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Keith Odister
 If it’s possible to fly under the radar and still attract national attention, West Sacramento construction company founder Keith Odister would be the model. His K.O.O. Construction prides itself on quietly completing building projects and restoring properties throughout the region and the West—many of them for the Department of Defense.
“You don’t see our stuff,” he says. “In fact, if no one sees it, I’m happy.”
But despite that modest approach Odister’s company is attracting notice. K.O.O. Construction was named to Inc. magazine’s 2005 Inner
City 100, considered the fastest-growing companies in inner-city neighborhoods.
K.O.O.’s ranking of 30th on the list reflects 818 percent growth from 1999 to 2003. And it doesn’t take into account recent large contracts the company has pulled in, including a $6 million renovation of a former Sacramento Municipal Utilities District warehouse and projects for Lawrence Berkeley Labs and Beale Air Force Base. In 2002, his company was named Minority Construction Firm of the Year by the U.S.
Department of Commerce.
Odister is also a member of the President’s Circle at Sacramento State and has equally bottom-line motivations for contributing to the University. ”I believe in being a part of the community,” he says. “And the President’s Circle is an opportunity to connect with business leaders.”
Though his degree is not from Sacramento State, Odister says he sees the value in adopting the local college. “We have students there,” he says. He adds that many of K.O.O.’s 40 employees are Sacramento State alums. Odister says that he looks to the University’s graduates to fill a variety of positions with the company including construction management, human resources and business.
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