Finding Big Opportunities in Sin City: Associate Profile on P1 Vice President Brad Davis
With all the people P1 Vice President Brad Davis knows in Las Vegas, it might surprise you to learn he grew up in Detroit, Michigan.
But his Vegas future wasn’t far away. When Brad went into the U.S. Air Force after high school, he was stationed in Las Vegas with the occupation of plumbing specialist.
Thus began not only an illustrious career, but a connection to Las Vegas that has been instrumental in the success of the P1 Las Vegas office under Brad’s leadership.
“I was stationed in Las Vegas in 1988, with the 820th Red Horse Squadron – a combat engineering unit,” Brad said. “We went all over the world doing plumbing projects, and setting up base camps with showers, latrines, boilers, things like that.”
Upon his discharge in 1992, after Desert Storm, Brad joined the Local 525 Plumbers and Pipefitters, where he was able to come in as a third-year apprentice due to the experience he had already gained, leaving him only three more years to complete in the five-year program.
“I didn’t know welding or pipefitting, I was strictly a plumber, so I had those things to learn,” Brad said. He turned out of the program as a Journeyman Pipefitter with a plumbing license.
Growing up in Detroit, Brad says he was around lots of people who worked in the trades, and he knew it was a good living - so he kept doing it.
“I’ve been around the trades my whole life,” he said. “The plumbers and pipefitters I knew in Detroit always made a good living. The pay and benefits are really good.”
While working in the field, Brad also took up teaching with the Union, and became the MedGas certifier for Southern Nevada.
It wasn’t long before Brad was working his way up to foreman, general foreman, and then superintendent with a company called Southland. It was there he gained experience running large projects.
Then came a big career opportunity.
“In 2006, a Southland employee started their own company in Las Vegas, and I was invited to serve as Vice President of Construction,” Brad said.
While it was good experience, the company eventually shut down, and Brad found himself looking for work in 2013.
“I didn’t even know P1 was here in town,” Brad said.
So even though he didn’t want to leave Las Vegas, he found himself on the brink of moving to San Antonio for an opportunity.
That’s when a colleague who worked for Victaulic - and happened to be friends with P1 President Kollin Knox - proposed an idea.
“He told me P1 was looking for someone to run the Vegas office. He suggested I call Kollin, and I thought, ‘if it means I don’t have to leave Vegas, why not?’” Brad recalled.
Kollin remembers that Brad came with rave reviews.
“P1 was struggling to find leadership for our Las Vegas office when I received a call from a friend in the industry,” Kollin said. “He had nothing but great things to say about Brad, and thought his diverse skill set would be a great addition to our organization.”
Kollin said he knew right away Brad was “our guy.”
“Prior to Brad’s arrival, P1 was a Kansas contractor doing business in Las Vegas,” Kollin explained.
“Brad’s history and excellent reputation in the marketplace have turned us into a genuine Las Vegas contractor.”
“Brad has been able to create a vibrant culture in our Las Vegas office and his team continues to grow our presence in Las Vegas and the western U.S. with each passing year,” Kollin said. “I’m still thankful for that phone call, received years ago, that brought Brad to P1. He’s a great ambassador for our organization and the industry as a whole.”
But even with P1’s enthusiastic support, Brad wasn’t completely convinced.
“After interviewing in Kansas City, it was obvious P1 was a stable union company,” Brad said.
At the time, however, there wasn’t much business for P1 in Las Vegas.
Brad says it’s become a joke now, but he almost didn’t do it.
“I almost turned around and left. It was a tiny little office, and I thought ‘what did I get myself into?’”
With about five field associates, it was a slim crew, including Office Manager Catalina DeLeon, Quality Control Manager Rob Anderson, and General Foreman Kennedy Sanders, who were there from the beginning.
“We needed to build a team, but we didn’t have work. And that’s a pretty big challenge,” he said.
“I started bringing in local talent, most of whom came over on good faith,” Brad said.
Some of those early believers included General Foremen Mario Vitale and Dan Osborne, and Project Development Manager Jackson Pyper. Brad also had to call upon some of his connections, including some big GCs in town, and eventually they started getting work.
“Las Vegas is the biggest small community,” Brad said. “At first, our average job size was $20K, but then it started getting bigger, and so did our team, including more quality craftsmen who could handle the work.”
It took almost two years, but in 2015, a critical door opened: P1 became preferred vendor for MGM.
“That was our bread and butter, and the business kept growing from there,” Brad said.
Today, the Las Vegas office can say they brought the largest plumbing project in P1 history to the table. That project was Circa Resort and Casino, the first ground-up resort built in downtown Las Vegas since 1980. P1 did all the plumbing for the 1.25 million sq. ft. facility, for a contract value of $27,305,554. The massive project was completed in December of 2020, just 22 months after it started.
Brad says the success of the Vegas office is, and always will be, because of the people that work there.
“You can get your foot in the door anywhere, but you have to have good people doing great work to be asked back,” he emphasized.
Brad says the spectacular combination of a strong office team along with a field that has earned a great reputation for quality work and professionalism is what keeps the Vegas office growing and succeeding.
And we can’t wait to see what they do next!
Pictured, above: multiple fishing trips, including ice fishing in Ely, NV, with P1 General Foreman Dan Osborne; Brad with sons Brandon and Brady, and wife Dawn.
