Dennis Vollink retires after 40-year career with Drury Southwest

After more than 40 years serving as a pilot and engineer then president and director of Drury Southwest, Dennis Vollink is set to retire.

In 1981, Bob Drury was looking for a pilot to fly team members to the states where Drury had construction projects and hotels under development. At the same time, he also needed an engineer. When he found Dennis Vollink, he knew he’d found two men in one.

“I was working on a degree in solar engineering at Trinity University at night and was looking for a job where I could fly and be an engineer with a smaller company,” Vollink said.

Vollink said there are a number of company successes that come to mind over his 40-year career.

“I think about completing the hundreds of projects that Bob Drury led the company through, while maintaining the superior quality in both construction and operations that was recognized nationally with 16 years of J.D. Power awards and quality local developments and operations,” Vollink said, adding that Drury Southwest built projects in 16 states.

“Bob had the company keep control of all aspects: real estate, finance, development, engineering, architecture, construction, supply and operations. Quality in all these areas was critical, especially in operations, with Chuck Drury and his team at Drury Hotels. We saw the need for continuous improvement because to be able to survive and compete against the ‘big guys,’ we had to be ahead of and better than them.”

Vollink said the Drury team instilled in their team the importance of an owner’s work ethic, values and truly caring for customers and team members alike.

“Bob totally delegated major complicated projects to our team once he got the concept started,” Vollink said. “Projects such as the 24-story historic renovation on the River Walk in San Antonio and the nine-day project to expand the River Walk four blocks and then donate to the city, were major projects that took pre-planning, teamwork and thinking outside the box. He said he ‘got out of the way’ for us to complete so he could move on to the next project.”

Vollink, with his wife Kathy and their children, moved to Cape Girardeau not only to start a new job but a new life in a new community.

“Kathy and I have been extremely blessed to live in the Cape Girardeau community and raise and love our three children and four grandchildren,” Vollink said.

As part of the local Catholic community, Vollink has helped with school construction projects, served on several local boards, and been involved with astronomy outreach that shows the beauty of God’s creation.

Vollink is proud that his latest project as part of the building team at Catholic Campus Ministry “was totally built with local contractors and donations and will help the students to see the truth, beauty and goodness of Christ’s church for the next 100 years.”

Drury Southwest and Cape Girardeau want to thank Vollink for his four decades of service and commitment.