“Our goal is creating an enjoyable building experience for owners. Being invited to do another project — or being referred to others — is what defines our success.”
Pam Duffy loves the business of building. And she comes by that honestly: As a girl, she’d visit her father, John Rhodey, on his construction sites. She put herself through college by working alongside her father from the time he started this company in 1972.
John, a master builder of major civil engineering projects, taught his daughter how to run the business — but more important, he instilled the values that make the company successful: Sound ethics. Honest work. Strong relationships with both employees and clients. “We like to do business the old-fashioned way — where our word and handshake really mean something,” Pam says. “This applies to our employees as well as our customers. A company is only as strong as its people. We have great people and a healthy work environment. Lots of people might say it, but here it’s true.”
As president of the company, Pam spends her time communicating with clients and employees, keeping tabs on every ongoing project and managing essential business functions. She supplemented her practical, hands-on experience in the construction field with an MBA degree, giving her the skills to run the company and strategize its future. She describes her role as being part connector, part cheerleader and part visionary. At Rhodey she’s created an environment where employees feel empowered to make their own decisions within a framework of honesty, ethics, trust and client service.
Pam relishes the fact that so many of Rhodey Construction’s clients are repeat customers. “Clients originally come to us because of our reputation as an honest, ethical company that gets work done right. And they come back to us because we deliver what we say we’re going to deliver,” she says. “Dad taught me that if we do a good job and treat people fairly, the business will come. And it has.”
Pam stays involved in business and community activities including:
• Finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year program in the Central Midwest
• Rhodey Listed Among Top 10 Women-Owned Businesses in St. Louis
• Saint Louis Zoo – Living Promise Campaign Donor, Marlin Perkins Member
• Saint Louis Crisis Nursery Board Member and Former Board President
• Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital, Board Member
• St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers
• Kidstruction Week – St. Louis Children’s Hospital
• Saint Louis Crisis Nursery 2023 Woman of the Year