Clarksville, TN – Did you know that it is now estimated that women own 13% of Tennessee construction companies? One of those is right here in Clarksville, VanMire Residential Construction & Remodeling was started by Jennifer Van Rickley and Anna Fosmire in 2024, and the Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce recently recognized them as a Veteran’s Business of the Month.
Van Rickley explained how the business came about, saying, “VanMire is a general contractor. We do remodeling and new construction. We thought we were the only female-owned construction business in Clarksville. We’re not, but, it is still quite rare for women to own this type of business.”
Van Rickley’s husband was in the U.S. Army and retired after 20 years. “He was a member of 5th Group, Special Forces,” Van Rickley said. “We retired here, and then Anna and I opened our business last year. Anna’s husband spent six years in the Marine Corp, and then joined the National Guard. “He joined the OCS program and finished his degree at APSU,” Fosmire said. “He became an officer and now works full time for the National Guard in Nashville.”
Van Rickley and Fosmire met when they both worked for Crabbe Homes. “The military brought us to Fort Campbell – when he retired, we considered moving to other places,” Van Rickley said. “But, I liked my job, we like the schools that the kids are in, and so we decided to stay here.”
Fosmire said, “We have family out here, and just fell in love with Tennessee. It was just a perfect fit for us, so we decided to make this our home.”
Both owners say that sometimes they do the physical work, but Van Rickley’s background actually includes a Civil Engineering degree from Tennessee Tech. “I worked at engineering firms until the military brought us here,” Van Rickley said. “I met Anna when I went to work for Crabbe Homes. We both have experience working with builders here in town, and at some point we decided that we could do this ourselves.”
“We can do pretty much anything,” Fosmire said. “Our specialty is offering design/build services and doing custom homes. When you’re doing renovations, you end up helping the client design their ideas, and then put those ideas into action to help bring their vision to life.”
The duo has received a lot of positive feedback from their clients in regard to the women-owned aspect of their business. “Sometimes they are surprised that we are two women,” Van Rickley said. “But, once we explain our background, talk to them, and go into the details, they start getting to know us. Some have told us, even after getting bids from other companies, ‘we want to go with you guys. We really like that there are two women doing this, and we love your attention to detail.’”
The business started in 2024. “We have done a few projects already,” Van Rickley said. “In fact, we’re on site right now as we speak. We do primarily single-family homes and renovations. We haven’t done a full apartment project yet, but we are looking at doing some duplexes this year. I think with our current license, we could do some smaller commercial projects as well.”
Fosmire said, “We have several pipe dreams. We enjoy custom homes and helping clients achieve their vision – we’re good at that. We also have ideas about things that Clarksville needs, and we want to look at those opportunities as well.”
The entrepreneurs say they are pretty open about the projects that they choose, style wise. “If we decide to do a spec home, we have some specific style ideas in mind,” Van Rickley said. “We’re very open to what clients want and need. That allows us to be more flexible in helping them achieve their goals. At the end of the day, they need to love the result, so it needs to reflect their own personal style.”
Both partners say the business has been a blast so far. “We’ve met some awesome clients and enjoyed being able to put forth some of the interesting ideas that we’ve seen or developed,” Van Rickley continued. It is great to bring ideas to life for our clients. It has been nice to have that creative freedom. It has definitely been a learning experience. When there is nobody else there to do something, you have to figure it out.” (Laughter)
As partners, Jennifer and Anna seem to laugh a lot, and finish each other’s thoughts. Their two names being combined to form the company name seems to make a lot of sense, as you get the impression that these two collaborate well.
“We’re excited to be working in Clarksville,” Jennifer and Anna said. “We already have a list of preferred contractors, people we know we can rely on, and who are good at communication. That’s important to us, and to our clients.”
Reach them at Email: vanmirellc@gmail.com Website: www.vanmire.com Phone: 931.201.4184
