Solid performance: Jarrett latest from B&B to enter hall of fame
Apr. 10—TUPELO — The Mississippi Concrete Association was founded in 1957 to help promote the industry, and in 2013 it created its Hall of Fame.
And for the third time since then, B&B Concrete of Tupelo has had a member of the company named to the Hall.
The most recent inductee from B&B — and the only person named this year statewide — is Mark Jarrett, the company's sales manager. He follows in the recognition of B&B co-founder Henry C. Brevard Jr. (who was inducted in the first Hall of Fame class in 2013) and Vice President and engineer William F. "Bill" Waters Jr. (inducted in 2015).
Jarrett has spent his career at B&B, having started 42 years ago at age 21. His Hall of Fame induction last Wednesday was a testament to his hard work and dedication, both to the company and the industry as whole.
According to B&B Concrete President and CEO David Brevard, Jarrett's father, Henry, had a successful career as a brick salesman. Jarret seems to be a chip off the old block ... or brick, as it were.
"Mark's ability and success as a salesman probably comes honestly to him as a reflection of his daddy," Brevard said. "Like his daddy, Mark is a people person. Like his daddy, Mark builds strong relationships, has a big handshake, and has a knack for remembering people's names."
Jarrett grew up in the small community of Potts Camp, where he was a star basketball player and played on on state championship teams. After high school, he went to Northwest Mississippi Junior College and wanted to study civil engineering while still playing basketball. And that's when he found his way into the business.
"I answered a blind ad in the Daily Journal for a sales trainee with a construction material firm," he said.
That company was B&B, and it was Henry Brevard Jr. who called the young Jarrett for an interview. It was a good conversation on a Friday evening, and Brevard followed Jarret out to his car as he left.
"He said the interview went well, but I was young and inexperienced, and I think I commented that what I lacked in experience I could make up in hard work and dedication," Jarrett said.
The following Monday, he was invited back for a second interview, and he was hired.
"I was green and kind of learned the ropes on my own, but that's how it all started," Jarrett said.
Jarrett admired the elder Brevard deeply, and said he learned much from him.
"First and foremost he was a gentleman, and he said that no matter what I didn't know, to be nice," he said. "He and I engaged in a lot of one-on-one conversations, and he respected everyone in life, from employees to vendors. He was a good listener. As a businessman he was probably more in the style of doing more from the back room at his drawing table on the telephone, than he was out in front. But he was very involved in the community with a lot of civic clubs and organizations."
That clearly rubbed off on Jarrett, who has been quite active himself throughout out his career.
"Mark is a man of faith, family, work, and service," David Brevard said.
Jarrett is a Sunday School teacher, choir member, Missions Team member, and member of the Finance Committee at Belden Baptist Church. He is a former President of the Tupelo Civitan Club and former Coliseum Project Leader for the club. Mark is a Foundation Fellow for the Civitans. He has served on the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross (North MS Chapter), Catch Kids and the American Cancer Society (North MS Chapter). He has served on the Board of Directors for three construction industry related organizations in addition to the Mississippi Concrete Association, as follows: MS Associated Builders & Contractors, MS Road Builders Association, and the North MS Homebuilders Association.
Jarrett has served the Mississippi Concrete Association as a member of the Promotions Committee, the Board of Directors, and as the President (2013). He was one of three winners of the Mississippi Concrete Association's 1993 Marketing Awards Competition, which was a statewide program to recognize the concrete industry's top sales and marketing professionals in Mississippi.
And as Sales Manager for B&B, Mark is a member of the company's senior leadership team.
"He is family to both B&B and the Brevard family," Brevard said.
Jarrett said that in his role as sales manager, it's important to put himself in the customers' shoes, to meet their needs and to learn something about them in order to establish a relationship.
"Once you can separate the individual from the work, you can solve any issue," he said. "It's more important to focus on the issues."
That has helped B&B grown into north Mississippi's largest ready mix concrete supplier, with thousands of customers across the region. The Tupelo main plant also serves as the support center for some 15 other plants scattered across the region.
"Concrete is perishable, so you have about an hour to get to where you need to get with it," Jarrett said, explaining why the company has so many plants. "That's why our plants are about 30 minutes apart."
And Jarrett's expertise and skills as a sales manager have helped contribute to B&B's success over the years, Brevard said.
"He's done that by being a people person and building relationships with customers, and he's helped us close on more sales over the years than I can keep track of," Brevard said. "He's just been a very valuable and valued member of the team."
