Wharton-Smith, Inc.

Pat Hewitt joined Wharton Smith in 1998 and currently serves as Executive Vice President, Water, working in our Sanford, Florida, headquarters. With over 30 years of experience in the construction industry, Pat’s expertise has proven integral to Wharton Smith’s growth, which is ranked among the Top ENR Contractors in the market.

Prior to joining Wharton-Smith, Pat worked at Adams Robinson for 12 years where he honed his construction management skills and developed a strong background in project management and quality delivery. During his 20 years at Wharton-Smith, Pat’s leadership and focus have built a thriving business line and a new generation of employees dedicated to client relationships and quality construction standards.

In his current role, Pat provides oversight and is responsible for the strategic growth of Water operations in Orlando, as well as our regional offices in Tampa, Fort Myers and Jupiter, FL; Gulfport, MS; Houston, TX; Charlotte, NC; and Baton Rouge, LA.

Pat has a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida. He is a licensed General Contractor and a licensed Mechanical Contractor.

He resides in Maitland with his wife, Amy, and is the proud father of two sons, Nick and Jack. He enjoys playing golf and basketball in his spare time. Pat also serves on the Board at the Coalition for the Homeless in Orlando.

Pat’s Business Philosophy:  Support the development of our senior staff, resolve difficult company issues, and work hard to make Wharton Smith financially successful.

Ron Davoli was named President and CEO of Wharton-Smith in April 2005 after serving as Vice President — Operations and later as Executive Vice President. Ron has more than 35 years of experience in engineering and construction.

Ron’s responsibilities include oversight for the overall performance of each division. He is involved with projects from estimating through operations, assuring in-depth knowledge of all functions within the organization. He is also responsible for the financial aspects of the business, including banking, bonding, and insurance. Throughout his tenure, Ron has established strong working relationships with clients, team members, and community leaders, helping Wharton-Smith achieve its vision — to be the Construction Group of Choice.

Ron joined Wharton-Smith as a Project Manager in 1990, was promoted to Vice President –Operations in 1996, and was appointed Executive Vice President in 2000. Before joining Wharton-Smith, Ron worked for Professional Engineering Consultants in Orlando as a structural engineer and as a manager of the Construction Administration Department. Prior to that, he worked with Fluor Engineers and Constructors in Houston as a structural design engineer.

In addition to his professional experience, Ron graduated with honors from West Virginia University with a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. He is a Florida Registered Professional Engineer as well as a Florida Certified Underground Utility Contractor.

Ron believes corporate citizenship and community relations are the backbone of a thriving enterprise. He is actively involved in several organizations. He serves on the industry advisory board for the School of Design, Engineering, and Construction at Seminole State College and led the effort there to establish the Wharton-Smith Center for Construction. Ron is a board member of Kids House of Seminole, as well as The Sharing Center and the Atlantic Center for the Arts. He's also a sponsor of Leadership Seminole, and a member of the Seminole County Homelessness Task Force.

When not in the office, Ron enjoys bicycling, golfing and spending time with his lovely wife Paula, especially in New Smyrna Beach. He is the proud father of three children, Jessica, Joseph, and Caroline.

Ron’s Business Philosophy: Earn people’s trust, take the long view, and keep your eye on the big picture.

In 1984, at age 16, Tim Smith joined Wharton-Smith, starting at the bottom and learning his way up the ladder through college, finally earning full-time employment in 1991. During 35 years of incredible growth and change, Tim has served the company in many roles - Cleaning Crew, Field Engineer, Estimator, Project Engineer, Project Manager, Project Executive, Quality Control Director, and Vice President. In each of these roles, he has advanced the company’s goal of being the Construction Group of Choice. In his current Executive Vice President role, Tim has aided the company’s growth through his servant leadership abilities, his strong engineering, and operations background and his dedication to Wharton-Smith’s value of continuous improvement.

Tim’s current responsibilities include the administration and management of corporate operations while providing executive guidance and problem-solving advice to Wharton-Smith’s Executive Management team.
Tim also oversees the execution of strategic business plans and infrastructure management by leveraging technology to yield efficient and effective growth management methods.

Tim holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Auburn University and a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Central Florida. Tim is a Professional Engineer and a licensed General Contractor.

