CAREER STORY
John Skinner
A long and rewarding road
By Mark Halsall
When John Skinner was a teenager in Charleston,
S.C., little did he know that his future lay just
down the street at a neighbouring business
called Parker Marine Contracting Corp. That future began in 1972,
when Skinner was a young man of 19 looking for a job close by.
He approached Tommy Parker, the founder and owner of Parker
Marine, asking for work. Skinner got a job, although it wasn’t
exactly what he had in mind.
“Back then, I was what you’d call a backyard mechanic for
automobiles. When I told Mr. Parker I was a mechanic, he kind
of laughed,” said Skinner with a smile. “The first job I had there
was painting.”
Now, almost 50 years later, Skinner has performed just about
every job to be had at Parker Marine, which specializes in both
marine and land-based pile driving.
“I got into the shop and worked on equipment as a mechanic.
I learned to run a crane while I was there, and I ended up moving
out to the field as a crane operator and I eventually became a field
superintendent. From there, I ended up going back to the shop to
run that facility,” said Skinner.
Skinner managed the Parker Marine shop, which performed
equipment maintenance and repair and piling fabrication, until
2013 when he assumed other responsibilities after the passing
of Parker.
Photo courtesy of PDCA
John Skinner (center) with industry
friends at a PDCA of South Carolina
Chapter Oyster Roast event
www.piledrivers.org PILEDRIVER | 77
/www.piledrivers.org
