A look across the Indianapolis skyline reveals a legacy that began with bricklayer Francis A. Wilhelm in the 1920s. Not only has F.A. Wilhelm Construction built many of the structures dotting the landscape, but it has left a philanthropic mark across the city, state, and country. Led by only four presidents—Francis, his son James “Tippy” Wilhelm, grandson Phil Kenney H’24, and great-grandson Pat Kenney ’18—the company has grown into one of the largest construction companies in the Midwest.
The summer before his freshman year in high school, Phil Kenney H’24 began working in the “yard” at F.A. Wilhelm
Construction. In addition to performing other simple labor, he unloaded train cars and trucks, making about $2 an hour.
By the time he graduated from high school, Phil had moved into the estimating department, and as a civil engineering student at Purdue University, he spent summers on Wilhelm construction sites. After graduating from Purdue in 1985, he began working full time at the company. In January 2001, he became president—a title he held until April 2025, when his son Pat ’18 was named his successor. Phil’s son Vince ’14 is also part of the company, in
project management.
“I knew I wanted to be a part of it,” Phil says. “I know the jobs we build are done well, they are done right, and they will last a long time. It was great to carry on our family legacy. It’s pretty special to have Pat and Vince continue to do so too.”
Vince was the family’s first connection to Wabash. He recalls an intriguing introduction to the College in a letter from Greg Castanias ’87.
“I had never heard of Wabash until Greg wrote me a letter,” Vince says. “That piqued my interest. I fell in love
with the history and the unique small aspect of it, but the light bulb didn’t go off on how great of a place it is until I
was in school and meeting everybody.”
Following in his older brother’s footsteps, Pat came to Wabash, where he majored in physics. He interned with Wilhelm Construction throughout his time on campus, including during the renovation of Martindale Hall.
“I thought I wanted to go into engineering. I loved Legos and building,” Pat says. “I interned in our preconstruction estimating department after freshman year in college and loved it—the crunching numbers. Early on I knew I wanted to be in construction. It just became a question of what part of it.”
The Kenney men have early Wilhelm memories that originated at the dinner table when they were approaching the
end of their eighth grade years.
“Hey, you’re going to work this summer in the yard,” they all recall hearing from their fathers.
“I started with cleaning up trash, working the concrete forms, grinding concrete beams, painting the buildings, weed eating,” Pat says. “All the above, anything they needed.”
Phil, who served as a trustee of Wabash College from 2017 to 2025 and on the Buildings and Grounds Committee, is happy that both sons chose to stay in the family business.
“They are two very different people, their personalities, the way they study,” Phil says. “But they understand hard work. My grandfather and my uncle both said if you work hard, luck will find you. Hard work sometimes means a lot of hours, and these guys are doing it now.”
Pat has been at Wilhelm for 14 years—since working in the yard as a rising high school freshman. He says his transition to president in the spring was made easier by the people around him.
“I started as a laborer, and I’ve spent time in almost all the departments,” he says. “Every day is something new.
I call my father all the time getting his advice. The leadership team here is great.
“I don’t think there’s anyone more blessed than me,” Pat continues. “In 102 years to be only the fourth president is very unique. I am with a great company with a great culture.”
Vince returned to Wilhelm in 2019. One of the early projects he was involved with was Little Giant Stadium.
“I knew I wanted to be back working with my dad and brother,” Vince says. “Even though the company has gotten so big, it still feels like it’s a family with all the employees. They started building porches, kept the company going through the Great Depression and a World War, and now we’re doing billion-dollar projects.”
Pat knows while the weight of the family legacy is largely on his shoulders now, the generations before him have set Wilhelm up for success.
“It’s a great company culture built over 100 years,” Pat says. “I want to make sure we stay on that path, continue to grow, and better ourselves every day. We have a lot of hardworking people who want to do well for the company. We’re all here to work hard for our clients and deliver projects that last a lifetime.”
That culture was instilled in Phil early by his grandfather and uncle.
“We’re a service organization, so we try to serve them and stay humble,” Phil says.
His sons see that as one of his most defining traits.
“He is humble, no matter what,” Pat says. “He’ll tell it to you straight—good, bad, or indifferent. He’ll hold you accountable. He cares for people learning and bettering their lives.”
Vince continues, “No matter how successful or how big the company has gotten, he’s always been a grounded person. He and my mom are generous with everything. They have a ‘give back and be where your feet are’ mentality.”
Both Wilhelm Construction and the Kenney family are community builders beyond the brick and mortar.
“(My wife) Colleen and I support the arts locally—the symphony, Heartland Film Festival, the IRT,” Phil says. “We also support addiction services.”
In addition, the Kenneys have established a family scholarship at Wabash and have funded multiple projects on campus.
Wilhelm Construction is also generous in the communities it serves. For the company’s 100th anniversary, the employees made suggestions of projects and organizations to support, and 100 were chosen.
“There’s always a connection, whether it’s family or the larger Wilhelm family,” Phil says. “It’s not just here in Indiana. Wherever we’re working, we’re helping the community. We have offices in North Carolina, and when the floods happened there in 2024, all the employees got together and helped. We also make gifts as part of the projects we do anywhere.”
The Kenneys do not take for granted what has been handed down.
“My mom used to say, ‘You don’t get an education, you take it,’” Phil recalls. “You can sit back, listen to your teachers, and just take it in, or you can ask questions, do the research, do the hard work.”
“The same goes for your career,” says Pat. “If you want something, you’ve got to take the chances, go do it, learn something new. If you wait for it to happen, it never will.”
“You never stop learning,” Vince says. “You can learn every single day.”