“I've been everywhere, man
I've been everywhere, man
Crossed the deserts bare, man
I've breathed the mountain air, man
Of travel I've had my share, man
I've been everywhere.” 

— Johnny Cash, I’ve Been Everywhere (recorded 1962; written by Geoff Mack, 1959)

If Tom Case’s career in the construction industry was to be defined by a single song, it most certainly would be “I’ve Been Everywhere”, an up-tempo song about life on the road popularized by Johnny Cash in the early 60s. 

A native of Los Altos Hills, California, Case worked at Granite Construction for 27 years from 1987-2014, including more than 14 years combined over two stints in Salt Lake City (1996-2007; 2010-13) with a good chunk of that time serving as Regional Manager (2001-07). He moved six times over that quarter century-plus, spanning four locations. 

Case was initially recruited to the firm by former President/CEO Bill Dorey fresh out of college in 1987 who served as a mentor during Case’s early years with Granite in Watsonville, California (corporate HQ, ’87-’92; Reno office ’92-’96). 

“Bill was responsible for hiring me out of college and responsible for providing opportunities to grow,” said Case, 60, who currently runs consulting firm TCM Services, LLC in Park City. “He’s primarily the reason why I grew and stayed at Granite.”

When the firm acquired long-time Salt Lake heavy/highway firm Gibbons & Reed in 1995, Case jumped at the opportunity to relocate to Utah in 1996. He spent time working on the massive I-15 Reconstruction project that ran from 1997-2002, with Granite serving an integral role on the Wasatch Constructors joint venture team. 

During that project, he developed tight relationships with many key executives from the Utah Department of Transportation, including former UDOT Executive Directors Tom Warne and John Njord, and current boss Carlos Braceras. 

“That was extremely valuable to establish those relationships,” said Case. “What made those relationships work is we had a lot of mutual respect, trust, and appreciation for what we all had to do building I-15.”

Case quickly proved himself to be a capable leader and was installed as Regional Manager of the Salt Lake office in 2001, serving in that capacity for six years. He also spent time in San Diego as Sr. Vice President overlooking the western U.S. (2008-10), moved back to Utah (2010-13), and closed out his final two years working in the Watsonville corporate office (2013-14) as Sr. Vice President of Operations, which had him communicating with literally every office in the country on how to operate better and more efficiently. 

“I have been everywhere,” he chuckled. “It was great! Moving around was good—it gave me a lot of professional opportunities and exposure to a variety of things. I got to work in different states and experience different cultures.”

Case was actively involved with the Associated General Contractors (AGC) during his career at Granite. He served on the Board of Directors for several years with AGC of Utah—including Chairman in 2005—and later served on AGC of America’s Board of Directors, including National Chair of the Highway Transportation Division. 

“Tom was always a well-respected leader,” said Rich Thorn, President/CEO of AGC of Utah. “He has a dynamic personality, he’s decisive with his decision making, and was always well prepared. He was really a good leader.”

Case left Granite and went to work at Sundt Construction in Phoenix where he served as Chief Operating Officer for three years (2015-18), and then pivoted to the private development world as Executive Vice President of Construction for Vancouver, British Columbia-based Replay Destinations—a high-end resort developer—from 2018-20. He moved back to Utah with his family and started TCM Services right around the time the pandemic hit in 2020, although he said business has been relatively good the past couple of years. 

“I’m working on projects from the East Coast to the West Coast and everything in between,” he said. “And they’re very different types of projects. I have clients that are little and big—it’s exciting. I wanted to work more part-time and do my own thing, so it’s been good.”

He was quick to pay homage to the many great people he worked with at Granite over the years, and had high praise for current Regional Manager, Jason Klaumann. 

“Jason is a builder—he’s consistent and steady, he’s thoughtful, and I would use the word reflective,” said Case. “He’s a man of few words, but he’s a man of action. He’s doing a great job with the Utah business.”

Case is also thrilled to be back in Utah and plans to ride out the final chapters of his life here.

“I call Utah home,” he said. “I raised my kids here, I’m retiring here. I keep coming back here because it’s a special place. I would not be here without Granite, no doubt about it.”