‘All the Sense in the World’

"The question was, why shouldn’t we do this?" asked Debbie Danto, MBA, LEED AP. And the answer was, she definitely should. Danto, along with her 4th-generation builder husband Craig, is a partner at Danto Builders, and she recently passed the exam and is now a certified general contractor in Florida.

 

Debbie started with Danto Builders in 2003, but went full-time when she married Craig in 2005. Prior to joining Danto, she worked in manufacturing-, construction- and engineering-related industries. "I’ve been involved in the construction industry and have become more and more involved on the operations side and with the projects," she said; but it was when she went to a meeting at Broward Health that she realized there’s a great advantage to being a woman-owned business. "We’re applying for a WBE – women’s business enterprise – but in order to get that certification, I had to have my license."

 

Experience is key, and Danto has more than a decade’s worth. She said, however, that taking the exam was a good exercise in many different disciplines, not just building. "It covered the financial side and the legal side, OSHA and employment – you name it, it includes everything that a business in construction needs to cover."

 

The exam extends more than 15 hours, and Danto admitted, "It’s a strenuous process. But I did it for great reasons, because we’re focused on health care, and in the case of Broward Health, they set aside jobs for minority companies, so it made all the sense in the world. We’re already doing business with Broward Health, and we hope this will make us even more competitive within their system, and allow us to participate in jobs we wouldn’t otherwise be able to."

 

In addition to serving clients with their building needs, Debbie and Craig Danto, and Danto Builders, take a personal interest in their clients and the community. For that reason, on September 14, they’re hosting their fourth annual Florida Design and Construction Professionals Big Bad BBQ charity event benefiting Special Olympics. "Special Olympics is near and dear to my heart and my husband’s heart, because we both have family members with Down’s syndrome," Debbie said. For details and to purchase tickets, see http://www.specialolympicsbroward.org/dantobigbadbbq.