Employee Q&A: Shannon Blodgett

I am the deputy program manager in support of the 63rd DPW facility support services project. I have been with TBP for 4 years and counting!

Can you tell us about the work you do at TBP?

I help maintain great customer relations while helping to ensure our customers’ facilities can support the Army Reserve tenant units’ missions. I work closely with our TBP team in the field. We cover 7 states divided into 6 regions. Our team helps to identify facility deficiencies and relay them to the customer via work orders or project requests. We follow the work from start to finish and ensure the customer is receiving the best quality completion of their funded repairs, projects, and service contracts.

I am a city girl who moved to the country! I was born and raised in Southern California. However, I learned quickly that working remotely with the TBP HQ team was just not good enough for me. In July of 2022, we sold our house and moved across the country to West Virginia so I could work in the office with the Leesburg team! I love it! I will never look back.

What do you like most about working in your role?

I really enjoy supporting our customer and our TBP team. I have spent my entire career learning how to provide the best support I can. How can we improve our processes? What can we do better? It motivates me. I know that, here at TBP, I can grow with them as well. I appreciate everyone here that I work with and all that I have learned.

How do you define success?

What comes to mind immediately is motivation. I was always motivated by people around me that were complacent and struggling their way through life. That was not appealing to me at all. I knew if I wanted to be successful, I would need to stay driven, work hard, and make a better life for myself.

If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?

I would become a professional photographer. My grandmother introduced me to photography, and I took photography all four years in high school. I just never made time to really invest in it.

What is a favorite quote that resonates with you?

I am not a quote person, but if you know me personally, in conversation you might hear me say, “And for that, I’m out!” from Shark Tank. Sometimes I think I am funny, so I will throw that little quote in or “There is no way I would ever jump out of a perfectly good airplane.” when I think something is ridiculous.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

I must give my Senior Program Manager Denny Boyles credit for this one. I absolutely hate speaking in front of groups. I used to speak very fast, rushing through whatever it was I had to say, leaving no time for questions or feedback. One day he told me, “In order to grow, you have to make yourself uncomfortable sometimes and get out of your comfort zone.” That is solid advice. I think of it often and it will continue to help me grow as a professional.

What is the accomplishment you are the proudest of to date?

A few years ago, a friend of mine asked if I wanted to complete the 52-hike challenge. I had zero experience hiking, but decided to challenge myself, so I accepted her offer. Our hikes ranged from 5 miles to 16 miles for the longest one. We completed the 52 hikes that December. That is something I am proud of myself for doing. I was able to see some beautiful parts of California, Washington, and Oregon that year. It was not easy, especially with the grueling summer heat, but well worth it!