Every year on March 13, the School of Building Construction recognizes John Caddell's birthday. One of the School's most successful and trailblazing supporters, Caddell, along with his wife Joyce, gifted the School the award-winning John and Joyce Caddell Building and a scholarship. 

Starting in 2024, the School began this annual celebration with the help of Caddell's daughter, Cathy Caddell, and her husband Charlie Warnke. They, along with long-time Caddell Construction leaders Eddie Stewart (BC’78) and Francis Hernandez (ARCH’94, M.ARCH’87), marked the occasion with another special gift to the Georgia Tech community.

For his 91st birthday, Cathy and Charlie gave John Caddell his very own Ramblin' Wreck. Restored by the same team that refurbished Georgia Tech's official Ramblin' Wreck, the Model A Ford sported customized flags that read "To Hell With Georgia" and "Give 'Em Hell, Caddell!" -- a nod to Georgia Tech's long football rivalry with the University of Georgia. When John Caddell died in 2023, his family donated the Caddell Wreck to Georgia Tech Alumni Association. 

This year’s Gold and White Honors Gala featured Caddell's replica of the Ramblin’ Wreck. The flags were presented to the School of Building Construction on the inaugural John Caddell Day.

Stewart, now the president and CEO of Caddell Construction, started working with John Caddell soon after he graduated from Tech. Standing in the John and Joyce Caddell Building lobby where the flags are now displayed, Stewart discussed how Caddell taught him, "Our industry, the construction industry, is all about relationships and people."

"I can't say enough about the Caddell family and particularly about Cathy and Charlie for keeping that lesson alive," Stewart said. "I know John is looking down right now just beaming." 

"I know Daddy would be so proud," Cathy Caddell said. 

For most of John Caddell’s (ARCH’52) life, the general public saw Georgia Tech graduates as “Helluva Engineers.”  

Any Georgia Tech building construction student past or present will eagerly tell you about another archetype: John Caddell, the brilliant graduate whose passion for construction helped build embassies around the world and two leading companies.  

Caddell started his construction career at the Blount Brothers Construction company, where he eventually became president and CEO in 1969. In his fifties he co-founded Caddell Construction with his wife. Caddell Construction made more than $1B in 2022. 

“Engineers supposedly take an architect's dream and make it work. But somebody's got to build the actual building,” said Eddie Stewart, John Caddell’s protege and the current CEO of Caddell Construction.  

“Building a building is not just throwing sticks and bricks together. You’ve got to plan these things, you've got to invent creative ways to construct what architects come up with,” Stewart said. 

The buildings Stewart worked on with Caddell are some of the most intricate construction projects possible — embassy complexes. 

“These embassies are magnificent structures,” Stewart said. “They're not office buildings. It's all about logistics. It's all about security. It's all about safety. And it’s doing all that in some of the weirdest and least-advanced countries in the world.” 

They were able to win these projects and tackle these buildings because of a skill Caddell picked up at Georgia Tech, Stewart said. 

“He had this uncanny ability to break the most complicated things down into their simplest terms and then construct them. He liked difficult projects that required figuring out ‘how to build a better mousetrap.’” 

Caddell worked his way through college as an undergraduate and married his wife during his third year at Tech, Stewart said. 

“John Caddell was an incredible mind. There's no doubt about that,” fellow graduate and Caddell Construction design manager Francis Hernandez said.  

“But it was his wife, the pair of them, that really made him formidable. It was never just John, it was always John and Joyce.” The couple loved giving back to their communities, he said, because they came from such humble beginnings. 

The Caddells were long-time donors to the Georgia Tech Foundation who kept season tickets to Georgia Tech football games for decades.  

But when it came time to give back to the Georgia Tech School of Building Construction, the Caddells had something a little more permanent in mind. Their desire, Hernandez said, was to kickstart a modern undergraduate construction program.  

They established the John A. and Joyce K. Caddell Scholarship for undergraduate students in the Building Construction program. And to students who love construction as much as they did, the Caddells gifted a building. Completed in 2015, the LEED platinum-certified John and Joyce Caddell Building now houses the School of Building Construction 

The John and Joyce Caddell Building is an ambitious example of adaptive reuse in construction, leaving mechanics and the steel beam structure exposed. The building won the American Institute of Steel Construction IDEAS² award in 2019. 

“For a school that provides education on the life cycle of the construction and operation of buildings, this is a very powerful gift,” said School of Building Construction Chair Ece Erdogmus,  

“Our students are inspired by both the building itself and its story. How cool is that the building they admire daily was made possible by someone who became very successful at the career they also chose to pursue,” she said. 

One of the best gifts any donor can give a student is a better learning experience, Erdogmus said.  

“Georgia Tech's new undergraduate degree in Construction Science and Management is positioned to be the best in the nation,” she said, “because we have the best industry support possible and rebuilding an applied degree program like ours takes a village. It takes a combination of trusting and talented students, strong industry support and alumni engagement, and staying ahead of the industry with emerging technologies.” 

“A building that represents the state of the industry and was possible due to the success of an alum from the College of Design is a constant source of inspiration for our community,” she said. 

The School’s students also get to interact with Caddell Construction leadership throughout the year. 

“Eddie Stewart and Francis Hernandez are both on our advisory board and they're very engaged,” Erdogmus said. “They're excited about our students and our students treat them like celebrities.” 

The students who benefit from John and Joyce Caddell’s gifts share so much in common with John Caddell, Erdogmus said.  

“They have a brilliance. They are technically very strong. They don't shy away from challenges, especially when it comes to building businesses and entrepreneurship. As if it's in their blood, their nature. And they see themselves in John Caddell’s example.” 

Stewart and Hernandez believe a shared Georgia Tech experience makes them unique in the construction industry. 

“Over the years, we found that hiring Tech graduates — seeing that Tech degree on a resume — means a lot,” Stewart said. “Those people have the fortitude and the stick-to-it-iveness to get through Georgia Tech. And when we hire them, we get out-of-the-box thinkers.” 

“I remember the tremendous amount of work I had to tackle when I was there,” Hernandez said, “but also the tremendous amount of brain power at Tech. Being with like-minded students, even though everybody has their own academic focus, you knew you were with an intellectual elite.” 

John Caddell was 93 years old when he died March 27, 2023. He was surrounded by his family, the only thing he loved more than Georgia Tech or construction, Hernandez said. 

Erdogmus said Caddell’s well-balanced work and home life is a timely example for today’s students. 

“I know there used to be this concept of ‘getting out of Georgia Tech.’ You know, reminiscent of prison or torture,” she said. “But I think Georgia Tech has made a huge culture shift and now emphasizes wellness and balance.”  

“I also think a better work-life balance is a sign of future success. You can’t just keep going and going without burning out. You have to set aside some downtime for strategic thinking and reflection,” she said. “It seems the Caddells figured this out much sooner than many do. They build a world-class company, a wonderful family, and a culture of philanthropy.” 

“The Caddells’ vision is a testament to the strength of our past, a commitment to today, and an inspiration for the future,” said Jacquelyn Schneider (BC'06, MBA'18), Development Associate for the College of Design. 

This legacy of ‘having it all is possible’ is likely the best motivation for The Georgia Tech School of Building Construction faculty and students as they walk into the beautiful building every day. The John and Joyce Caddell Building is a place where we dream and do the hard work to build tomorrow, Schneider said.