Please help us welcome our new carpenter, Joe Cook. We are excited to have him as a part of our T.W. Ellis team. Joe was born in Dundalk, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore, so he definitely feels at home in our neck of the woods.
As Joe was growing up, his dad worked as a baker, so Joe did not have a connection to the construction industry through his family. While in high school his interest was in computer engineering.
In 2008 at 18 years old, Joe decided to attend Woodstock Job Corps Center located outside of Randallstown, MD. It is our nation’s largest free education and job training program for young adults. The school offers academic and hands-on career technical training. Joe was thrilled about learning something new that would be useful in his future.
While he was at Woodstock Job Corps Center, Joe was finally given the opportunity to get involved in residential construction. He learned about building houses—installing drywall, ceilings, and roofs as well as constructing smaller items such as cabinets and dressers.
After he graduated from trade school, he did warehouse work, and for the past three years he has been involved in concrete supply sales as well as concrete work.
When he discovered that we at T.W. Ellis had a job opportunity open for a carpenter, Joe decided to apply. He was interested in beginning a new type of construction work and he felt confident he could pick up quickly on any aspects of the job he had not worked on in the past.
As a part of our team now, Joe primarily works on decks. He helps carry the lumber to a client’s job site, digs holes for the foundation, cuts the boards to the proper size and then fastens them in place. “What I enjoy most about this work is the pride I have in the finished project and seeing how happy our clients are with their new deck,” Joe explains. “I really do care a lot about the work I do.”
Outside of work, Joe enjoys spending time with his wife and kids. He has three small children, a six-year-old son named Dylan, a five-year-old daughter named Sophia, and a two-year-old daughter named Isabelle. Joe and his wife like to go to the beach because their kids love the water. Dylan is currently in the process of learning how to swim.
