It is with a heavy heart that Western Specialty Contractors announces the passing of its former COO Jim Rechtin Sr. on Sept. 17 following a battle with cancer.
Rechtin officially retired from Western on Jan. 1 after 46 years of dedicated service to the company. He started working for Western in 1971 as a laborer, then was promoted to foreman two years later, then to superintendent in 1975. In 1977, Rechtin was promoted to sales/project manager, then two years later to department branch manager, then to branch manager in 1982. In 1992, he was promoted to region manager where he served for 14 years before being promoted to Eastern division manager where he oversaw 18 branch offices. In 2009, he was promoted to vice president of operations, then to COO in 2014.