Winner of $400M border wall contract: ‘a gung-ho, smart guy’- By James MacPherson (Associated Press) / Jan 4 2020
The driving force behind a North Dakota company that won a $400 million contract to build part of the border wall is described as a “go-getter” and a “gung-ho, smart guy” by people who know him
BISMARCK, N.D. — Tommy Fisher peered into a Fox News camera and talked up his North Dakota-based company’s ability to build a border wall faster and cheaper than others could, with technology “so revolutionary, it’s like comparing the iPhone to a pay phone.” Fisher Sand and Gravel, he said, was eager to help President Donald Trump deliver on a key campaign promise.
“Hopefully the president will see this,” Fisher said during the April appearance on “Fox & Friends First,” part of a blitz on conservative media over several months as the construction executive took a well-worn path to the president’s ear. Fisher’s company ultimately won a $400 million contract, though the contract is now being audited over concern it may not meet operational requirements.
That Fisher, 49, was able to land the contract came as no surprise in North Dakota, where people who know him describe a man with a get-it-done attitude, a knack for self-promotion and a strong belief in the company he took over from his father when he was just 25.
U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong, who grew up with Fisher, called him “a gung-ho, hardworking, smart guy.” Though Fisher long ago moved to Arizona — he runs the company from a distance — Armstrong said he remains well known in his hometown.
“Go sit in a coffee shop in Dickinson and try to find someone who doesn’t like Tommy,” Armstrong said. “He’s a great corporate citizen.”
Kurt Robinson, who worked in the company’s IT department from 1996 to 2005, said he left to start his own business in part because he wasn’t happy with leadership in Dickinson. He said the company would have tanked if not for Fisher, who was managing it from Arizona.
“Tommy is the driving force of the company and he is a very good businessman,” Robinson said.
Continue to article: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/winner-400m-border-wall-contract-gung-ho-smart-68067686?cid=clicksource_4380645_null_headlines_hed