Tim is committed to the Central Florida community and actively supports Kids House, Leadership Seminole, Habitat for Humanity, Seminole State College, University of Central Florida, and the Central Florida Zoo.

In his free time, Tim enjoys off-road motorcycle racing and supporting his wife Shelia’s dance studio, Destination Dance of Oviedo. He is the father of three talented daughters, Abigail, Ashley, and Rita.

Tim’s Business Philosophy: When providing leadership to the team, my most important job is to get them what they need to do their jobs and get out of their way!

Clyde Burgess joined the Wharton-Smith family in 1985. For three years, he had worked with Bill Wharton and George Smith at Bay-Con General, Inc. prior to their purchase of the company. In April of 2007, Clyde was named Vice President of Preconstruction Services, Water and now provides more than 40 years of expertise in engineering and construction to the team portfolio.

In his current role, Clyde oversees Water CMAR and Design-Build project work. He is responsible for collaborating with owners and design consultants to develop leads and execute projects. In addition to his primary focus on pursuits and projects’ preconstruction phase, Clyde remains involved in the lifecycle of many projects through construction, start-up, close-out, and warranty issues.

Clyde graduated from the University of Central Florida in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering/Mechanical option degree and has been a Florida-registered Professional Engineer since 1989.

Clyde moved to Central Florida in 1978 from Cleveland, Ohio. He currently lives in Longwood, Florida, with his wife of 25 years, Suzanne, and his 18- and 15-year-old sons, Wesley and Will. He enjoys singing, golf, snow skiing, watching and attending many sporting events, and spending time with his family.

John has 45 years of experience in the construction industry. John started his construction career at Bay-Con General, where Bill Wharton and George Smith worked before founding Wharton-Smith. He joined Wharton-Smith in 1986 as a Project Manager and was promoted to Senior Project Manager in 1997. In 1999, he was promoted to Manager of the Preconstruction Services Department for the newly formed Commercial Division. He has been the Vice President of the department since 2005.

As Vice President of Commercial Preconstruction Services, John Lyons is responsible for conceptual and schematic estimating — imagining, then detailing, how a commercial project can be constructed, how much it will cost, and then presenting it in a meaningful way to the client. John evaluates the options, inputs the time involved, and ensures the project balances the stakeholder’s wants and needs within the allotted budget. His ability to bring clarity about what is truly needed for a project coupled with his integrity make him the go-to person for our clients. They depend on his feedback when the hard decisions need to be made.

In addition to his professional experience, John graduated from the University of Central Florida with a bachelor’s in Civil Engineering and Environmental Services. He is a LEED Accredited Professional (LEED BD+C).

John lives in Sanford, Florida, with his wife of 32 years. He has two sons — Bryson, who is a customer service representative at Publix; and Jordan, a project engineer, who also works at Wharton-Smith. In his spare time, he works on home repair and renovations for his family members. John attributes his ability to focus and remain calm under pressure to 46 years of martial arts training in Goju-ryu Karate.

Business philosophy: Get it right at the beginning, then everything that follows is that much easier.

Darin Crafton joined Wharton Smith in 2015 and brought with him more than 20 years of experience in the construction industry and a proven record of successful completion of many high-profile multi-million-dollar projects.

In his current role of Executive Vice President, Commercial, Darin supports the company’s vision and strategic goals and plays an essential part in shaping the company’s future. Under Darin’s leadership, the expansion of the commercial division has thrived, and the company has increased its revenue by more than 300 percent. This growth has led to new commercial market share in education, hospitality, assisted living facilities, and entertainment in both Central Florida and throughout our regional areas of operation.

Prior to joining Wharton-Smith, Darin worked as a Senior Construction Manager for PCL Construction Services where he managed the American Dream project in Rutherford, NJ, a $2 billion mixed-use, high-end retail, hotel, and water park. Darin also led PCL’s Charlotte, NC, office as Area & Operations Manager where he was responsible for operations oversight, business development, community relations, and the quality of services provided by his team.  

Darin holds a bachelor’s degree in Construction from Bradley University in Peoria, IL.

Community service is a passion for Darin, and he actively supports Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., Kids House, Habitat for Humanity, and the Foundation for Seminole County Schools.

