Centurions - Matt Ralston

Matt Ralston

Matt Ralston
Burns & McDonnell
Class of 2012
Steering Committee

What does your company do, and what is your role there? Burns & McDonnell is a 100 percent employee-owned firm composed of more than 3,000 engineers, architects, construction experts, planners, estimators, economists, technicians and scientists representing virtually all disciplines. We plan, permit, design and construct airports, refineries, power plants, water treatment facilities, infrastructure, military bases, electrical transmission & distribution, and process facilities.

I am a principal in our Construction/Design-Build Group and manage all of the field staff on construction projects, which consists of about 200 individuals at any given time.

Other organizations you volunteer or serve with: Community of Christ Church, Design-Build Institute of America, ACE Mentoring, FIRST Robotics Competition.

First job ever: Outside of mowing lawns, I was on the summer construction crew for the Independence Public School District.

If you had to do without one of your five senses, which would it be? Smell.

Have you ever milked a cow? Yes.

Do you use Twitter? I live in a Twitterless universe, and am at peace with that.

What’s a restaurant or dish you’ve always wanted to try? LCs BBQ on Eastwood

What’s the best thing since sliced bread? Mmmm sliced bread…

What was your favorite activity (organized or otherwise) as a child? Tough call. Sports including kickball, school, family vacations, reading, and being a band geek.

What is the easiest way you’ve found to “go green”? I keep my thermostat at 78 degrees during the summer. My wife says that’s not “green,” just cheap.

What was the first long trip you ever took? I got pulled out of school for two weeks in second grade on a family road trip to California, and it was sweet.

Do you have a hidden talent? If I tell, then it wouldn’t be hidden, but if you scoured the music sections of local pawn shops you might get be able to figure it out.

Matt Ralston

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