Giving Back...and Gone Fishing!
Today, Brad gives his time and talent to several professional organizations. He is a member of the American Society of Sanitary Engineering (ASSE), the International Association of Plumbing & Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning (ASHRAE), and American Water Works Association (AWWA).
He is past president of the Mechanical Contractors Association of Southern Nevada (MCA), past president of the Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning Contractors National Association of Southern Nevada (SMACNA), and a current trustee with the Local 525 Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee (JATC).
Even with all of this commitment, Brad says he still finds time for is favorite pastime – fishing.
“I especially like deep sea fishing, since I can get to California and the coast,” he said.
Now that his kids are grown, he says he doesn’t do as much hunting, but still enjoys clay trap shooting and playing the occasional round of golf.
From Less than 10 to More than 90
The P1 Las Vegas Office currently has a total 98 active associates in the field and office, 55 of whom are plumber/pipefitters.
Abdon Provencio, P525 Journeyman
Adriana Larios, Service Coordinator
Alfredo Quintana, P525 Journeyman
Amber L Haehnel, Estimator
Andrew Maginness, P525s Serviceman
Andrew Marquez, P525 Foreman
Anthony Soprano, Estimating Coordinator
Anthony Wells, P525 Foreman
Antonio Provencio, P525 Journeyman
Arturo A Penaloza, P525 Helper
Brad Davis, Vice President
Brian Maginness, Senior Project Manager
Catalina De Leon, Office Manager
Chad Mosley, Estimator
Chang Oh, P525s Serviceman
Charles Phelts, P525 Journeyman
Christopher Burdick, P525 Journeyman
Christopher Cruz, P525s Tradesman
Christopher Kirby, P525 Journeyman
Christopher Farley, P525 Journeyman
Ian Longhurst, S088 General Foreman
Corbin Pyper, P525 Helper
Craig Mondroski, P525 Journeyman
Cristine Douglas, Project Coordinator
Dan Osborne, P525 Superintendent
Daniel Lopez, P525 Apprentice
Daniel Ott, Senior Estimator
Daniel Martinez, P525 Journeyman
Daniel Labrecque, P525 Journeyman
David Gay, P525 Journeyman
David Gardner, S088 Journeyman
David Sokoloski, Project Manager
Daylon Reese S088 Pre-Apprentice
Derwin Evans, P525s Service Journeyman
Dustin Mcdonald, P525 Apprentice
Eduardo Villalobos, Project Manager
Elias Sanchez-Tellez, E357 Journeyman
Elizabeth Ferguson, Project Engineer
Hector Martinez, P525s Serviceman
Homero Zepeda, P525 Journeyman
Jackson Pyper, Project Development Manager
Jacob Mandac, P525 Apprentice
James Taylor, P525 Journeyman
James Sevold Jr, P525 Journeyman
Jason Ondrisko, P525 Foreman
Jeffrey Reese, Project Engineer
Jeffrey Herbert, P525 Journeyman
Jeremiah Jackson, P525 Journeyman
John Coulter, P525 Journeyman
John Ross, P525 Journeyman
John Chavez, P525 Journeyman
John Kolosiej, P525 Journeyman
Jose Resendiz Jr, P525 Helper
Joseph Koontz, P525 Apprentice
Joshua Moore, S088 Apprentice
Justin Haehnel, P525 Journeyman
Kennedy Sanders, S088 General Foreman
Kevin O’neill, P525 Helper
Kurt Sturm, Senior Project Manager
Kyle Poser, Project Engineer
Larry Bracamontez, P525 Journeyman
Lawrence Curley, P525 Journeyman
Luis Lares, S088 Apprentice
Mario Mccoy, P525 Journeyman
Mario Vitale, P525 Journeyman
Mark Riggio, P525 Journeyman
Matthew Murrah, S088 Apprentice
Maya Gallo, Receptionist
Michael Gervasoni, P525 Helper
Michael Defoe, P525 Journeyman
Miguel Salinas, P525 Journeyman
Miguel Serrano, P525 Journeyman
Miles P Broussard, P525 Apprentice
Nickolas Vaskentz, P525 Helper
Noah Noce, P525 Apprentice
Perlie Trevino, Administrative Assistant
Peter Dowd Ii, P525 Journeyman
Rafael Munoz, P525 Apprentice
Ramses Lopez-Olivares, S088journeyman
Rick Cook, Estimator
Rob Anderson, Quality Control Manager
Ronald Isbell Jr, P525 Apprentice
Ryan Roonan, P525 Apprentice
Samuel Miller Iii, P525 Journeyman
Samuel Rouse Iii, P525 Journeyman
Scot Ponder, Senior Project Manager
Simcha Mowery, P525 Journeyman
Steve Kimball, P525s Serviceman
Steven Thomas, S088 Journeyman
Steven Antillon, S088 Journeyman
Theron Hamlen, P525 Foreman
Thomas Smiley, P525 Journeyman
Thomas Word, S088 Journeyman
Timothy Brehm, E357 Journeyman
Tino Martinez, Warehouse Coordinator
Todd Ramos, P525 Journeyman
Travern Wallace, S088 Journeyman
Wade Wilson, P525s Serviceman
