties/events and keeping the grizzled ones in shape.

From there, Karen spent a few years on a jobsite building the Marriott tower in downtown St. Louis (with PM Charlie Graft — now the president of our j.v. partner Phipps & Company in Denver), and then a number of years in the Midwest Division's now-closed “The Shop” — where we owned all of our own heavy equipment, such as crawler cranes and backhoes, which were used on St. Louis jobsites. The Shop was consolidated with the Yard on a much smaller scale. While at “The Shop,” McCarthy went through some bad times and layoffs were coming fast and frequently — and Karen apparently did a great job of keeping her head down and hiding from the pink slip purveyor.

Stints at another jobsite (the now almost-shuttered St. Louis Marketplace retail mall) and the St. Louis Yard followed until the HR department and Jim Faust came calling 10 years ago. She's been there ever since as an administrative assistant, and has become an indispensable part of the benefits and recruiting process.

When Karen first joined the company, St. Louis was the only McCarthy office and the office itself was a tiny fraction of its current size. “I've seen more than 100 remodelings and additions in the St. Louis office, which explains why you now need a map to get around.” In fact, the last remodeling actually benefited her; she recently got a new work area. The office and company were so small when she started that Christmas parties were held in the office itself.

“It's amazing to me to realize I've been here so long… McCarthy is so much a part of my heart,” said Karen. “I've literally grown up at McCarthy, and have watched so many of our current vice presidents and directors get hired as fresh-faced new hires and then move up in the ranks.”

When not solving problems at work, Karen's been busy raising her three daughters (Kelly, Michelle and Katie) and enjoys watching two of them play soccer (one in college and one in high school), and she recently moved into a more manageable condo. She keeps in shape by doing tap dancing and Jazzercise (she's been featured on the field during St. Louis Rams' halftime shows) — all while plotting the next 30 years with her husband Mike (who's brother Gary worked for McCarthy for many years) — this company does keep things in the family!