Dear Friends of Our Lady of Pompeii,
We’re doing a little something different this month for the anniversary edition of our monthly newsletter. I’ve asked Buck Smoak, the Director of Business Development for our General Contractor, Auld and White Constructors (AWC) to sit down and recap the past year, tell us what to expect in 2025, including his thoughts on a start time, and to give us an outside perspective into what makes this project so significant.
Before we dive into this interview, a note of caution: Our first financial milestone is met which should absolutely be celebrated. But as in the spiritual life, there is no time to rest on our laurels. We are all spokesmen for this project. This story needs to be shared with our friends and families, and here is a list of our monthly achievements which tells the tale. Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Pompeii wants to be known worldwide, and she can use Pompeii Rising Restoration Project to spread this devotion through people like you and me.
2024 in Review
Jan - Last Year’s Financial Position & the Phased Approach
Feb - Work on Towers began
Mar - Towers Complete
Jun - Architectural Survey
Aug - Floor Plans Revealed
Sep - Month of Patrons
Nov - District Approval
Buck Smoak at the Pompeii Rising Restoration Project Launch Event in December 2023.
Fr. Thomas: Thanks for sitting down with me. Can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?
Buck Smoak: I am a proud 3rd generation Jacksonville native and 4th generation Jacksonville contractor. The Smoak family was brought to Jacksonville from the need of carpenters to help rebuild after the Great Fire of Jacksonville in 1901. My Great Grandfather and his brother rode in on horseback from the family farm in Micanopy, FL. Upon arrival, they built from scratch a 4-horse barn as a homestead, with living quarters on top. The two extra stalls allowed my great grandfather to generate extra income from travelers by boarding their horses. This life of horses and construction continues through family generations with my horse farm in Green Cove Springs. Actually, our youngest daughter is already inquiring about running a horse farm and looking for properties in future expansion areas like Palatka.
FT: Fascinating. Old Holy Rosary was first built after the Great Jacksonville Fire. Maybe your ancestors knew the original construction crew. Can you tell us about AWC's recent history with Old Holy Rosary?
BS: Without knowing it, AWC does have a history with the Old Holy Rosary Church. Our core values include doing work for many non-profits in this community. This is especially true in regard to faith-based groups. Founded on faith, it is a tradition and honor for us to be involved in the spiritual journey for people of our community. Ed White, one of our founders, is a devout Catholic, so his work with local Catholic groups has been consistent through the years. But it was Steve Auld, our other founder, that spilled the beans! I got him involved early on to help, using his vast experience, with the initial assessments that we conducted. During that time, he realized that he had been there before and moved some of the stained glass, under past building ownership, of course, to another church in the area. Repurposing at its finest! Actually, I need to find out from him where some of it went.
FT: I’ll get you in touch with Ray Soloman, the interim owner, who gave us some leads on where some of the stained glass ended up. Now, when I’m driving into Jacksonville, I see your AWC signs all over, can you share some of your projects around town with us?
BS: Well that means we are doing something right I guess! Honestly, all the signs are the reinforcement of our unique approach for a larger construction company. We hold true to the foundation of the company founded 38 years ago: that is, we work only locally and everyone gets to go home at night! This family-centric mentality resonates through our company’s culture and wide range of projects that we do. To stay locally focused, we build fire stations, work at Mayo Clinic everyday for 16 years straight, do Country Clubs, the Gulliford Mayport Community Center (named after one of your parishioners, I believe). We are the builders for many local financial companies and are even the construction partner for the Jacksonville Jaguars’ new Headquarters!
FT: As a priest, I have to say that many problems in the world would be solved if more families ate dinner together. God bless your company for doing its part. Wow! That’s a lot. In scale, Pompeii Rising seems small. Why did you take on this project?