When he is not engaged with work and philanthropy, Darin can be found spending time with his wife Teri, son Ty, and often on the golf course caddying for his daughter, Alex.

Darin’s Work Philosophy: Two things that define my work philosophy are teamwork and creativity. In fact, I think this not only drives my work life, but it is a major factor in my private life as well. I enjoy working with others to achieve common goals. This practice brings the benefit of developing more ideas or better ideas to tackle problems head on with the force of more than one person’s ideas. While working as a team, there is a creative approach to solving a problem by mixing multiple good ideas into a creation of greatness and collaborative achievement. My steps to initiate these two philosophies are to provide an environment of open and creative planning, active listening, and critical thinking.  

Gilbert Orcasitas joined Wharton-Smith in 1997 and currently serves as Corporate Safety Manager.

Gilbert is responsible for providing safety management leadership, training, and expertise across divisional operations to help ensure sharing of best practices and preferred procedures. He identifies company safety training needs and develops the necessary programs to meet those needs. Gilbert is also responsible for maintaining compliance with federal, state, and local laws and regulations as well as internal policies and procedures including OSHA regulations and federal regulatory changes.

Gilbert’s work history gives him insight into behavior-based safety and the ability to understand the implications of emerging trends and how they affect field-based team members. He joined Wharton-Smith in 1997 as a Laborer and was promoted to Pipe Layer Helper in 1999 and later Craft Foreman in 2002. In 2004, Gilbert moved to Safety & Risk Management as a Field Safety Coordinator. He was promoted to Senior Safety Coordinator in 2010, Safety Supervisor in 2011, and Division Safety Manager in 2015. Gilbert has more than 35 years of experience in the construction industry. Prior to Wharton-Smith, he worked as a supervisor for Coca-Cola.

In addition to his professional experience, Gilbert has been awarded several safety designations, including Construction Health and Safety Technician by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals, Maintenance of Traffic — Advanced, OSHA 500, OSHA 501 — trainer course in Occupational Safety & Health Standards, OSHA 502 — to maintain construction industry trainer status. Gilbert is also a bilingual trainer who is involved as a member of the Central Florida American Society of Safety Professionals, the Alliance for Central Florida Safety, and the Board of Certified Safety Professionals.

In his free time, Gilbert enjoys cooking and spending time with family and friends, especially his two grandkids.

Gilbert resides in Clermont, Florida, with his wife Lydia.

Bob McClelland was named Director of Business Development in May of 2012 and has over 35 years of experience providing business development services to the commercial construction, engineering and architecture industries, along with a background in commercial real estate.

Bob started his career in commercial real estate working throughout Florida for Koger Properties, The Landmarks Group, and Lincoln Property Company. During a downturn in the commercial real estate market, a former construction client convinced Bob to join him in the construction industry and hired him to open an Orlando branch office for the Atlanta-based Beers Construction (Skanska) in 1996. Bob has worked for several firms in the A/E/C industry prior to joining Wharton Smith.

Bob is a firm believer in serving his community and has been very active in community and civic engagement activities. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Winter Park Library, the Board of Directors for Elevate Orlando, and the College of Elders at First Presbyterian Church of Orlando. Bob is a past graduate of Leadership Orlando, Leadership Winter Park, Leadership Central Florida, and Leadership Florida. He has also been active in various trade organizations and local foundations, serving on the boards and/or as president of NAIOP, ULI, BOMA, Downtown Orlando Partnership, and Foundation for Orange County Public Schools among others.

Bob lives in Winter Park with his wife of 25 years, and both are enjoying their empty nester status. Playing golf, supporting University of Florida and Stetson University Sports programs, and working in the yard consume much of his free time.

Todd O‘Donnell, DBIA was named Director of Business Development, Water of Wharton-Smith in January 2018 after serving as Division Manager of our Southwest Florida Regional Operations in Tampa. Todd has more than 29 years of experience in engineering and construction.

Todd joined Wharton-Smith as a Project Manager in 2000, was promoted to Project Executive in 2005, and was appointed Division Manager of Southwest Florida Regional Operations in 2011. Before joining Wharton-Smith, Todd worked for two industrial contractors — ITEQ, Inc. and Chicago Bridge & Iron where he served throughout the Southeast U.S. as well as an overseas assignment in South Africa.

