Forty-one years ago, in the fall of 1982, members of a committee from the Utah chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America were looking for a new leader, and they “decided to give a young kid a chance,” says Rich Thorn, CEO and president of the chapter. At the time, Thorn was 25 years old and had been working as a staff assistant at the chapter for two years. In accepting the offer, he became the youngest AGC chapter executive in the country and quite possibility in the association’s history. In March, Thorn will step down from the position after 42 years, making him one of the longest-serving executives in the association as well.
“I feel like one of the luckiest guys in the world,” Thorn says. “This job gave me and [my wife] Sherrie a chance to raise a family and work with some of the most amazing, hard-working people in this state. I have friends in chapters all over the country. It’s been more than I could have ever imagined as a kid from Springville, Utah.”