Nick McRae
Co-founder and CEO of
construction-tech startup Meta
Construction Technologies, LLC
(MetaCT); also CFO for two
Southern Indiana-based
construction companies, McRae
Enterprises and Innovative Piering
Single best thing about being involved —
living and working — in Southern Indiana:
Jamie
Schilmiller
Own/operate Homestead
Ag Supply LLC
Volunteerism:
Ag in the Classroom with Indiana
Farm Bureau, Floyd County Farm
Bureau, help run the My Little Farm at
the county fair, 4-H clubs, St. Anne’s
(ladies group) at our church and more.
How has the coronavirus out-
break impacted your life most
and what will you tell future
generations about COVID-19
from your perspective?
I farm with my husband’s family,
run our household, volunteer with
several organizations and manage a
business...none of it compares to the
“homeschooling” I need to do now
with my children as they are out of
52
May / June 2020
school. My children come to work
with me now as they are too young to
stay home on their own. I’m finding
it very difficult to juggle it all as this
is the busiest time of the year for my
business. I keep telling myself to stay
positive and keep strong, as things
could change any day.
History sometimes repeats itself,
if we learn from it, we can be better
prepared for the future, that’s how I’m
seeing this for COVID-19. Our future
generations need to be prepared for
anything and everything, you never
know when something might hap-
pen. My Grandfather always told me,
“You will have something big hap-
pen in your lifetime, whether it’s a
depression or a disease, you need to
be ready.” Future generations need
to be prepared to be able to take care
of themselves, whether that be grow-
ing your own food to becoming more
self-sufficient in many areas...it will
make life more bearable during hard-
ships. When you can take care of your-
self, you can then take care of others.
Its accessibility. Everybody is only one or two
degrees of separation away, so it can feel like a
“small town” when you want to connect with some-
one; however, the caliber of intelligent, talented
people in this region is staggering.
The geographic accessibility is fantastic, too. It’s
one reason that logistics companies strategically
locate themselves in Southern Indiana and the Mid-
west, in general, because it’s easy to get most places
from here.
zIn the midst of this crisis, we continue to hear
about “pivoting.” Until now, I generally thought of
a pivot as a change. But now, I believe a pivot is
establishing a strong base and moving on an area
of strength to solve a new or different need. It’s less
about reacting and more about responding based on
our strengths and knowing what we can contribute.
From the most practical level, a global pandemic
shines a spotlight on how quickly the fragile rhythm
of our daily routines can be broken. Our ability to