Debbie Ramos

After 31 Years, Debbie Ramos, Dedicated Office Manager, Retiring from W.B. Hopke

W.B. Hopke would like to take a moment to thank Debbie Ramos for giving 31 years of her life to the Hopke Company. Debbie is retiring from her position later this year and Hopke wants to dedicate this article to her and thank her for everything she has done for our business. It is an honor to share with the employees a little about Debbie and what she means to W.B. Hopke.

Debbie Ramos was hired on September 13, 1993. She started her career at Hopke as an office assistant. “As a single mother with two young children, this job meant everything to me. I responded to a classified ad in the Washington Post and came in for an interview with Office Manager, Aggie Reinmuth. I also met with Frank and Mike Hopke and was working the next day,” said Debbie. “I have been working for the Hopkes ever since.”

Prior to working with Hopke, Debbie worked for her ex-husband at State Farm Insurance. She learned a variety of duties required to run an office and this turned out to be a pre-requisite for the Hopke front office position. She remarked, “The Hopke job was perfect for me and my children. It afforded me flexible hours where I could work while the kids were in school and could be home when they finished school. It was just minutes from where I lived. In fact, I still only live 3 miles from the office which makes for an easy commute.”

Much has changed since Debbie started with Hopke. When she came into the company, they had 40 employees plus a front office staff of 10. Now Hopke has more than 130 employees working multiple locations throughout VA, MD and DC, and the projects are enormous. They are multi-year, multi-million dollar contracts, a tribute to the Hopke’s success. With new clients, came new technology and new processes, and what used to be done by hand all changed with the advent of computers in 1997. “Our business completely changed when computers hit the scene. Everything got faster,” Debbie said.

Debbie’s job primarily is to keep the office running as smoothly as possible. She handles and reviews the time-sheets, weekly payroll, direct deposit accounts, answers phones, handles many of the insurance issues such as workers comp claims, auto claims, etc., and consults with the foremen in the field and answers their questions. She is basically there to help in any way she can, and the fact that she is still there at 74 years of age says a lot about her character and stamina. “Working with 130 men is not always easy, but I can handle them,” she said with a smile.

Debbie loves the fact that every day is different at Hopke. There’s always plenty of work to keep her busy. “I have seen the company go through several owners, and tough situations through the years including recessions and slow downs, and the Hopkes always make the right adjustments and come out of it better than before. Everyone pitches in and comes together to make it work when times get tough,” said Debbie. “The Hopkes have always been there for the employees too. For example, when my kids were home sick, they gave me the time I needed to do what I had to do for my family. That meant a lot to me then and it means a lot to our employees now. They have always been very family oriented,” said Debbie.

When asked what the Hopkes are looking for in their employees, she said, “They want employees that work hard, have a pleasant attitude and come to work every day. They don’t want to hear a bunch of excuses. They reward employees for their effort.”

Debbie does not have any major plans when she retires. She wants to purge things around the house which she has not had much time to do. She wants to sort through her family photos and organize them. She will continue to meet with her friends and go to new places. Most recently she and her friends took a train to New York to see a Broadway play.

We wish Debbie a wonderful retirement and appreciate all she has done for W.B. Hopke. Thanks Debbie for keeping things in order at the office and helping to keep the business moving. You will be missed.

W.B. Hopke is a fourth generation, family-run construction business focused on building high quality utility infrastructure and lifelong careers. Hopke is located in Alexandria, VA and works throughout DC, Maryland, and Virginia. With almost 70 years of experience, Hopke prides itself on repeat customers across all kinds of market segments – schools, churches, data centers, distribution facilities, multi-family, mixed use, residential subdivisions, senior living, self storage, heavy highway, retail, commercial office, automotive, stream restoration, and parks.

Contact W.B. Hopke about a career in utility installation and site work at 703-971-0404 or info@wbhopke.com.