BS: This again speaks to our uniqueness as a larger construction company. As I just mentioned, we do a bunch of different project types and sizes! Even though we are doing around $180M in projects a year locally, our average project size is just short of $4M. We have 27 superintendents that excel at different project types and a combined skilled workforce of over 70 that build every day! This makeup of being true builders is why the revitalization of Our Lady of Pompeii is a perfect project for us! Plus, I am always personally driven to be involved in historic renovation projects because of the family ties I talked about earlier. You’re right, never know if one of my family may have been part of building this beautiful place of worship!
FT: What was accomplished in 2024 from AWC's perspective?
BS: 2024 created a leveling of construction costs and some relief from the craziness of the market since the pandemic in 2020. Material costs and just getting things to the jobsite to build was both crazy and uncontrollable. The trend to manufacturing alternatives and supply/demand leveling from the higher cost to fund projects led to 2024 leveling both issues. Notice I said leveling, not going down or getting things off the shelf, but getting back to a normal cycle in the construction world. 2024 also cemented AWC as THE local builder in the NE Florida area! We have had several years now, with 2024 being the largest variance of doing the most projects in NE Florida of any contractor.
For Pompeii Rising, this means we saved the church towers and did the preliminary planning at just the right time. 2024 was a busy year at your historic church. From crawling around above the ceiling, peeping below floors, the work I mentioned that stopped leaks into the building, meeting with engineers and specialists, to the start of developing plans for its revitalization! My truck knows its own way there now. It has been great to be part of this journey with you and the Executive Team. Oh, and in 2024 I had the pleasure of meeting Fr. Leith for the first time!
FT: Yes, once you meet Fr. Leith, you don’t soon forget him. Great recap, now lets look forward. In both your world and ours, what can we expect in 2025?
BS: Honest, I see 2025 getting back to a little more craziness, but this time, in a good way. The costs associated with construction continue to get better, the country’s leadership is business-supportive, and the projects that were held back in 2024 are already getting released or design-restarted. Part of my responsibilities at AWC is to look out to the future of the company and market. All indicators are a rise in investments during 2025 and continuing into 2026. Locally, even more so, as more and more people migrate here, companies are now realizing the secret of NE Florida that we locals have enjoyed for all our lives.
For Pompeii Rising, I see us beginning work this summer. We will start the permitting process in February, and when permitting comes back, I’ll be able to give you the precise date. But for now, I can let you know the preconstruction team has come up with an aggressive Master Schedule. This year, you’ll see laying down the new altar foundation, repairing the floors and ceilings, and moving the mechanical room. Most all of the heavy construction will be done in 2025, so that 2026 will be mostly interior. This is a dynamic project that brings out unique construction challenges which allow the earned skills of the workers to shine. The proper planning we have been doing will allow us to be efficient and effective during construction that will provide for the return of services as quickly as possible while ensuring a high-quality space.
FT: That sounds good. I’ll have you back on in March so you can tell us how long we have to wait in 2026. Thank you so much for your time. Do you have anything else you want to say for the record?
BS: I cannot express to you how much this opportunity means to me personally. Look, as I’ve said, I’ve worked with a lot of faith based teams. Lots of dreamers, but your group is easy to work with, competent, professional, and it’s fantastic that you have the funding. As I have gotten to know the group and developed the relationship with you, Father Thomas, it has brought blessings to me and my family. I am super proud to be part of a legacy project like this. It will be amazing and moving to see this church revived with life and spirit! It is an inspirational space and your parish’s drive to make this a space to enjoy with their families is amazing. For the AWC family and mine, I thank you for the opportunity to be part of it all.
FT: Very kind, Buck. God bless you.
Fr. Thomas
If you have a story of Old Holy Rosary, or how Our Lady of Pompeii has touched your life, please write to me for a chance to be featured in our mailbag segment.
This month's mailbag comes with two pictures from Buck's story. Wishing you all a happy and holy new year.
Buck's horse farm in Green Cove Springs has been the home UNF's Equestrian Team for a number of years.
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