Namedropper
YSWCA welcomes new board member John Kovesdy
The Yuma Southwest Contractors Association has welcomed John Kovesdy, project manager of McCarthy Building Companies, to its board.
He has lived in Yuma for four years now. He is married to his beautiful bride, Stephanie, and they have three children: Allyson, 11, Jaxon, 9, and Jillian, 6. His wife teaches at Yuma Lutheran School and his children attend Yuma Lutheran as well.
Kovesdy has been part of the construction industry for over 20 years now. He started as a laborer for a general contractor at 15 years old but had always been building something. “It’s in my blood,” he said.
He then moved up to be a carpenter with the same company and had an opportunity with the same company to be subbed out as a surveillance/low voltage tech. He has traveled to many large projects in the U.S. to install surveillance systems in casinos, hotels and apartment buildings.
Later on, he worked in construction sales for five years while studying for his degree in construction project management.
After completing school, Kovesdy went to work for a general contractor named Sletten Construction Companies for two years in Phoenix. With Sletten, he took part in the restaurants remodel at Sky Harbor Airport which included 28 restaurant tenant improvement projects throughout terminal 4.
He then transitioned to McCarthy Building Companies Inc. and had worked in the healthcare and education sectors.
On his free time, Kovesdy also coaches little league baseball for YBBL and is heavily involved in anything that teaches and promotes construction trades to all levels of school.
Currently, he does not serve on any other boards.
“I am happy to be part of the team, look forward to what’s to come, and (I’m) honored to serve the local Yuma construction community,” Kovesdy said.
Arizona’s Center for Rural Leadership, commonly known as Project CENTRL, distributed selected awards during its annual CENTRL Celebration June 8 in Chandler.
The 2019 Outstanding Alumni Award for Agrarian Impact was given to Mark Smith, a member of CENTRL’s First Class from 1983-1985.
The Agrarian Impact Award honors someone who has taken what they likely already knew about agriculture and combines it with what they learned in CENTRL to make a difference for their industry and community.
Smith has been a leader in the areas of soil health, water management, plant fertility and food safety.
His board service in the community is diverse, including Foothills Bank, president of Yuma Irrigation District, Yuma Center for Excellent in Desert Agriculture, Imperial Dam Advisory Board and a member of the Governor’s Water Initiative Council.
He is also an avid pilot, often taking time to fly those in need of medical service from Yuma to Tucson or Phoenix.