About Stark Companies
Company History
Stark Excavating, Inc. began in 1972 with David K. Stark as president. Stark Excavating's foundation was a company that Dave's father, Lyle, began in 1946. That company had a very strong influence on Dave's career choice. "I grew up in construction and started working with my father when I was about 10 years old. I loved everything about the business and knew it was right for me from the first day."
When Stark Excavating incorporated in 1972, the company had only 2 employees, besides Dave and Lyle, at its Bloomington, IL headquarters. As Dave grows the business, more employees, equipment and services are added every year. Stark Excavating also operates branch offices in Champaign, IL and in Tonica, IL.
In 1989, Dave formed a second company, Stark Materials Company, Inc., and entered into the sand and gravel business. Since that time, Stark Materials has acquired the rights to or opened from scratch a total of 6 quarries with more on the way. In the mid 1990's, Stark Materials added 2 concrete ready-mix plants to supply not only the sand and gravel needs but also the concrete needs of it's sister company.
The Stark Companies perform a variety of construction services in the Central Illinois area which include:
Site Utilities (Water Main; Sanitary/Storm Sewer)
Parking Lots (Concrete and Asphalt)
Job site pictures from some of our jobs in these categories can be found by following the links on our website.
Company Directors
David K. Stark, Director -- Dave is a life long resident of Central Illinois and is the founder of Stark Excavating and Stark Materials. He is actively involved in all aspects of the daily operations of both companies and has other business interests in the community. Dave has also served on the Board of Directors for the Bloomington Branch of Commerce Bank and currently serves as a Director for the Advisory Board for Soy Capital Bank and Trust and the Association of General Contractors of Illinois.
David K. Stark, Jr., Director -- David earned a Civil Engineering degree from the University of Illinois in 2001. He is active in the management of the Champaign, IL office and is heavily involved in preparing construction project estimates to submit competitive bids and then manage those awarded construction projects to completion. At the annual stockholders' meeting in December 2002, David was elected to serve as a Director.
Gregory T. Stark, Director -- Greg is a life-long resident of the Bloomington/Normal area and has been active in the business since 1995 . He was elected to serve as a Director at the annual stockholders' meeting in December 2002. Greg is a member of Operators Local 649 and has been trained on and is experienced at operating all of the heavy highway construction equipment in Stark's fleet.
Sarah S. (Stark) Ryterski, Director -- Sarah is also a life-long resident of the Bloomington/Normal area. She has been active in the business since 1997 and has attended Heartland Community College and Illinois Wesleyan University. At the December 2002 stockholders' meeting, Sarah was elected to serve as a Director. She is gaining experience in all of the back-office functions and is currently handling Field Payroll, Field Application Software and Document Imaging.
Company Officers
David K. Stark, President & Asst Corporate Secretary -- See bio for David K. Stark in the preceding section.
S. Ross Griffin, Vice President -- Ross joined Stark in 1980 and serves as General Superintendent. The Directors appointed him Vice President at the December 2002 Board meeting. Prior to working for Stark, Ross was in field construction management with Canonie Construction (Ludington, MI Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Plant) and Fruin Colnon Corporation (Clinton, IL Nuclear Power Station).
Ila J. Slagell, Corporate Secretary & Asst Treasurer -- Ila joined Stark in 1988 and has handled various aspects of Payroll, Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable. She was promoted to Controller in 1996 and the Board appointed her Corporate Secretary and Assistant Treasurer at its December 2002 meeting. Prior to joining Stark, Ila attended Illinois State University and worked in the banking industry.
Gary W. Masso, Treasurer & Asst Corporate Secretary -- Gary joined Stark in 2000 as Chief Financial Officer. The Board appointed him Treasurer and Assistant Corporate Secretary during its December 2002 meeting. Gary earned an Accounting Degree from Illinois State University in 1984 and worked for Price Waterhouse, Ruppman Marketing Technologies and Whittman-Hart prior to joining Stark.