A Career Built in the Quad Cities

JR’s professional career was built in the home-improvement and exterior building-material industries. Over more than two decades, he has worked with homeowners, contractors, installation crews, manufacturers, suppliers, community partners, and business leaders throughout Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois.

His experience reaches well beyond one role. JR has worked in sales, estimating, product selection, project planning, installation oversight, customer service, warranty support, employee development, contractor education, distribution, marketing, and executive leadership.

That broad experience allows him to understand an exterior project from several perspectives. He knows what the homeowner expects, what the salesperson promises, what the installer encounters in the field, what the manufacturer requires, and what the business must do to stand behind the finished work.

Leadership at Suburban Construction

Suburban Construction was founded in 1985 as a family-owned Quad Cities home-improvement company. JR became the company’s General Manager in 2002 and was named President in 2007.

As President and CEO, JR has helped guide the company through changes in products, technology, consumer expectations, building practices, and the local economy. Throughout that growth, the company has remained focused on professionally installed windows, siding, entry doors, gutters, and related exterior improvements.

Suburban Construction has completed more than 40,000 installations throughout the Quad Cities. Each project has added to JR’s understanding of what creates a successful long-term result.

He has seen how good product selection, careful installation, clear communication, and dependable service work together. He has also seen what can happen when shortcuts are taken or important details are overlooked.

That history has shaped his belief that a home-improvement company must be willing to remain accountable after the installation is finished. The company’s lifetime written workmanship warranty reflects that long-term approach to customer service.

Building Suburban Wholesale and Supply

JR’s experience as a home-improvement contractor helped inspire the development of Suburban Wholesale and Supply. He understood the problems contractors face when products are unavailable, deliveries are delayed, orders are incomplete, or no one at the supply counter understands professional installation.

Suburban Wholesale and Supply was built to provide contractors with more than building materials. Its purpose is to support the contractor’s complete operation through dependable inventory, next-day delivery on many stocked products, practical product guidance, showroom resources, and professional education.

Working with Vice President Darin Wilson and the Suburban Wholesale team, JR helped create a product inventory based on decades of experience serving the local market. That includes all 29 colors of Gentek’s .046-inch D4 premium vinyl siding.

Stocking that selection is a business decision rooted in contractor needs. Better local availability can help contractors shorten lead times, protect cash flow, keep installation crews working, and complete projects without unnecessary material delays.

Becoming a VSI Certified Trainer

JR’s interest in education led him to become a VSI Certified Trainer. VSI is the familiar industry name associated with professional vinyl siding installation training and certification. The program now operates through the Polymeric Exterior Products Association.

VSI training helps installers understand recognized vinyl siding installation practices, including fastening, panel movement, wall preparation, alignment, accessories, flashing principles, and water management.

As a certified trainer, JR can help installers prepare for the VSI Certified Installer Program and strengthen their understanding of how vinyl siding is designed to perform. His instruction supports the manufacturer’s current written specifications, applicable building codes, and relevant industry standards.

The credential is important, but JR’s value as a trainer also comes from his professional history. He can connect technical guidance to the realities of selling, scheduling, installing, servicing, and warranting an exterior project.

A Commitment to Contractor Education

JR believes strong contractors build strong local communities. Contractors provide skilled employment, improve the local housing stock, support other small businesses, and create opportunities for future generations.

Helping contractors improve their skills is therefore more than a sales strategy. It is an investment in the long-term strength of the trades.

Suburban Wholesale and Supply regularly provides educational opportunities involving vinyl siding, Gentek products, composite cladding, insulation, sealants, windows, doors, and other exterior systems.

JR’s contractor education focuses on helping professionals:

• Understand the products they sell and install
• Follow recognized installation practices
• Reduce preventable callbacks and service expenses
• Explain premium product value to homeowners
• Develop more consistent installation crews
• Protect their professional reputations
• Build healthier and more profitable businesses

A University of Iowa Graduate With Deep Local Roots

JR is a graduate of the University of Iowa and remains proud of his connection to the university and the state. Although his education helped prepare him for professional leadership, much of his practical business knowledge has been developed through decades of serving Quad Cities families and contractors.

His roots in the area influence the way he leads. Suburban’s customers and contractors are not anonymous transactions. They are neighbors, friends, parents, business owners, tradespeople, parish members, and community volunteers.

That local connection creates a greater sense of responsibility. A family-owned company must be prepared to stand behind its work because its reputation is carried into the same communities where its employees and owners live.

Family at the Center of His Leadership

JR and his wife, Kristine, are raising four children in the Quad Cities. Kristine is also an important part of the family business, bringing her own professional leadership and organizational experience to Suburban Construction.

