Congratulations to Donna Allspach, who recently reached her 40-year workiversary with V3! As our Payroll Administrator, Donna helps keep our accounting on track, but over the years she’s played many roles and witnessed every evolution of our firm. Meet one of our original team members and discover what’s changed—and what’s the same—about V3.
All hands on deck
Donna is irrevocably tied to V3’s history. She started part time in 1985 while still in high school; her business teacher attended church with our founder, Rob Petroelje. Donna loved her business classes and enjoyed learning accounting and all the skills necessary for supporting a growing office. Immediately after graduation, she accepted a full-time position and kicked off an exciting career.
At that time, our firm was called SDI Consultants, focused only on civil engineering. But that wasn’t the only major difference: the small office had no computers and everything was done by hand. Even as technology advanced and we expanded to Denver, the office computer systems had no way to talk to each other, so Donna would take monthly flights to each location to process billing.
“Everything was so different then! All the filing cabinets, paper documents, 3-ring binders, legal pads: I’ve seen so many technology changes. Now everything is connected, but sometimes I miss the pen and paper days. We used to write checks with typewriters! It’s been amazing to see all the changes.”
As employee number nine, Donna took on anything and everything necessary to keep things moving. Though she specialized in accounting, she never backed down from new challenges.
“With under 10 employees, the office was so small, we could just shout across the room to each other. We were all very hands on. I’d do lots of different things: quantity takeoffs, Kroy machine lettering on plans, even writing legal descriptions of properties. We all took on whatever needed to be done and I learned so much.”
Work hard, play hard
Today Donna mainly focuses on payroll, but over the years she’s had the good fortune to try out many different roles across departments. She worked in human resources, with the construction group, and even helped Pat Kennedy conduct a site survey.
“I was lucky to be exposed to a little bit of everything. While there’s something to be said for consistency, I like that my job is not the same every day. I’ve been happy to contribute to so many interesting projects.”
Donna played key roles in updating company processes and systems as technology advanced. She helped us move from paper to digital time sheets, as well as adopting new software and companywide procedures throughout our history.
But her days weren’t just about work. The culture we enjoy today was there from the start, with team members eager to spend time together and have fun.
“When we were small, we used to go out for pizza and all fit in the same booth! The annual family picnic was hosted at Rob’s house, and one year we took a school bus to the Cubs-Brewers game in Milwaukee.”
Christmas at V3 also holds many special memories. In addition to formal holiday parties, the team engaged in action-packed annual chair races.
“Our old office had three stories. We’d race by pushing our chairs backwards around fountains and up elevators, going all the way to the top. It was so fun!”
When her son was born, Donna chose to work part time and initiated hybrid work schedules “before it was a thing.” That work-life flexibility, along with the close-knit company environment, kept her happily rooted at V3.
“I really like the people I work with and how well I’ve been treated from the start. When you’re small, work feels like a family, but even as we’ve grown and I don’t know every employee anymore, there’s still that good community atmosphere.”
Four decades and counting
Outside of work, Donna loves taking family vacations, exploring every terrain from beach to mountain. She’s also an avid baker and food canner, specializing in homemade cheesecake and applesauce. In July, she’s volunteering at a mission camp in Alaska, lending her cooking talents to those in need: an annual tradition she shares with her brother.
40 years at one company is a monumental achievement, but Donna’s not done yet. She’s excited to be part of our continuing growth and success.
“It’s been such a privilege to grow with this company. When you’re here from the beginning, it’s incredible to see how much we’ve grown. I started as number nine—now we’re so big! I can’t wait to see where we go next.”