GFRC’s staff includes some of the finest construction professionals in our area. Our success is based on their commitment to craftsmanship, service and integrity.
GF Rhode Construction organizes its staff into project teams. Depending on the requirements of the project, the team may include a project manager, a project supervisor, and a range of tradespeople and suppliers selected to best execute project specifications. Grant as Principal is involved in every project. Our construction field staff is supported by our experienced office personnel.
Principal
Grant Rhode, Principal
Grant’s vision of high performance project delivery and dedication to craft and client service shapes our company. He began contracting construction services during his high school years in southern New Hampshire and Maine, and founded Boston Woodworks (BW), an architectural millwork firm, with his brother Brian in 1982. Grant established GF Rhode Construction (GFRC) in 1994, in order to dedicate his time to the general contracting part of the business. GFRC’s primary focus has been the construction of architect-designed residential and commercial work in the Boston area. Grant is a recognized leader in the residential construction industry in Massachusetts; he received a Custom Home Pacesetter Award for Innovation, recognizing his long-standing commitment to developing teams in our industry.
In developing his model for managing residential construction, Grant draws upon experience as a high performance commercial contractor. Equally important, however, are the relationships that he has created with the many fine architects and design professionals with whom he has worked. Through these relationships, he has developed sensitivity to the aesthetics of design and construction, and shares these concerns with the GFRC staff. He works together with them to bring a balance of art, craft, and commerce to every project that we undertake. MORE
Construction Management Personnel
Our outstanding project management staff are dedicated to their craft and to the people they serve.
David Walsh, Senior Project Supervisor
Dave has spent more than twenty-five years in the construction industry, developing an expertise in fine carpentry and woodwork. Dave joined the GFRC staff in 2001, to bring increased focus on the craft of carpentry, and to provide increased depth in all aspects of construction supervision. He founded his own carpentry company in the Boston area in 1988, and as Walsh Builders and Interior Finish, built projects of increasing sophistication as a carpentry subcontractor for GFRC. These projects received recognition in such publications as Architectural Digest, Fine Homebuilding, and This Old House magazine. Dave did liberal arts coursework at the University of Massachusetts and the University of Northern Colorado. He is a licensed Construction Supervisor in Massachusetts, and is an Associate of the American Woodworking Institute.
Todd Kneeland, Project Supervisor, brings to GF Rhode Construction over twenty years of experience in the construction industry in a variety of progressive positions. For GFRC, Todd has supervised several complex projects, including a multi-year renovation of a 1905 brick residence in Brookline, with additions, a glass enclosed pool house, and a tennis court. He began his career as a laborer for a slate roofer, and then moved to Colorado, where he worked as a carpenter and construction manager on a number of historic renovation projects. Back in Boston, Todd worked for a commercial general contractor and for another high-end residential builder before joining GFRC. Todd received a B.S. in physical geography from Plymouth State College, and is a licensed Construction Supervisor in Massachusetts.
Rick Murdock, Project Supervisor, joined GFRC in 2001 after working for Walsh Builders and Interior Finish for several years. Rick has supervised a range of projects for us, including a large residential renovation in Newton, the construction of a LEED-certified five unit condominium development in Brookline, and other similarly complex projects. Rick began his career as a Navy Seal, and he brings that rigorous training in teamwork, organization, loyalty, and sense of mission to his Project Supervisor position. After his Navy tour of duty, Rick had 15 years of progressive experience as a mechanic and carpenter, with a focus on steelwork, welding, machinery operations and maintenance, and frame and finish carpentry.
Jim Supple, Project Supervisor, joined GFRC as Project Supervisor in 2001, after working for Walsh Builders and Interior Finish since 1995. Jim has worked on several renovation and new construction projects for GFRC, bringing his exceptional capacity for finish work to bear on a variety of demanding and beautiful projects. He has twenty years experience doing frame and finish carpentry, heading a 16-person framing crew in the late 1980s and working for many years as carpentry foreman for a high-end residential kitchen contractor. Jim is a licensed Construction Supervisor in Massachusetts.
Office Personnel
Judith Katz, Marketing Director
Judy joined GFRC in 1994, with the dual mission of developing a marketing program and establishing corporate policies and procedures. Her adjunct roles include human resources, and corporate communications and information systems. Prior to her work in the construction industry, Judy had a successful career in banking. As Vice President with the Bank of New England, she was responsible for assessing foreign country risk as a support to international lending. Subsequent to that, she managed a department that developed and communicated credit policy and procedures throughout the corporation, with a focus on real estate issues. Judy received a B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh in Anthropology, an M.A. in Near Eastern Languages from Indiana University, and an M.A.L.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
Eileen Keller, Financial Administrator, manages financial and accounting functions at GFRC, including accounts payable, client billing, and financial reporting and analysis. She came to GFRC after an extensive career as a financial administrator in a variety of office environments, having had responsibility for bookkeeping, contract coordination, billing management and analysis, and materials management. Eileen had two and a half years of liberal arts coursework at Beloit College in Wisconsin and additional studies in accounting at Framingham State College and Mass Bay Community College.
Karyn Flynn, Office Manager, joined GFRC with over thirteen years in early childhood education, five of which were managerial in nature. Karyn coordinates field/office communications, manages information flows, provides project administration support to field personnel, and assists in marketing and financial operations. Karyn received a B.S. in Elementary Education from Bridgewater State College, as well as a Certificate in Travel Agency Operations and Procedures.
