Perhaps on the surface, there seems little cross-over between coaching basketball and running a construction company. But for Jim Moss, president and owner of JA Moss Construction Company in Richland who has a passion for both the sport and the industry, the parallels are all too evident.

"This business is all about teamwork," said affable Moss. "I find myself using basketball analogies all the time. The reason this company has been successful is our ability to find good, quality people. They make our company go. Keeping them motivated and happy has been the key."

A native of Natchez, Moss' journey to construction is a little atypical. His first collegiate experience was at Rhodes College in Memphis as a pre-med major.

Moss said he found the medical field not to his liking and left to coach basketball. During this time he also began framing houses and, unlike medicine, found construction to be his calling.

"I like being able to see results," he said, "and I like being creative. It's very rewarding to see a building and say, "I was part of that."

So, Moss enrolled in Northeast Louisiana University in Monroe earning a degree in construction management in 1977.

Wanting to return to his home state, he moved back to Mississippi and began working for a large construction firm in Jackson. He said the opportunity of working for a large outfit and the variety of people and experiences encountered was a huge benefit when he became owner.

That would happen in 1985 when Moss bought Pearl-based Priester Construction Company, eventually changing monikers to JA Moss Construction Company.

A small company, Moss chose a deliberate strategy of slow growth.

But growth did come. Today, JA Moss Construction employs about 60 people at its three-acre Richland facility, where it moved 10 years ago, and owns and operates an 18-vehicle fleet. Moss estimated the company had done more than 240 projects over the course of its history.

The company specializes in turnkey projects in all types of commercial construction: manufacturing and warehousing, retail, office/multi-story, recreational, automotive, religious, educational, waste and more. About a half of its projects is bid work, with a quarter design/build and the other quarter select bid.

The company is also an authorized dealer of Ceco pre-engineered facilities.

Notable past projects include renovation of the Governor's Mansion and the Jackson Hilton and the construction of the Palaces of St. Petersburg exhibit, all in Jackson, the new Byram-Terry Elementary School, numerous renovation projects at Mississippi College in Clinton , the Alzheimer's facility at St. Catherine's Village in Madison, Bowmar Baptist Church, Vicksburg; Raymond Road Baptist Church, Jackson; Crossgates United Methodist Church of Brandon; Meadowbrook Church of Christ of Jackson; and Sweet Rest Church of Christ (Holiness) USA of Pearl.

One thing almost all the company's past and current projects have in common is they are in central Mississippi. That is by design.

"We want to keep our people off the road," Moss said. "When we hire, the number one priority is family."

Ira Ott, who came on board in business development relatively recently after almost 30 years with another construction company, said Moss' emphasis on family and employees treated as people first and workers second is not just lip service and is appreciated. "The office doesn't open until 8, but most of us get here an hour or more early because we like to talk," Ott said. I've never worked for a company like this before."