Johnson and Sons Cuts Ribbon for New Business

On Friday, Sept. 13, Johnson and Sons, a Comanche-owned construction company, held a ribbon cutting in Lawton, Oklahoma.

The day was complete with a raffle, a meal, a fancy dance and a hoop dance demonstration.

Owner Timothy Johnson said the company does work for both residential and commercial properties.

“Right now, our residential side is from the ground up, a lot of remodeling, a lot of repairs,” he said. “We don't get too much concrete work, but we can do concrete work. A lot of it is, we do a lot of bathrooms and kitchens and things like that. We do a lot of work for the Comanche Nation housing and the Comanche Nation itself.”

Johnson said when he takes on a job, he’s able to speak up for clients.

“Sometimes when I go in, the tribal member, I'm only there to fix one thing, but they show me the other different things, so it's up to me to relay that message back to the housing or whoever sent me there and say, ‘Hey, these people really need this. Can we get this for them?’ And once we go through the paperwork process, I'm able to be their voice because all they are is a piece of paper and a piece of paper,” he said. “But I'm the bridge between that. I get to talk to people and interact with housing and interact with them. And it's a good bridge. It's a good bridge. I'm a good bridge for them because I speak up for the elders.”

Johnson said he began his business during the COVID pandemic.

“There was no work. There was nothing for me to do to provide for my family, so I had to go out and create work,” he said.

However, there was plenty of work to be done and easy to find.

“Nobody was willing to go out and do the work because people were scared of COVID. I was scared of COVID, but I was scared of my family going hungry first. So, I braved the storm. I wore my mask,” Johnson said. “A lot of people's water heaters went down. Sinks still need to be fixed. Just because the world shut down doesn't mean houses stopped breaking. So, as long as the houses kept breaking, I kept showing up to fix them. And I just built a clientele. I built a reputation.”

He traveled from Oregon to Oklahoma.

“It was tough in the beginning. I didn't have nowhere to go, as I stated earlier. But my sister Raina, she reached out and they gave me a place to stay,” Johnson said. “They gave me a good support system. Their kids were around. And they treated me very well. Very well indeed.”

He said there was a lot of work put into the business.

“A lot of consistency. A lot of disappointments. A lot of disappointments. A lot of missed paydays, I guess you could say,” Johnson said. “I failed a lot before I was able to start winning. And that's what separates me from other people is: they want to win before they fail. And I've learned how to lose before I could win.”

He said his family and friends were invited.

Lawton Chamber of Commerce, Comanche Nation Tribal Administrator Lisa Dawsey, Chairman Forrest Tahdooahnippah, Comanche Business Committee and organizations were also at the grand opening.

Johnson and Sons are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but Johnson is on call 24 hours a day, and they do take emergency calls.