Bob McGee Jr.
Arthur M Brazier for Church & Community Advancement
- Enrique
- May 31, 2024
- | Categories: Ezra Wiki
Bob McGee's Early Life
Bob McGee’s story is about 3 generations of family. In 1932, his grandfather, Elder Walter Clemens, founded the Apostolic Church of God. His father, Elder Robert McGee, Sr., became the assistant pastor and his uncle, Gerald Nuckolls, chaired the deacon board and was the director of the Sunday School.
Bob attended Tilden High School in Chicago and, as a teenager, was a dedicated basketball player. After graduation, Bob attended Bradley University in Peoria and played basketball his freshman year; but in 1971, a knee injury forced him to give up basketball. That same year, he met a fellow student, Therese Naddy. They married two years later.
Building a Legacy
Three days after the wedding, Bob’s father helped him get a job working on a project in Woodlawn with construction layout engineer, Larry Bowie, one of the few Black union technical engineers in Chicago. Larry mentored Bob in the industry. For the next 12 years, Bob worked for various large construction companies, moving up from technical engineer to general superintendent to estimator and finally project manager. The projects took him across the Chicago area and included the Olympia Center, a 63-story high rise on the magnificent mile in Chicago. His work as an estimator took him on jobs from Iowa to Washington State. During this time, Bob completed a bachelor’s degree in accounting at DePaul University.
Early on, Bob told Therese that his dream was to own his own company. In 1984, he and his former teacher, Oliver Fifer, started a construction company, II in One Contractors. Over the years, the company has built highways, bridges, churches, university buildings, hospital infrastructure, parking garages, tunnels, sewage treatment plants, and affordable housing. His company has furnished and installed the ironwork and concrete for high profile projects such as Millennium Park, University of Chicago hospital and school, Northwestern Memorial hospital, Rush University hospital, University of Illinois Microbiology building, Cook County hospital, Chicago 911 center, Chicago police headquarters, Illinois State Police Forensic Laboratory, the Wells Street bridge, the 95th Street CTA station, the Wilson CTA station, and two buildings at the Apostolic Church of God. Currently II in One Contractors is helping to build the Obama Presidential Center.
Importantly, too, Bob has opened the door for many young Black men and women to have opportunities in the construction trades as carpenters, ironworkers, laborers, and heavy equipment operators. Currently he has 110 employees on six projects. Sixty-five percent of his workers are Black or Hispanic. He is past president of Associated Steel Erectors and currently serves as a trustee to the Ironworkers Apprenticeship Program.
Early Church Life & Youth Ministry
Bob and Therese have always been involved in the work of the church. At the Apostolic Church of God, Bob was the first van driver. He also worked in the kitchen and the finance room processing the offerings on Sunday morning. In 1976, Bob was invited to be on the official board of Apostolic Church of God. He has partnered with Therese, who is a clinical psychologist, to counsel married couples.
With a passion for youth ministry, Bob began teaching Sunday School to youth and teenagers in 1988. As co-teachers, Bob and Therese have consistently taught teens for over 20 years, even through the Pandemic. Bob and other men in the church developed the Lions of Judah, a Friday night program for teen boys which incorporated Bible Study and basketball. Often called upon to speak to high school groups about opportunities in construction, Bob has greatly supported scholarship programs for young college students and has mentored young people over the years.
Bob places a high value on generosity and being of help wherever he can. He has been a consultant to many pastors as they embarked on building projects. He is currently very involved in supporting men who are caregivers for their wives or are widowers. Bob’s mission statement is “I want to be of value to Jesus Christ in the building of His kingdom and the blessing of his people.”
Bob McGee's Family Life
On June 2, 2023, Bob and Therese celebrated their 50th anniversary. They are blessed to have three adult children, and four grandchildren. Today they are members of the Apostolic Faith Church under the leadership of Bishop Horace E. Smith, M.D. and are continuing their work in Christian education.