A chance interaction set Lewis Senior Superintendent Kory Ray on the path to a 25-year career in commercial construction.
At 18, Kory joined his father—a school district facilities director—on a tour of a construction site in their hometown of Lebanon, Oregon.
While watching a framing crew at work, Kory made some observations. A site superintendent overheard Kory and asked, “Do you want a job?”
At the time, Kory was juggling classes at nearby Western Oregon University and part-time work at an auto supply store. But construction sounded like a better fit. He’d learned about it during summers spent re-siding and painting homes with his father.
After the jobsite conversation in 2001, Kory took a chance on the industry. He trained to become a second-term apprentice-carpenter and gained exposure to a variety of project types across Oregon. He eventually rose to superintendent for an international construction company with a strong presence in the Pacific Northwest, setting himself apart with his experience in progressive design-build delivery and mass timber construction.
His leadership qualities in the field and focus on quality led to him winning one of the company’s top employee awards at both the regional and international levels in 2024.
Setting the standard on day one
Kory credits his mentors for setting him on the right path, even though his leadership philosophy diverges from theirs.
“I had some of the best gruff and rough teachers that you would ever want to be around,” he said. “They did an amazing job of teaching us about work ethic. But sometimes they’d tell us to work harder, not smarter. To never turn down an hour of overtime. Those things those were great back then, but there’s a new way of doing things.”
Kory’s approach begins long before the first nail is hammered or the first beam is hoisted into place. He believes that clear communication and preparation for field crews are critical to starting a project on the right foot.
“From day one, people need to understand what the expectations are,” he says. “If you’re not clear upfront, and someone shows up without the right gear or the right understanding, their attitude toward the job will shift negatively right away.” At the heart of Kory’s leadership philosophy is what he calls a “culture of care.” It’s an ethos that prioritizes the well-being and success of everyone on the jobsite, from subcontractors to project managers.
“We’re there to support the people who build the project,” Kory explains. “Whether it’s subcontractors or our own team, our role is to make sure they have what they need to succeed.”
This support takes many forms. Kory ensures jobsites are clean, well-organized, and easy to navigate. He prioritizes open communication, encouraging workers to ask questions and seek help without hesitation.
“I can’t tell you how many times, when I was younger, I’d ask how to do something and be told to just figure it out,” Kory recalls. “Now, it’s about making sure people know they can come to you for help. If they feel supported, they’ll care more about their work, and they’ll do a better job because of it. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll find someone who does.”
This culture of care extends to safety. For Kory, safety isn’t just about enforcing rules; it’s about creating a workplace where following those rules feels natural and integral to the team’s success.
“Safety falls in line when you set the standard upfront,” he says. “PPE and all the other measures become part of the uniform, part of the culture.”
The same can be said for recognizing great work. On past projects, clients would often walk jobsites and later tell Kory about how impressed they were. Kory would make sure to pass along the praise during the next day’s morning stretch and flex.
“So often for craft workers, it can feel like a thankless job. You move from one project onto the next job,” he said. “Telling them the client appreciates their work can make all the difference.”
Fostering a culture of learning
A few years ago, Kory was overseeing a progressive design-build project with a mass timber element for a municipality in Oregon.
As the project team convened for the first time, he broke the ice by asking a simple question in a safe and open forum: “How many of you have worked on a progressive design-build project before?”
Only two hands went up.
“How many of you have worked on a mass timber project?” he continued. The response was similar. While the companies represented on the project team had experience, many of the individual team members did not. This realization shaped Kory’s leadership approach for the project: acknowledging the gaps, tapping into the expertise available, and prioritizing collective learning.
He and his team organized educational sessions to ensure everyone understood the nuances of progressive design-build delivery. From teaching foremen about Guaranteed Maximum Price contracts to clarifying that change orders don’t exist in this context, they empowered the team to embrace their roles fully.
“We wanted to ensure everyone understood the importance of their contributions and how they could move the needle,” Kory explains. “Instead of just identifying problems that weren’t in the drawings, they needed to become part of the solution. ‘We were telling them, ‘This is your design, too.’”
When it came to the mass timber aspect of the project, Kory took a similar approach. He brought in specialists to share lessons learned from previous projects. Kory encouraged the team to ask open-ended questions: What worked well? What didn’t? What could a general contractor do differently to set the project up for success?
This open dialogue was more than just a learning opportunity; it was a powerful team-building exercise. “The trust it created was incredible,” Kory says. “We encouraged everyone to ask questions, no matter how basic. I’d ask things others might think were obvious, but I didn’t care. I wanted to learn.”
By fostering a culture where humility and curiosity were celebrated, Kory’s team turned potential gaps into strengths. They blended the knowledge of seasoned experts with the fresh perspectives of newcomers, creating a vision that propelled the project to success.
The result? A project that not only met its goals but won an ENR award. Kory was also invited to share his leadership philosophy at the 2024 International Mass Timber Conference.
“It was one of the most empowering team-building experiences I’ve ever been part of,” Kory says. “When you create an environment where people feel safe to learn, ask questions, and contribute, the results speak for themselves.”
Bringing new services and amenities to Oregon communities
Growing up in Lebanon, Oregon, where he still lives, Kory remembers seeing Lewis pickup trucks and site signage. The company was active on a couple of elementary school projects funded through a $40 million bond that his dad managed: Pioneer School and Riverview.
“Lewis was a staple in our town,” Kory says.
In joining Lewis all these years later, he’s looking forward to making a local impact in rural communities like the one he grew up in and now calls home, whether it’s expanding healthcare services or building schools.
Critical-access healthcare facilities are a favorite project type. Adding updated departments, triage centers, and essential services in these areas can make a life-or-death difference, ensuring people don’t have to endure long ambulance rides to larger towns and cities for care.
Kory also takes pride in education projects. By bringing sophisticated learning environments to smaller towns, children have access to the same quality learning environments as those in big cities. “It’s not about where you’re from,” he says. “It’s about making sure everyone has access to the best opportunities.”