Midland History-Sheri Mullins

Sheri Mullins has been referred to as the inventor of the Parkhill Project Assistants (PASS) Team responsible for the record of projects for all of Parkhill. Now with a sector of her own, her title is Director of Support Operations for a team of 23 team members. 

“I was a little apprehensive when Brian Irlbeck, CFO, and Dawn Moore, HR director, approached me to see if I would be interested in developing a new sector. But we believe it will reduce redundancy and provide more efficiency and proficiency to each team member. The sector members will still be very much part of their former sectors.” 

In 2005 Sheri had no idea that offering to help then Chief Operations Officer Jay Edwards, who is now Parkhill's firm president, would explode into the PASS job idea. A crisis with a high-profile client-led Edwards not only to take over doing physical overseeing of the construction management of the project but also all the construction documentation necessary on a project. Mullins asked if she could help him. 

After that project’s success, he decided it was so beneficial that he promoted her from the receptionist to project assistant in 2006. This job caught on in the firm and freed the sector leaders for project design and management. 

Sheri has seen a lot of changes in the Midland office since her husband, Les, was transferred to Midland in 2000. The Midland office only had about 15 people partly due to the limited size of the building. 

“Kyle Womack was the office manager at the time,” Sheri said, “and eventually moved on to the business/marketing end. Jay’s strength has always lain in his connections and ability to market as well. He is such a big-picture thinker. He can see the client’s needs before they do.

“The Midland County Fresh Water District was created by Jay to get the water from the Crane Well Fields all the way back to the City of Midland. He worked on the financing and every other part. It has been a great benefit to Parkhill.” 

Only one other water district had been created before that in Parkhill history. As a first for Parkhill, Kyle was a significant part of planning for Crane County Utility District formation of a water district. He spent approximately a year helping create the district more than 30 years ago. Sheri said this was a significant change in creating more client relationships and opportunities in the area. 

Another major shift for the Midland office was in 2012 when the building on Wall Street was renovated, giving the Midland location more room to grow. Since the move, the Midland office has more than doubled in size. 

As the number of Parkhill offices continues to grow, technology has helped in maintaining the company culture Parkhill strives for. Sheri said it has allowed for members of different offices to contribute vast resources of expertise for each project. For example, this helps Parkhill to more evenly distribute the cyclical workload that comes with the Midland economy and create quality projects with clients. 

Sheri said she most enjoyed watching the iconic Scharbauer Sports Complex, her first bid distribution project, unfold. 

“This project was a major construction project for the entire city. The ability to have this type of venue out here in West Texas was a major coup for our city.” 

In addition to her professional work, the Midland office has given Sheri other opportunities in the Midland community. Sheri has become a leader in the Midland office to organize volunteer opportunities and encourage the mission of Building Community. 

These efforts have included two routes for Meals on Wheels, an organization that delivers meals to senior citizens, for the past 4 years, and Toys for Tots at Christmastime. As part of Parkhill’s 10.1.1 Day of Service, the Midland office volunteered at the West Texas Food Bank. This volunteering relationship is unique because WTXFB is also a client of Parkhill. One of the Midland office’s largest volunteer projects was the Midland ISD Milam Elementary Homework Club where office members tutored students for a full school year. The office also continues to be a Partner in Education with Milam Elementary. 

“I’ve enjoyed a variety of positions since I’ve been here in the Midland office,” Sheri said. “My favorite one has been coordinating multiple volunteer opportunities for the office over the years. Our office firmly believes in our mission statement, Building Community, and the employees in this office are always willing to provide help to our community. I have an affinity for those in need. I love volunteering. If I could do anything I wanted, I’d volunteer full-time.”