Todd’s current responsibilities include identifying and developing new business relationships as well as maintaining existing client relationships. His main focus is collaborating with the executive leadership team members to align business development goals with the company’s strategic goals. Throughout his tenure, Todd has established and maintained strong relationships with owners, team members, and community leaders, helping Wharton-Smith strategically grow its market share across the southeast.

In addition to his professional experience, Todd grew up in Orlando, FL then attended Auburn University on a baseball scholarship and graduated with a Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering. He is a certified General Contractor in Florida. He is a Leadership Tampa alumnus and was a Leslie Community Impact Award recipient in 2014-2015.

Todd is passionate about his community and is involved in several community service and professional organizations. He serves on the executive board of Treasurer for Florida Design Build Institute of America (DBIA), active member for FSAAWA and FWEA, and Community Outreach and Workforce Development Committees through the Tampa Bay Chamber. Todd has been instrumental in making a reality of several charitable local projects benefiting organizations, such as Memorial Middle School, Lavoy Exceptional Center, A Kid’s Place, The Spring of Tampa Bay, and Keystone Little League.

Todd currently lives in Tampa, FL with his wife of 22 years and his four children.

Toni Henry joined the Wharton-Smith team in 2019 following 13 years in the defense industry. She served as a vice president with leadership roles in business development, strategic communications, government affairs, and marketing at Raydon Corporation (Port Orange, FL). Before joining Raydon, Toni served the Republican National Committee (Washington, DC) for 12 years working in communications and broadcast production.

Toni has extensive experience developing and executing business development and communication plans and grassroots strategies in fast-growing entities. She is passionate about building lasting relationships and sustaining a corporate culture centered on community, communication, and excellence. Toni believes that a General Contractor's success should be measured by its commitment to the communities where its employees live, work, and play. Building in your hometown makes every project personal.

Toni holds a Master's in English from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee. She is actively involved in Leadership Seminole, The Orlando Economic Development Commission, and serves local charities supporting children and women at-risk. She is also an active member of Sugar Mill Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Toni enjoys writing, genealogy, and traveling with her husband Sean and their son Nick in her spare time.

Stephanie Pompeo was named Vice President of Finance in 2020. She joined the company in 2006 and has more than 14 years of experience in accounting, finance, construction, and technology. Stephanie was Wharton-Smith’s first female stockholder.

Stephanie’s holds a corporate leadership role in technology and MIS/IT services which entails oversight of the company’s financial reporting as well as compliance with internal financial procedures and corporate policies. She is an experienced Controller with a demonstrated history of working in the construction industry leading a dynamic accounting team that works on high profile, multi-million-dollar projects. She has experience in tax, financial budgeting, planning, cost control, software development, payroll, workflow mapping and improvements, financial analysis, and strong decision-making skills.

She works closely with executive leadership to support business growth in strategic planning areas. This involves collaboration with operations and all administrative departments to facilitate communication of financial information needed for analysis and forecasting. She is also responsible for the enterprise technology of the company.

In addition to her professional experience, Stephanie graduated from University of Central Florida with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting. She also holds an Associates of Arts degree from Edison State College and is a former Phi Theta Kappa member. In 2016, Stephanie was a nominee in the Orlando Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business.

Stephanie is active in her community and is involved in several organizations. She serves on the Industry Accounting Advisory Board of Seminole State College, a member of Construction Financial Management Association, CFMA 2019-2020 Peer Group member, Corporate Payments Client Advisory Board member and a Sage 300 CRE User Group member. She has provided pro-bono accounting services to Kids House of Seminole, managed Wharton-Smith’s Annual Thanksgiving Drive, and Annual Holiday Toy Drive for Kids House. She is a 2019 graduate of Leadership Seminole, a 2019 graduate of Athena NextGen Thought Leadership Series, former Public Relations Officer of Seminole Toasters of Toastmasters International, founder and Treasurer of Wharton-Smith Toastmasters of Toastmasters International, Board of Director and Treasurer of Wharton-Smith Foundation, Inc.

Stephanie is a proud resident of Seminole County and resides in Lake Mary, Florida, with her husband and two children. In her off hours, she manages rental property, enjoys family, travel, and taking advantage of the theme parks in Central Florida.