“The best preaching is not done with your mouth. Through your actions. No question about it.” I was a young guy in Belarus, maybe eighteen, when I started construction. I was working with twelve guys much older than me on a government job. And I have a skill, you know? My father was a carpenter, and I started working with him early. He was really […]
Meet Pavel Florianovich, Journeyman Carpenter Read More »
“I’ve learned that I’m stronger than people often expect.” I got my first job during the summer between seventh and eighth grades at a tiny restaurant on East Sprague called Joaquin’s. In the mornings Joaquin served the best donuts you’d ever taste, and by lunchtime he was cooking authentic Mexican food while I handled just
Meet Dotty Johnson, Executive Assistant Read More »
Frank Bouten’s first job at Gus J. Bouten Construction Company was emptying wastepaper baskets in the main office. He was six years old. The first college graduate to join the company, Frank was already well on his way to a distinguished military career when he received a phone call in 1960. His father, Gus, had
Frank J. Bouten, 1935–2026 Read More »
“Everybody on a construction site has a purpose—including the guy that cleans the outhouses. Thank him once in a while.” I used to write sports stories for my high school newspaper, the Panther Prowls. My brother Bill was the business manager for the paper, and even then I was working for him, selling ads. I
Meet Tim Bouten, Superintendent Read More »
“If you take pride in everything you do, you’ll never have a problem in your life.” I’m from Ojai, California. Remember The Six Million Dollar Man? That’s where he grew up in the show. Small town; oranges and avocados for miles. The walk to school went right through those orchards, so we ate our breakfast along
Meet Gary Paul, Warehouse Superintendent Read More »
“You can take different roads or different paths, but sometimes your life just goes the direction it’s supposed to go. It just…happens.” I was born in Missoula, but grew up in St. Maries, a little close-knit logging community. My dad and my grandpa both worked for the railroad there. And my mom owned the beauty
Meet Candace Neal, Billing Specialist Read More »
When Bouten first set out to achieve a Best Places to Work Inland Northwest designation in 2023, we never imagined we’d win the first year we entered—let alone receive that distinction three years in a row. Yet here we are. And when you consider that we’re one of only thirty-seven in our region this year,
“I love sports. Any sport. Except golf. I don’t consider that even a sport.” I started my career right out of high school. Just a farm girl from a little town called Fruitland. After graduation I moved to Spokane and completed a six-month secretarial training program. I was recruited out of secretarial school by the
Meet Nancy Schrack, Contracts Administrator Read More »
“I don’t give a damn about any other job. I only care about the one I’m on.” I started at Bouten in 1983. I was twenty-three years old. My grandmother’s neighbor, he was a union laborer, and he was on the hospital project in Chewelah. I’d done odd jobs for him when I was a
Meet Jim Day, Carpenter General Foreman Read More »
On behalf of our Tri-Cities team, Bouten vice president Brandon Potts accepted the Business of the Year award from the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce yesterday at the organization’s 2025 Annual Meeting & Awards Luncheon. Candidates for the award were judged on a number of criteria, including their ability to demonstrate growth, a record of