Family life has reinforced JR’s belief in patience, responsibility, education, and long-term thinking. Those values are visible in how he approaches employees, contractors, customers, and community service.

Being a father has also strengthened his commitment to youth programs. JR understands that young people need adults willing to teach, encourage, listen, and create meaningful opportunities for leadership.

Whether he is helping an installer understand a siding detail or helping a young person develop confidence, JR approaches teaching as an opportunity to serve.

A Lifelong Commitment to Scouting

Scouting is one of the most visible parts of JR’s community involvement. He has served in leadership and support roles with local Cub Scout packs, Scout troops, the Illowa Council, Catholic Scouting programs, outdoor activities, training programs, and council events.

His Scouting service has included work as an Assistant Scoutmaster, former Assistant Cubmaster, camp volunteer, religious-emblems coordinator, range and target activities instructor, and supporter of leadership-development programs.

JR has completed advanced Scouting training and has served on Wood Badge staff. He is also trained in multiple shooting-sports disciplines and has supported safe, structured range programs for Scouts.

His service is motivated by a belief that Scouting gives young people opportunities to develop character, resilience, faith, practical skills, and leadership. He has seen those values shape his own children as well as many other young people across the region.

Faith and Catholic Scouting

JR’s Catholic faith is another important part of his family and community life. He has been actively involved with Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Bettendorf and has supported Catholic education, parish programs, religious-emblem instruction, and diocesan Scouting activities.

Through Catholic Scouting, JR helps young people understand that faith is not limited to a church building. It can be practiced through leadership, service, kindness, responsibility, and care for others.

His involvement includes promoting Catholic religious emblems, supporting worship opportunities at camp, encouraging family participation, and helping connect local Scout units with parish life.

These experiences reinforce the values that also guide his professional leadership: integrity, accountability, service, and respect for every person.

Civic and Community Involvement

JR’s community involvement extends beyond business and Scouting. He has supported local service through the Knights of Columbus, the Bettendorf Lions Club, Catholic organizations, schools, charitable efforts, and community events.

These organizations address different needs, but they share a common purpose: bringing people together to serve. That same spirit is visible in JR’s approach to business.

He believes successful local companies should participate in the communities that support them. That participation may include donating materials, volunteering time, promoting local causes, mentoring young people, recognizing community leaders, or simply being available when help is needed.

Supporting the Quad Cities Through Business

JR views Suburban Construction and Suburban Wholesale and Supply as local institutions with responsibilities beyond their individual transactions.

The businesses create local jobs, purchase services from other local companies, support contractors, train installers, contribute to charitable projects, and help improve homes throughout the region.

Suburban has also supported community partnerships involving housing, youth programs, nonprofit organizations, schools, faith communities, and local events.

For JR, community involvement is not separate from professional leadership. It is one of the ways a local business demonstrates gratitude for the trust it has received.

The Values Behind JR’s Leadership

JR’s professional and community roles may appear different, but they are connected by a consistent set of values.

• Education: People make better decisions when they understand the reasons behind them.
• Accountability: A leader should remain responsible after the sale, installation, class, or event is finished.
• Service: Professional success creates opportunities to help others.
• Family: Long-term relationships matter more than short-term transactions.
• Community: Local businesses and organizations become stronger when they support one another.
• Integrity: Commitments should be clear, honest, and honored.

Why JR’s Experience Matters to Contractors

Contractors who work with JR gain access to someone who understands far more than the technical features of a siding panel.

He understands how product availability affects cash flow. He understands why an installation callback is expensive. He understands the pressure of keeping a crew working, satisfying a homeowner, protecting a warranty, and maintaining a company’s reputation.

Most importantly, he understands that contractors build their businesses one project and one relationship at a time.

That is why JR’s role as a VSI Certified Trainer fits naturally within his larger professional story. Teaching is not an isolated credential. It is an extension of a career built around helping people complete better work.

The Bottom Line

Brian “JR” Girskis is a home-improvement professional, building-material distributor, contractor educator, community volunteer, husband, and father. His leadership has been shaped by more than 25 years of experience and a lifelong connection to the Quad Cities.

As President and CEO of Suburban Construction and President of Suburban Wholesale and Supply, he helps lead two local businesses with a shared commitment to quality, education, service, and accountability.

As a VSI Certified Trainer, he helps installers strengthen their skills and contractors protect their reputations. Through Scouting, Catholic ministry, civic organizations, and community service, he helps invest in the people and institutions that make the Quad Cities a stronger place to live.

JR’s professional philosophy is straightforward: share what you know, stand behind what you do, and use every opportunity to leave your business and community better than you found them.