By AARON SNYDER / The Independent
ASHLAND — Ever since she was a young girl, a local business associate knew she would end up filling her mother’s shoes.
Kourtney Swimm, 31, is now the vice president of The Bri-Den Co., Inc., a commercial and industrial roofing business.
“My sister and I would play in the back room and play office,” Swimm said. “Now I have taken over what my mom used to do.”
Swimm’s parents, Brian and Kim Morrison, formed the business in August 1986. Brian is the president and CEO. Kim is now the executive vice president.
Swimm manages the financial aspect of Bri-Den Co., handling accounts and assuring distribution of funds and employee’s paychecks.
Swimm and her brother, Brian, work for the company, while her two sisters are living in New York. She said that she never really had any alternate plans after graduating from Russell High School.
“My brother always had it in his mind that he is going to take over,” Swimm said of 21-year-old Brian. “Hopefully we will continue to be a good team together.”
Swimm said good teamwork amongst the group is a credit to her parents.
“They are such good people and good parents,” Swimm said. “They are awesome role models and really giving people.”
In 1998, Bri-Den Co. expanded toward central Kentucky, forming an office in Lexington.
“We were always doing work up that way,” Swimm said. “Now, we have a tremendous crew in and out of the office in Lexington.”
According to Swimm, Bri-Den Co. currently has about four different jobs around Lexington and has a job in Jenkins. Among those are Keene Hall at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond and a set of apartments in Lexington.
Along with the upper management, Bri-Den’s employees include a full staff of estimators, project managers, supervisors, clerical personnel, journeyman roofers, and journeyman sheet metal mechanics.
According to Bri-Den’s Web site, bridenroofing.com, its whole operation began in a basement. Now it has grown to include an 18,000 square foot office, warehouse, and sheet metal shop in Ashland and a 9,000-square foot facility in Lexington.
Locally, the company has several clients. Bri-Den has done work for Russell Independent Schools, Ashland Independent Schools, Wurtland Elementary and much more.
According to Swimm, the company has worked for Columbia Gas, Midtown Mall, community hospice and other buildings in Ashland.
Swimm is also involved with the Young Professionals Association, an organization that strives to get the younger face of Ashland more involved in the city and community. Swimm said one has to be no older than 39 to be in the group, but the group is doing some good things.
“We want to bring the young blood back in here,” Swimm said. “We want to get the interest back in Ashland through networking. It’s kind of a young spinoff of the Ashland Alliance.”
One project the YPA is currently working on involves a community kitchen at “The Neighborhood” in Ashland. They are putting large barrels in city banks, such as National City and City National banks, resembling Campbell Soup jars. People are putting in donations to go toward the project.
If all of that isn’t enough for Swimm, she and her husband are expecting their first child in May.
