Small-town values pay big-time dividends for Moore

Growing up on a farm near Henefer, Summit County, Rob Moore absorbed plenty of small-town values. And he credits those values — mantras like, "work hard, play hard," "family first" and "there should be no difference between what you say and do" — as the foundation for his success at Salt Lake City-based Big-D Construction.

Moore was a young steel erector recovering from a serious recreation accident when, in an effort to keep his job, he began courting new customers for his employer from his sickbed.

Moore contacted a previous client, Dee "Big-D" Livingood, and began finding and landing jobs for Livingood as a way to funnel business to his employer. But Livingood recognized Moore's potential and, in 1976, recruited Moore to work for his general-contracting firm, Big-D Construction.

At Big-D, Livingood nurtured Moore's entrepreneurial instincts, giving him the scope to help the company grow exponentially over the next several decades.

But despite his tremendous workload, Moore made sure he spent significant time with his three children, coaching their sports teams and attending every one of their "big events."

When Dee Livingood died at the age of 55 in the 1990s, Moore took over running the company along with Livingood's son, Jack. Now, Big-D is one of the Western United States' foremost general contractors, known for such high-profile projects as Salt Lake's Gateway, Matheson Courthouse and Main Library and the new McKay-Dee Hospital Center in Ogden.

Even in a difficult economic climate, Big-D has experienced 200 percent growth in the past five years. And Moore maintains that it is all due to sticking to the values that got him here: taking care of customers and making sure there is no difference between what his company says and what it does.