Driving Force

When he was younger, Traevon Tucker envisioned himself as a truck driver. Today he’s out of school and in the driver’s seat – not in a truck, however, but rather on a range of heavy equipment for APAC Atlantic, a Savannah-based paving and asphalt company.

Traveon discovered his knack for heavy equipment operations at Hinesville’s Liberty College & Career Academy, where he learned carpentry and HEO skills in teacher Michael Peagler’s Construction program.

“To me, construction is like a video game – you get on the equipment and it’s like you’re playing with dirt,” says Traevon, a 2025 graduate of LCCA. “When I was a little kid I wanted to be a truck driver. When I started getting older, after I did carpentry, I was like, ‘Wait a minute, I’d probably be good in construction.’ Then my teacher found out we might have a heavy equipment class and I thought, ‘I might as well join that too.’

“The HEO training was a big [influence] in my life,” he adds, “because it helped me see myself, like, ‘OK, I have potential in this.’”

Traevon was so adept in his class’s HEO simulator, he earned a teaching internship his senior year, during which he assisted Peagler in classroom instruction.

Traevon also discovered HEO competition through an in-house event Peagler organized. That opportunity, in turn, led him to compete at higher levels, including the 2025 SkillsUSA Georgia Championships co-hosted by Construction Ready in Atlanta. Traevon and a classmate were the first HEO students to represent LCCA at that event.

I thought, ‘If I can compete in my class, I should be able to compete at the regional and state levels,” Traevon says.

HEO skills are in demand around Georgia and throughout the construction industry nationwide. With programs like LCCA offering HEO training, along with support from Construction Ready and dedicated teachers like Peagler leading the way, the labor gap in this discipline is being addressed in a systematic way.

Traevon credits Peagler as a big influence on his career. “He guided me to the right path,” Traevon says. “He would stay with me after school to practice on the equipment, and he helped me with book work. If I didn’t understand how to solve a problem, he would give me hints or find a different way to help me get to the answer. He was a good teacher.”

The HEO curriculum in Georgia schools includes a capstone, an end-of-semester skills test using real equipment in real-world conditions. Peagler’s industry connections help secure partnerships in these events, giving students a chance to network with company personnel while displaying their skills. Traevon had initially met APAC HR Specialist Tierra Green at a job fair, and he met Green again at the capstone. The connection ultimately resulted in a job offer.

One of Traevon’s early assignments was on a hazmat job at Savannah’s Enmarket Arena, where he was part of a crew clearing the way for expanded parking lots. He’s now at another parking project, this one in nearby Hardeeville, SC, where a former LCCA classmate, Yadier Santiago, is on the crew with him.

“My superintendent and supervisors are teaching me a lot,” Traevon says of his work with APAC. “There’s opportunities to move up, like from regular heavy equipment operator to foreman to supervisor to superintendent.”

Traevon’s original goal of becoming a truck driver is still in play, too. He has set a goal of earning a CDL license after he turns 21, reasoning that if the company “needed a CDL-licensed truck driver to pick up a load for another project, they could call me.”

Clearly, Traevon has an eye on the big picture as he continues to develop his skills and build on-the-job experience. He’s become adept at networking, and he encourages other young men and women in construction to do the same.

“Pay attention,” he says. “Listen and network – that’s the number one thing you need nowadays.”