A
Women Owned Business /
April 2004
Down
the Highway
Beth Thornton, a very civil life style. |
By Pat Lawrence
The orderly inclinations associated with engineers might suggest
a carefully constructed career path, but Beth Thornton says she’s
still surprised to have ended up a civil engineer. “I
was the first person in my family to go to college. I’d planned
on medical school. But, it was going to take so long
and cost so much, I decided to try engineering. The only other
engineer I knew was my neighbor's son, but it appealed to me.”
After graduating from WV Institute of Technology,
Beth worked with the WV Division of Highways, then with Neff,
Longest and Beam a private consulting firm in Charleston.
At 28, she says, “I had to reassess my life. I’d
met my big goal of college and was kind of lost because I didn’t
have a goal to work toward. So, owning my own business became
the next goal.”
In June of 2002, the mother of two launched Thornton
Engineering in Milton, WV. The first client arrived the day
she opened and she ended up with three new projects. “It was
the best thing that could have happened. I had anticipated
at least a year to get started. The long interval between project
start and payment can be difficult for a new company.”
Originally working out of her home, Beth says, “It can be
hectic but it’s a lot of fun. I work in the community where
I live, here with my kids when they need me.” In January,
she moved into an office and added an administrative assistant.
The firm is working on 11 active projects and Beth is knee deep
in soil, psychology and sign design for West Virginia highways.
She recently identified every sign on a 34-mile stretch of I-64,
directing which should remain, be repaired or be removed.
She says, “We have to understand people’s
reaction and behaviors when we design signage and roads. It’s
more than maximum loads and limits of endurance for each material.”
She’s attending four courses required for certification in
natural channel design. “When water is redirected, we
want to return the environment to resemble natural channels.”
Each course lasts a week and means Beth must travel and be away
from her own work, so the Small Business Development Center helped
her apply for a grant. “Anyone starting a business should
contact the SBDC first. They’re free and they’re great.”
She says owning her own company is a dream come true.
“I’ve always been a rule breaker, someone who argues
with authority, so this is perfect.” She often does traffic
engineering for her previous employer, NLB. “Maintaining
traffic during construction is an important part of the plan when
new highways are being built. It’s critical to work out how
cars will or won’t get backed up.”
One advantage as a woman engineer is “At the
engineering conferences, there’s never a line in the bathroom.”
But, Beth says, “Stepping into something as male oriented
as this field, you know you will be scrutinized. The bar is raised
for us. We have to perform.”
Other professional women balance her male-dominated business life.
“My accountant, doctor, banker, contact at the Small Business
Development Center – they’re all women. It’s encouraging.”
Beth can stay busy all year around. Most of her clients
are from referrals, which makes her proud. “I like that
they call me because they’ve been told I do good work.”
Working in the community means she can volunteer in the community.
Every week, Beth reads to a 3rd-grade class. “We do engineering
projects, too. One project was building a structure from coffee
stirrers and marshmallows to see if it would hold a certain weight.
They worked as a team, named their structure and presented it to
the client. They had a ball.”
Beth is also a Daisy Girl Scout leader. “I
push math and science and encourage the girls not to limit themselves.”
One goal when she started the business was to reduce
babysitting. “The kids come to the office after school.
They have a place with books, videos and art supplies. I can’t
remember the last time I needed to hire a baby sitter.”
Though sometimes the separation from work and home is tough to enforce,
Beth says she knows she’s on the right road to where she wants
to be.
Copyright © 2005-2006 A Woman's View. All rights reserved.
Femme Fair 2006
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