I had the pleasure of sitting down with Bud Garner this week in an office setting, where he spoke candidly about his personal and professional life at the young age of 60.

Bud grew up in Eagle Pass, TX (which explains the accent); however, lived in Piedras Negras, Mexico, and his senior year of high school moved to Albuquerque, NM.  Bud’s formal name is Leslie.  At a very young age, Bud explains that his older brother referred to him as “Bud,” and it just stuck.

College wasn’t an option for Bud, upon graduating from Highland High School.  His father was ill and he jokes that Jimmy Carter wouldn’t give him a school loan; therefore, he learned how to weld at a young age. He worked nights at a vocation industrial club in Texas and became a certified welder in high school. His first job, as a senior in high school, was at Rio Grande Steel.

Bud has worked in the construction industry for over 45 years.  At one point he owned a millwright business that he ran for 10 years, called Sunset Equipment, then he eventually changed the name to Crane Safety Services, where he functioned as a certified rigger and lift master.  He eventually made his way to B&D, where he now serves as a Project Manager for Division 5. Bud enjoys working for B&D and the diversity and challenges of the projects he oversees, he says “they’re not just pipe and wire, but broad scopes,” which he specializes in. Bud sees a huge opportunity with his customers and would like to expand the EMNRD footprint and grow the industry.

Although Bud was required to figure his life out at an early age, I believe he has an impressive story to tell.

Bud has been married to his wife, Liz for 40 years and they have two (2) children, Leslee (37) and Rader (34). Bud also feels very blessed to be a grandpa of two (2) grandkids (6 & 4).

When time permits, Bud and Liz enjoy getting out of town and going camping in the Jemez for a weekend getaway.  They love the outdoors – fishing, hunting, barbecuing. When asked where Bud sees himself in 10 years, he replied, “retired!”  I would say Bud is well deserving of retirement.  In his free time, he enjoys restoring and riding motorcycles – his recent restorations are the Yamaha FJR and the 1989 Honda TransAlp, which is a very rare bike.

Some of you might know that Bud is a barbecue master – In fact, “Taste Bud’s Barbeque” has earned that title by competing in the Kansas City Barbeque Society Tour for 10 years (https://www.kcbs.us/tour.php). He states, “I have always loved cooking outdoors and became addicted in trying new recipes for rubs, sauces, etc.”  He very much enjoys competing in barbeque challenges and has won top 100 brisket out of 3000 teams.  Bud takes barbecuing very seriously and we are super thankful for that.  If you have been lucky enough to enjoy “Taste Bud’s Barbeque” then you know just how deserving he is of these recognitions.