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Kelly Godwin, 31 

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Forty Under 40

Kelly Godwin, 31 

How this Forty Under 40 winner changed the minds of her nearly all-male class. 


April 5, 2021
Kelly Godwin

Vice President

Ray Kennamer Construction / Albertville, Ala. 

 Building Unlikely Friendships: 

I went to Auburn. They have their school of building science as part of their school of architecture, design, and construction. The guys in those classes gave me a weird look as I came into the room. I graduated with four other women, and it took a full year of classes to finally feel like the guys took me seriously and didn’t think I was just there shopping for a husband. Getting an internship at a construction company and being able to say that I worked on million-dollar hotel projects was the turning point.


It took a year to finally feel like the guys didn’t think I was just there shopping for a husband.


Silly as it is, there was a restaurant near campus, the Barbecue House, and one day the group came up to me and asked, “Why don’t you come with us?” I was like, “I made it! I’m part of the group.” It was refreshing to have people respect you. The Barbecue House is no longer there, but I still remember what I got: cheesy grits and sweet tea. I got that almost every single time. We went there at least once a week for an entire semester. I’m good friends with those guys to this day and we still check in with each other.

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