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Three years ago, Corey Lohman was tapped as the new generation of leadership for Emerick Construction. He accepted the offer of the president鈥檚 title, excited about the prospect of leading a company that at the time was just shy of its 70th anniversary.

Then the weight of what he had agreed to sunk in. At 33 years old, he would be stepping into a position that, traditionally, has been the domain of older men.

鈥淎fter it settled in, after a couple of days, you start saying, 鈥榃ow. This is big,鈥� 鈥� Lohman said.

He decided to tackle his new role with the same tenacity that had helped him rise through the ranks of the construction industry.

鈥淚鈥檝e been dealing with being the young guy with a high level of responsibility my whole life,鈥� he said.

As a boy, he worked in his family鈥檚 Canby-based cabinet business, following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father.

鈥淔rom the time I was old enough to carry a broom, I was sweeping the floor,鈥� Lohman said. 鈥淭he plan was for me to take over the business.鈥�

As he began visiting job sites to take measurements for cabinet orders, however, he found he was drawn to the whole process of how a building is put together. He also realized his career path was probably going to follow a different course than his father, Wes, had hoped he would take.

He joined Emerick Construction in 2000 as a project engineer, figuring out the job as he went along. From what he calls the 鈥渂ottom of the food chain,鈥� he worked his way up to project manager and eventually was given an opportunity to create a small projects group for the company.

These days, Lohman spends his time trying to track the future issues that might affect Emerick, from government regulations to trends in the banking industry.

He鈥檚 also dealing with a challenge that鈥檚 been plaguing the industry for the past several years: finding replacements for the wave of the industry鈥檚 mostly male baby boomers who are reaching retirement age. Lohman, however, prefers to view that obstacle as an opportunity to reshape the way people 鈥� including those on the inside 鈥� view the construction industry.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to talk down about an industry that has provided so much for me 鈥� it鈥檚 one of the greatest ways to make a good living,鈥� Lohman said. 鈥淭he problem is, we have to make (construction) sexy and attractive.

鈥淭o entertain new ideas, it can be very challenging. I think it starts with having a bit of openness to saying, 鈥楬ey, we need to start looking at things from a different perspective,鈥欌�� he added. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 worked in the past is not going to necessarily work in the future.鈥� 鈥� Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxx