Bret Okland

Brett Okland, 36
Vice President
Okland Construction Co., Salt Lake City

As a fourth-generation member of the Okland Construction family, Brett Okland knows full-well the responsibility and expectations on his shoulders.

BRET OKLAND

“The bar was set high for us,” says Okland, 36, a vice president working at the 90-year-old company’s headquarters in Salt Lake City. “You hear that (family-owned) companies typically fail in the second, third or fourth generation, but without verbally saying anything, we’ve said we’re not going to let that happen. Our family name is on every project we do, so when we walk away it’s got to meet or exceed our family’s high expectations. On our watch, we’re not going to put our family’s reputation in jeopardy.”

Along with older brother Bill Okland, 38, who works as a vice president in the firm’s Phoenix office, Brett says he learned many valuable lessons from father Randy, Okland’s current president, and grandfather Jack, who passed away in November 2007. Brett recalls visiting job sites at a young age and being fascinated with the construction industry early on.

“We started out pretty young,” says Okland. “Before I knew much about the industry my dad had my brother and I out sweeping floors, or working as a carpenter apprentice as early as I can remember. We gained a love for construction before we knew anything else.”

He remembers working in the field before he was old enough to even drive a car. “My mom liked to go to Phoenix in the summers, so my brother and I would work down there,” he says. “We’d work from 5 in the morning until about 2 in the afternoon because it was so hot. I remember several jobs at Arizona State University where we’d be working in the middle of the night pouring concrete. It was tough work.”

Randy Okland says his sons have always displayed a keen interest in construction, along with an ability to process information quickly to make good decisions.

“Brett has worked hard to learn the various aspects of the business,” says Randy, who serves as company president. “He works well with others and understands what needs to be done.”

“I’m impressed with his ability to understand details and solve problems,” adds Ben Nilsen, a vice president with Okland. “He’s got a good mind for construction and seems to excel working on difficult projects.”

Brett Okland says commitment to quality and excellence has always started at the top of the firm.

“Jack set those expectations with his father 80 years ago,” says Okland. “I remember on numerous occasions where he would have work that didn’t meet quality standards torn out at our expense. He explained that we knew better and this wasn’t Okland’s quality of work. He shaped the company early on and was well-respected. He taught us the value of honesty and integrity at an early age. He was excited to see my brother and I, and our cousins, carry on those same traits.”

Okland is excited about many of the projects his firm is currently building, including part of the massive City Creek Center project in downtown Salt Lake City. A 32-story high-rise is a major portion of the project currently in full swing.

“It’s a monumental project that this city has never seen, and might not ever see again,” says Okland. “It’s fun to see a project like this come out of the ground.”

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Cris Hogan, 39
Executive Vice President
Hogan & Associates, Centerville, Utah

As the father of seven children ages 5 mos. to 13 years, Cris Hogan actually looks forward to going to work for a little peace and quiet.

“It can get a little hectic at home sometimes,” Hogan chuckles. “My wife, Christina, is a champ – there’s no way I could do what she does every day.”

CRIS HOGAN

Hogan’s expertise lies in construction. As executive vice president for Hogan & Associates, he’s done a little bit of everything in his career, which began at age 13 sweeping floors on an expansion at LDS Hospital in 1982 for Hogan & Tingey, a company co-founded by his grandfather, Eric Hogan, in 1945. He says he can’t imagine working in any other industry.

“I just figured I’d do this forever,” says Hogan, who turned 39 last November. “It gets in your blood. We were born with it. We were always building stuff around the house growing up.”

Hogan spent his summers learning about various aspects of the family business from grandfather Eric and father Mike Hogan. He says he’s done pretty much everything at one time in his career, from forming concrete to framing in the field, to estimating and project management in the office. The lessons he learned early on have remained through the years.

“Obviously my father and grandfather are big influences,” Hogan says. “I spent a summer with my grandfather one time – he took an entire summer off work – and we built a house, just him and us grandkids. We did concrete, foundations, framing. I was probably 17, and I remember learning a lot from him that summer.”

Hogan says his grandfather’s work ethic was legendary, the stuff of stories.

Hogan recalls one interesting tale. “One day they were pouring concrete and (grandfather) showed up in a suit after a meeting,” he says. “I guess they were short on workers, so he jumped in and started working – suit and all – finishing concrete. His attitude was ‘do whatever it takes to get the job done’. Sometimes you have to jump in and make things happen.”

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Jasen Bennie, 30
Project Manager
COP Construction, North Salt Lake

Jasen Bennie, who turned 30 in January, grew up in a construction family in Ketchikan, Alaska. His father owned a residential construction firm, one grandfather owned a civil construction firm, and another grandfather owned a commercial building company.

“My parents were always very supportive and pushed me to excel to achieve goals I set for myself,” Bennie says. “I was fortunate in that I got all the support I ever needed. Without that, it’s easy to veer off course.”

JASEN BENNIE

Bennie always figured he’d end up working in the construction industry in some capacity.

“It runs in my veins,” says Bennie about construction. “I always had a desire to learn about construction – that desire has been there since my middle school years. I think it’s rare when people know what they want to do at a young age. I feel fortunate to be doing what I’ve always wanted to do.”

Bennie played football and wrestled at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash. He thought back then it would be cool to play professional football, but as an undersized linebacker/defensive end (he weighed 215 lbs in college) he realized playing on Sundays for a paycheck probably wasn’t in the cards.

“I knew if (football) didn’t work out that I’d be working in construction,” he says. As a project manager for COP Construction in North Salt Lake, Bennie oversees civil construction projects like pump stations, water and wastewater treatment plants, water storage takes and pipelines.

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As a project manager with 11 years experience for heavy-civil construction firm W.W. Clyde & Co., Dustin Olson oversees a variety of challenging projects.

“Every project is unique,” says Olson, who was 16 and working in a cabinet shop when he realized construction would be a good career option for him. “I enjoy the adrenaline rush of some of the things we do.”

DUSTIN OLSON

One of those recent challenges for Olson was working on the Jordanelle Hydroelectric Dam in Wasatch County, Utah, which required the installation of owner-furnished turbines, something the firm had never done before.
“The project was located next to a river, and we had to build half of it in the river, half out,” Olson recalls. “The turbines had to be installed within 1/1000 of an inch – it was fun.”

Olson credits company executives like Paul Clyde, Dave Hales, Jeff Clyde and Scott Okelberry for having a positive influence on his career. “Those are the four guys who have looked out after me and have done a good job helping me grow my career,” he says. “I’m looking forward to see what they have in store for me in the future.”

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Tyler Hollon, 27
Director of Construction, Service Division
Wadman Corporation, Ogden

While studying computer systems engineering at Arizona State University and working as a project coordinator for Sears, Tyler Hollon had an epiphany one day.
“The realization I had was that what I was studying was not going to be to my liking,” says Hollon, 27, a Tempe native. “I couldn’t imagine staring at a computer screen all day. I needed more change of pace.”

TYLER HOLLON

He ultimately ended up landing a job with Wadman Corporation in 2003, and was promoted last May to director of construction for the firm’s Service Division, which handles a variety of smaller projects, including renovations and interior remodels.

“I really like working on renovations,” says Hollon. “You uncover unforeseen conditions and that makes it fun.”

Hollon does have some family history in design and construction. Hollon’s father is an architect in Tempe, while his grandfather was a general contractor who installed synthetic running tracks in Wyoming. Hollon actually worked for his grandfather from ’93 to ’99 during summers and got a little bit of a feel for construction.

Besides renovation and interior finish projects, Hollon has worked on a variety of retail projects for clients like Smith’s, Wal-Mart and America First Credit Union. One interesting current project is at Red Ledges golf course in Heber, Utah, which includes a clubhouse and other amenities.

“I like the constant challenges of construction and having things different all the time,” Hollon says. “It keeps me engaged.”

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Slade Opheikens, 39
Vice President of Operations
R&O Construction, Ogden

As the oldest child of an entrepreneurial father who started a construction firm, working hard was never really an option for Slade Opheikens, not that he ever minded.

“Having my last name is not an entitlement,” says Opheikens, whose father, Orluff, founded R&O Construction in 1980. “He always taught me, my brother and sister, that we’re not entitled to anything – we have to earn it. I had to work every bit as hard as anyone else, but that’s made it worth it.”

SLADE OPHEIKENS

Opheikens said his father is the ultimate company leader, someone who understands what it takes to motivate people, which eventually leads to projects getting completed on time and on budget.

“I learned everything from him,” Opheikens says of his father. “He made sure I had a taste off everything.” At age 16, it was pushing dirt landscaping with his grandfather. Then came framing, followed by footings and foundations for a few years. Orluff even had his son spend a summer working on an asphalt paving and excavation crew, just to get a taste of other facets of construction.

“I used to wonder, ‘why do I have to do this?’, says Opheikens. “Why am I packing forms up a hill in the dead of winter? It makes sense now, the importance of understanding each trade. When you meet with subs, you’re not just relying on their knowledge.”

Opheikens says he likes construction for the tangible results it produces each day. He also enjoys seeing others thrive in their profession.

“Construction is a consummate challenge every day,” he says. “When I was younger it was the feeling of accomplishment and seeing what you did. Now that I’m further along in my career, watching individuals grow is satisfying. It’s nice to see people who have all that spunk and desire, and they’re willing to put it out there and grow.”

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Jason Kilgore, 34
President
Kilgore Paving, Salt Lake City

After a dozen years working for Staker Paving in various capacities, Jason Kilgore decided at the turn of the century to make the quantum leap of starting his own paving company. The response he got from friends, family, and associates in the construction industry at that time was less than positive.

JASON KILGORE

“Everybody thought I was crazy,” says Kilgore, 34, who founded Kilgore Paving in March 2000 when he was only 25. “Not a soul said I should do it. My wife, Amber, was hesitant, but said that she would support me in whatever I wanted to do. She’s been my biggest advocate for sure.”

Even Kilgore’s former step-father, Val Staker, the man who he learned the asphalt business from, didn’t think starting a new company was a good idea.

“Val told me not to do the business,” recalls Kilgore. “He said there are a lot of easier ways to make money than in contracting. But I put together a pro forma, and Val asked if the numbers work. He said if they work, go for it.”

Kilgore adds, “A lot of people wonder if Val helped me get the business started. He didn’t. I maxed out three credit cards and had a small savings in the bank that I told my wife needed to last us six months.”

As it turned out, Kilgore’s instincts were spot on. He started with modest goals of doing seal coating and patching, and when U.S. Aggregates went belly up in 2001, Kilgore set out to hire some key people and gradually expand the firm’s capacities.

He brought aboard Bart Van der Stappen and Dave Frost, who had both worked for U.S. Aggregates, and by 2002, Kilgore started paving large parking lots and subdivisions. The firm added a hot plant in 2004, started bidding UDOT work in 2006, and in 2008 the firm landed the asphalt paving on the I-80 Reconstruction project from State Street to 1300 East.

“Our timing was impeccable,” Kilgore recalls from when he started his company. “We were fortunate to be in the right spot at the right time and be ready. I just thought there was an opportunity to start a business in this industry. So far, it’s been great.”

Besides the I-80 project, Kilgore Paving did all the asphalt paving on the new parking lots at the Salt Lake International Airport in 2006-07 – a whopping 90,000 tons of asphalt in all. Kilgore is proud of his firm’s accomplishments and is eager to continue growing the company into a premiere asphalt paving company.

“I love seeing a project from start to finish and being able to drive around and see the finished product, something that is tangible,” says Kilgore. “What I enjoy about the business today is seeing people excel in what they do. It’s fun to see people grow.”

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Jason Hill, 38
Executive Vice President
Interior Construction Specialists, Sandy, Utah

Jason Hill says the key to success in the construction industry is making sure you like what you do.

“For me, to be successful in this business you have to have a passion for it,” says Hill, who has worked for the Layton Companies nearly nine years, including the past 4 ½ with ICS. “Watching all of these great projects come to fruition, and being able to look over the valley and see what you’ve been involved with is very satisfying.”

JASON HILL

Hill says his father, Tom, worked in construction his entire life, including owning a commercial building firm in San Diego, so it was only natural he would choose a career in a similar field.

Hill’s family moved quite a bit while he was growing up, from California to Idaho to Colorado to Utah, before ending up at Davis High in Kaysville for his senior year. “I had a pretty diverse childhood geographically,” he says. Hill attended the University of Utah, graduating with a B.S. in Urban Planning. Prior to joining Layton in April 2000, he worked for an interior finishes company in Denver, and Interwest Construction in North Salt Lake for four years. He’s enjoyed his time at Layton and envisions being with the firm for a long time.

“The beauty of Layton is that there is no glass ceiling,” Hill says. “Your name doesn’t have to be Layton in order to succeed here. There is a lot of opportunity in the company to try different things. There’s always something new and exciting.”

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Zeke Johnson, 31
President
RSCI, Meridian, Idaho

What started out as an innocuous summer job for Zeke Johnson has turned into a highly-successful construction career.

While attending Boise State University on a football scholarship, Johnson landed a summer job with Record Steel Construction, Inc. (RSCI) of Meridian during his second year in college, even though he didn’t know really anything about the construction industry.

ZEKE JOHNSON

He worked for owners Clayton and Susan Record for a few months in the field, then decided he wanted to study civil engineering, which meant quitting his job with RSCI.

“I told Clayton I wanted to quit and go into Boise State’s engineering program and he asked what my long-term plans were,” recalls Johnson. “He questioned me on it. He basically said I could have a job in the office working as a project engineer during school, even though I knew absolutely nothing about construction.”

So Johnson stayed with RSCI while going through BSU’s civil engineering program. Record put Johnson under Brian Connor, a hard-nosed guy Johnson described “as tough as they come.” About six months into his role as project engineer, the firm was awarded a project at Gowen Field in Boise. Connor was the project manager, but Johnson ended up doing a lot of the day-to-day PM duties, and eventually worked his way into a project management position.

Johnson credits Record for giving him a chance to one, learn the business, and two, prove his value to the firm.

“Clayton has always been the kind of guy who gives people a lot of opportunities,” says Johnson. “Not just myself, but several people. Opportunities to have some serious responsibilities.”

Johnson has made the most of his opportunity. He was made one of three partners in 2001, along with John Henderson and Rich Kotner, before buying the entire company at the end of 2005. Since then, Johnson says RSCI has increased annual revenues from just under $20 million in ’05 to around $40 million in ’08.

So how does a guy who knew virtually nothing about the construction industry 10 years ago end up as the sole owner of a major general contracting firm with annual revenues of $40 million?

“I was just confident about it,” says Johnson matter-of-factly. “At the time I was doing a majority of the heavy lifting. To me, it makes things simpler if you’re the only party involved. It’s a matter of being detail-oriented, and making sure everything is headed in the right direction.”

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Cory Moore, 31
Vice President of Business Development
Big-D Construction, Salt Lake City

Cory Moore understands that the key to running any successful business comes down to people. Without good employees, a company isn’t worth very much. He also realized a long time ago that being able to relate to fellow co-workers is as important as anything, which is why he appreciates the time he spent working in the field prior to moving into the business development side of things.

CORY MOORE

“Working in the field helps you understand the environment our guys are working in and just how hard they work,” says Moore, 31. “What it comes down to is that construction is all about people, and without our people in the field, we wouldn’t be anything. Construction is a service industry – the better your people, the better your company.”

Moore, whose father Rob is president of Big-D Construction, says he wasn’t pushed to work in the industry, it’s just something he’s always enjoyed.

“Unlike many industries, we literally get to see everyday what we do,” Moore says. “It’s nice to see a finished product that is tangible – that’s what I love about construction.” He was named director of Business Development in 2004, and promoted to vice president in 2006. He says 80% of his time is spent chasing new work, which includes meeting with countless architects, owners, developers, and public employees. The other 20% of his time is spent overseeing all of Big-D’s marketing and public relations.

Despite concerns nationally with the economy and the uncertainty of the financial markets, Moore says Big-D should have a solid 2009. The key to remaining busy, he says, is the ability of a firm to work in different markets, and the relationships that are forged over the years with both private and public clients. Project scopes might vary considerably between a private job vs. a public job, but the way to treat clients is the same across the board.

“The procurement method is different, the way we get work is different, but the services we provide are not different,” says Moore. “In a private job, many times it’s negotiated. Regardless of whether it’s a public or private job, relationships are the key to our business.”

Regarding the outlook for 2009, Moore says “we’re lucky in commercial construction in that we are able to be strategic about the future compared to most industries. A lot of our projects are awarded 3 months, 6 months or a year ahead of time. We just started the Utah Museum of Natural History, but were awarded that project a year ago.

“We’re extremely cautious and we’re extremely hungry for ’09, but we have work,” he adds. “We’re optimistic that it will be a good year for us.”

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Eric Franson, 37
Vice President
Franson Civil Engineers, American Fork, Utah

As a star basketball player for Utah State University in the early-to-mid ‘90’s, Eric Franson felt he had the skill set to play professional basketball – just not at the NBA level.

“When I got done with Utah State I signed a contract fairly early to go play in Europe,” says Franson, one of three vice presidents for Franson Civil Engineers, a firm founded by his father, Jay, in 1989. “I felt like (Europe) was my best bet at playing pro ball. A lot of players get invited to NBA veteran’s camps, but once they get cut, most jobs in Europe are filled. So I figured with all the competition for spots and my level of talent, I was an extreme long shot (for the NBA). I took the conservative and secure route – an engineer’s mentality.”

ERIC FRANSON

That mentality served Franson well, as he ended up playing five seasons in Europe, including stops in Belgium, France and Iceland before heading back to Utah to work at the family firm, which specializes in water resources engineering.

“The best part was probably the cultural understanding and knowledge that was gained,” says Franson, who left with his wife in ’97, and returned in ’01 with two small children in tow, including an infant son that was born in France during his last season, two weeks before they came back to the states for good. “We traveled through most of Europe and have seen most of the major cities. We also met a lot of interesting people. It was fun to play basketball for a living, but it was still a job.”

The 6-ft-8-in Franson played center in Europe, and played against good talent, not great, for the most part. He says in France he averaged around 20 points and 10 rebounds a game (“That’s what Americans were expected to produce,” he says, candidly), while in Iceland, those numbers climbed to 30 and 15. “I was on one really good team in France my fourth year – we won the league title,” he says. “We had some really good French players. I averaged around 15 and 8 that year.”

As a civil engineer, Franson enjoys working on water-related projects. Currently, he’s helping with the design of a $50 million pressurized irrigation system for American Fork City, along with a pressurized irrigation system in Cache Valley that could eventually cover 27,000 acres with a mix of gravity and pump fed systems.

As for competitive sports, Franson says his company fields a city league team that is pretty good, although he seems to enjoy golf more as he gets older (his handicap is around 7).

“Our company team is alright,” he muses. “Engineers aren’t the best athletes, usually, but we do okay. I find myself having to tone down a little bit to stay even keeled – it is city league, after all. I think I’m probably more competitive at golf – we’ve been known to wager a bit on the golf course. It’s fun.”

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Chris Hofheins, 38
Principal
BHB Consulting Engineers, Salt Lake City

Looking back now, Chris Hofheins isn’t sure he’d try starting a consulting engineering firm during a shaky economy. But that’s just what he and partner Don Barker did in 2002 when they founded structural firm BHB Consulting Engineers in Salt Lake City.

CHRIS HOFHEINS

“2002 was a horrible time to start a business,” admits Hofheins, 38. “We’d meet with people who would tell us, ‘you guys picked the absolute worst time to start a company.’ But in a way, I think it worked to our advantage because Don and I did have good contacts which sustained us when times were slow, and it allowed us to grow as the economy sped up. So it really worked out well.”

A Salt Lake City native, Hofheins grew up in the masonry industry. His father, Jerry Hofheins, owned a large masonry company in the 70’s and 80’s, and Chris started working summers at age 12. He realized at an early age that he wanted to work in construction in some aspect, and by the time he was a freshman in college he knew engineering would be a good route – and one less physically taxing than laying bricks and scooping mortar all day.

“I quickly learned I wasn’t cut out to be laborer in construction,” says Hofheins of the summers he spent working for his father. “But I loved math and in going through school I realized structural engineering was a good fit for what I liked.”

Hofheins earned an undergraduate Civil Engineering degree from the University of Utah and an MBA from Brigham Young University. He started his career with J.M. Williams and Associates in Salt Lake, and also spent time working for Dunn Associates of Salt Lake, which is where he met Barker.

Two projects he’s particularly proud of designing include the MegaPlex 20 theater complex in South Jordan, Utah, and a two-story underground parking garage in Block D at Gateway in Salt Lake. MegaPlex 20 was at the time the largest ICF (insulated concrete forms) project in the nation, while the Block D garage is the first ‘hybrid’ parking structure in Utah – a post-tensioned concrete slab that sits on a steel structure.

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Gary Horton, 38
Principal, Office Manager
Project Engineering Consultants, Ltd.

When opportunity knocked for Gary Horton 4 ½ years ago, he weighed the risk vs. reward potential and decided to bust down the door. Horton, principal and general manager of Project Engineering Consultants’ (PEC) Salt Lake office, joined the civil engineering firm in 2004 after stints with MK Centennial (’95-’98) and EWP/Stantec (’98-’04).

GARY HORTON

“At the time I was interested in the fact that it was a privately-owned company,” says Horton, 38, whose father was a metallurgical engineer. “I also realized opening a new office was a huge opportunity and a huge risk. I figured the reward outweighed the risk. I was a good project manager, and felt I could be successful. An opportunity to do this doesn’t come along very often.”

Horton quickly surrounded himself with good people, and as a result, PEC has blossomed into a firm that boasts 22 engineers and 36 employees, with annual office revenues that eclipsed $8 million in ‘07.

“Gary is just a good guy,” says Steve Miller, president of PEC in Phoenix. “People like to work for him. He requires accountability to his employees, which I think they like, and he holds himself accountable. He’s forward-thinking in that he looks ahead and asks ‘what do I need to do to get there’. He’s also good at developing relationships and strategic alliances.”

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Laynee Jones, 39
Manager, Environmental Planning
H.W. Lochner, Salt Lake City

A Texas native, Laynee Jones always desired to live in a mountainous area where she could enjoy various outdoor recreation opportunities such as skiing, mountain biking and hiking. She thought Colorado was the ‘ultimate’ place for such outdoor adventure, until she by chance discovered Utah.

LAYNEE JONES

“When you live in Texas and want to live in mountains and ski, you envision Colorado,” says Jones, who turns 40 in March. “I couldn’t find a job there, so I came to Utah. It wasn’t until I got out here that I realized how mistaken I was. To me, Utah beats Colorado hands down in terms of the outdoors. I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”

Armed with a B.S. in civil engineering from Texas A&M, Jones landed a job initially with HDR’s Salt Lake office in ’97. Two years later, she was recruited to work for the Salt Lake Olympic Committee where she helped devise a plan to recycle waste, in addition to being over a team of 2,500 people responsible for snow removal and cleaning.

When the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Games ended, Jones went back to HDR for a short time, then landed a job as director of operations for Sundance Film Festival, a position that stretched the limits of her capability, but one she enjoyed.

“I oversaw every piece of the operations – at least everything non-creative,” says Jones. “Ticketing, marketing, sponsorships, transportation…I led a team of 12 people. It was a tight knit group.” Jones says the 10-day Sundance event was “very high stress” and after two years, she figured it was time to go back to engineering. Besides, she says she hasn’t watched mainstream television since moving to Utah 11 years ago, and is not at all interested in the whole celebrity/star-gazing thing.

“I’m not really somebody who keeps up with pop culture, so it was interesting being in that atmosphere,” Jones says. “One time we had an operational glitch and Justin Timberlake was there to check things out and I had no idea who Justin Timberlake even was!”

These days, Jones is the manager of environmental planning and public involvement for H.W. Lochner’s Salt Lake office, a job she thoroughly enjoys. “I wanted to find a place that would allow me to spread my wings and have some managerial influence,” says Jones. “It’s been exciting. I got thrown into being a leader of large groups and was able to develop my leadership skills, and I figure that’s going to help me in my future and here at Lochner.”

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Dorian Adams, 37
Principal
Reaveley Engineers +Associates, Salt Lake City

Dorian Adams says landing his first professional engineering job out of college was a cinch, really. Sometimes it’s all about who you know.

DORIAN ADAMS

A graduate of the University of Utah with a civil engineering degree, Adams was working in ’97 at a job in the structures lab at the U under Larry Reaveley, whose brother Ron Reaveley was the founder of Salt Lake-based Reaveley Engineers+Associates. Larry suggested Adams send a resume to Ron, and before he knew it, he was working at a prominent structural engineering firm.

“It was pretty easy,” admits Adams. “I didn’t expect it to be that way, but it turned out well for me.”

Adams has since excelled with the firm, being named an associate in 2006, and then promoted to principal in 2008. He has developed an expertise designing health care projects, including the award-winning Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah, which incorporated a unique Buckling Restrained Brace Frame (BRBF) system to mitigate potential effects of a major seismic event along Utah’s Wasatch Front.

Adams says being selected as project manager on IMC was a “great opportunity for me. I had only been practicing as a licensed engineer for four years before being put on that project. I think about how lucky I was to be involved. The scope of the project was so big, I look at it now and wonder how I survived.”

Adams, a St. George, Utah native, also was the lead designer on the Dixie Regional Medical Center, the Riverton Hospital, and the DRMC Outpatient Pavilion, the latter two of which are currently under construction. He also recently helped design a new terminal building on the new $185 million St. George Airport project. In addition, Adams is the project manager for the Sorenson Molecular Biotechnology Building at the U – part of the State of Utah’s USTAR program.

“I get a lot of enjoyment seeing projects get constructed,” says Adams. “There’s quite a bit of satisfaction in knowing you’re part of something that’s benefitting the community.”

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Tait Ketcham, 34
Principal
Dunn Associates, Salt Lake City

Tait Ketcham didn’t think he’d find true love working in Memphis, Tenn., on the structural design of a new $250 million home for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, but that’s just what happened.

TAIT KETCHAM

A West Jordan native, Ketcham, 34, spent 15 months on the FedEx Forum project while employed by ABS Consulting of Salt Lake from 2000-03. Het met his future wife, Amanda, at church one Sunday, and they became friends over the course of six months. Ketcham says, “When I came back to Utah, I realized I liked her and needed to get her out here somehow.”

The FedEx Forum project challenged Ketcham and provided a great learning experience. “The size of the job was more than anything I’d experienced,” he says. “I remember the first day when they dropped a set of plans on my desk and I thought, how am I ever going to get my arms around this? Through the process, I figured out how to manage a large project.”

After returning to Utah, Ketcham left ABS to work for Dunn Associates of Salt Lake City in 2003, and he was named a principal a year ago. Some of the notable projects he’s helped design include the Uintah Recreation Center in Vernal, Utah, MegaPlex 13 in Ogden, and The Solomon Center in Ogden. He’s currently working on the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah, as well as the Sorenson Recreation Center in Herriman, Utah.

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Jason Densmer, 32
Principal Civil Engineer
The Land Group, Eagle, Idaho

Jason Densmer knows he has designed a good project when the client doesn’t have anything to say.

JASON DENSMER

“The funny thing about civil engineering, if you’ve done it right, no one knows,” says Densmer, 32, who has nearly 10 years experience in land development. “Everybody knows when it’s done poorly.”

Densmer earned a civil engineering degree from the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, a smaller college that focuses primarily on match and science curriculums, and then landed a job in Boise working for Roylance & Associates in 1999. The firm was bought out by The Land Group in 2006.

Prior to working in land development, he also worked for ASI in Buena Vista, Colo., a heavy-civil contracting firm that specialized in dam and highway work.

“It gave me some real world experience – I got to better understand how things were built,” he says.

Some key projects Densmer is currently working on include the first phase of Southfork Landing in Garden Valley, Idaho, and the new $200 million Magic Valley Regional Medical Center in Twin Falls, Idaho.

“I’m very content with what I do,” says Densmer. “The way The Land Group operates is different than other firms. It’s more of an organic, team-based approach. It’s more collaborative and creative, which translates into a greater variety of projects that we’re exposed to.”

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Adam Murdock, 34
Project Manager/Senior Technologist
CH2M Hill, Salt Lake City

It’s not every day a person gets to work on a project that was originally constructed by a great-great-great-grandfather nearly 160 years ago, and that bears the same last name. Yet that’s exactly what Adam Murdock, a project manager and senior technologist with CH2M Hill’s Salt Lake office, is doing with his involvement on the Provo Reservoir Canal Enclosure project – also known as the Murdock Canal.

ADAM MURDOCK

“I’m taking grandfather’s work to the next phase,” says Murdock, whose third great-grandfather was John Riggs Murdock, a Mormon pioneer who lived in Lehi and was instrumental in building a canal in 1850 that diverted water from Provo Canyon that could be used for irrigating crops on the west side of the valley. “It’s a great honor for me to be able to work on a project that bears my family name.”

Murdock Canal is one of three main arteries that deliver water supply into the Salt Lake Valley via the Provo River. The enclosure project will ultimately provide better public safety, conserve water, improve the habitat, and offer better delivery reliability and water quality.

Murdock, who grew up in Mountain Green, Utah, says he knew as a kid that the canal was named for his third great-grandfather, but it wasn’t until last August that he realized he’d actually be working on this project for Provo River Water Users Association.

“What we’re doing is enclosing the canal – it’s going to be designed to be either a box culvert of a pressurized pipeline,” says Murdock. “It’s a 600 cfs flow rate, which is considered a lot of water. This is the largest artery that feeds water into the Salt Lake Valley.”

Murdock says he enjoys the type of work he does, because it provides a better quality of life to the community.

“I like problem-solving and being given a task that is challenging, and coming up with a solution that benefits people,” says Murdock. “It’s bettering the world we live in.”

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Carlton Getz, 31
Electrical Engineer
Spectrum Engineers, Inc., Salt Lake City

Growing up in St. Louis, Carlton Getz developed an interest in skiing on family vacations to Utah. His parents first took him to Snowbird in 1980 when he was barely a toddler, and he’s loved the sport ever since. “They strapped skis on me at age 3 and pushed me down the hill,” he laughs.

CARLTON GETZ

Getz earned an undergraduate electrical engineering degree from Kansas State University, and was in graduate school at the University of Virginia when he decided to take a flyer and try to land a job in a place with great skiing. He looked at various MEP firms in Salt Lake and ended up interviewing with Spectrum Engineers in Salt Lake.

“I didn’t have too many leads,” says Getz. “I came out to Salt Lake, talked to (Spectrum president) Skip Greene, and it seemed to be the perfect fit for me. It’s worked out better than I could have imagined back them. It was really chance, if you think about it.”

Getz says he as a child he enjoyed playing with blocks and Legos, and was originally going to study architecture in college, until a professor at K-State helped steer him into the engineering program. He says he gets great satisfaction out of seeing a project he designed get built.

“There is nothing like having something tangible and real at the end of the day that you can call your own,” says Getz. “Not too many professions offer that.”

Getz says living in Utah is a skier’s paradise, something he takes for granted a little more than when he lived in the Midwest. “I ski at least once a week, twice if I can manage it,” he says. “Once you move out here, you get picky about what days you go skiing.”

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Ladd Birch, 39
Principal
Van Boerum & Frank Associates

Following in the footsteps of his father, Ron, who worked as a mechanical engineer for large companies like Kennecott and Hercules in Utah, Ladd Birch has established his own reputation as a talented designer and engineer. Birch, who turns 40 in May, is the principal of VBFA’s St. George office, which was established in 2001.

LADD BIRCH

“Ladd is a real personable guy – very likeable,” says Rich Reeder, a principal in VBFA’s Salt Lake office. “He’s a sharp engineer who does good work. He started out on my team and when he moved to St. George, he was very good with our clients. That’s key in our industry, to make sure the end user is happy with our projects.”

A graduate of the University of Utah, Birch landed a job with VBFA a year prior to graduating, and says he is very content with where he’s at in his career.

“I bumped into my good friend, Jeff Watkins, who works in our Salt Lake office, when I was at the U,” says Birch. “He gave me a heads up about the firm, so I interviewed with them and was hired a year before I graduated. I can’t think of anything better. We’re growing our office in St. George and expanding into Las Vegas. Things are really good.”

Birch specializes in the design of school-related projects for clients like Washington County School District, and utilizing state-of-the-art ground source heat pump system technology on school projects. VBFA’s first ground source heat pump project was Littlefield Elementary in Littlefield, Ariz., just south of St. George, which won an ACEC Grand Award in 2000. Birch says his firm has designed more than 20 ground source heat pump systems in Southern Utah during this decade.

“The big advantage of ground pump heat source systems is that it takes heat from the earth, and rejects heat back into the earth,” says Birch. “It replaces chillers, boilers and cooling towers for the most part – the central plant is essentially pipes in the earth.”

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Kirk Morris, 37; Liza Morris, 39
Principal; Architect
Modus Architecture, Boise

It might a little unusual for a husband and wife to work together in harmony, yet Kirk and Liza Morris of Boise-based Modus Architecture say they’re actually better architects because of their unique working relationship.

KIRK & LIZA MORRIS

“We hear that from so many people – they say I could never work with my spouse or significant other,” says Liza. “I always saw relationships in my family where they always worked together, so there was nothing unusual about it for me. I didn’t have to overcome that obstacle in my mind.”

“One of the benefits is if I go to Liza about something, I know I’ll get an honest opinion, whether it’s good or bad,” adds Kirk. “We are probably the toughest critics on each other. We end up putting out a better product in the end.”

The couple met during their college days at a random house party in Boise. Liza, who is from Troy, a small town in northern Idaho, was working in Boise during the summer of her third year of architecture school at the University of Idaho. Kirk was in his first year of college at Boise State. They dated a little, but didn’t get serious until more than three years later when Kirk transferred to U of I. Neither one knew during their initial friendship period that the other was studying architecture.

The parents of two children ages 10 and 8, the Morris’ admit that when they’re home together it can be difficult leaving work behind at the office.

“Sometimes I have to tell him to stop talking about work,” Liza chuckles. “Kirk has more trouble dividing work life from home life. When I’m home, I’m done with work – I have no problem moving on and dealing with kids and the domestic life. We spend time talking about it when he gets home, but when it starts to get to be too much, I say ‘timeout’.”

Kirk is one of the two principals of Modus, the other being company founder Bruce Poe. Poe hired Kirk seven years ago, and made him a partner four years ago. Liza joined the firm a year after Kirk. The two didn’t work together on projects until two years ago, but enjoy doing so.

“If we do work together on a project, we compliment each other well,” says Kirk.

“We understand where each other is coming from, and we recognize that we have different skills and appreciate those skills,” adds Liza. “We have sympathies for each other in that regard. When someone has a bad day, you can relate. It helps when you have kids, because you’re more sensitive to coordinating schedules and things like that. We’re fortunate that we have flexibility to accommodate that.”

The Morris’ worked together on the 90,000 sq ft Boise City Hall West project, which is a renovation of an old HP call center that is aiming for LEED Gold certification and is slated to be completed in February. They also collaborated on the North Nampa Revitalization Strategy for the City of Nampa, which the City is still reviewing and adopting.

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Martin Hahle, 39
Senior Associate Architect
CSHQA, Boise

After Martin Hahle graduated from the University of Nebraska, he wanted to move west to a region with mountains so he could more fully enjoy various aspects of outdoor recreation, including mountain biking, skiing, fishing and camping.

MARTIN HAHLE

He initially interviewed in Colorado, but the only serious job offer he received came from Boise-based CSHQA, whose company president, Jeff Shneider, is also a Nebraska alum. Hahle says the coincidence probably was “a little bit of an in. I’d like to think I got the job because of my skills, but at that point I was happy to take anything I could get.”

Hahle, who is a senior associate architect, joined the firm in June 1993, and has since become one of the firm’s aviation design experts.

“My specific focus is aviation – I’ve done a lot of work with airports,” says Hahle, adding that airport design has evolved to where facilities are seen as a microcosm of a community/city.

“The focus in recent years is to produce something that is a gateway to the community,” Hahle says of airports. “It’s kind of like a gateway to the world. (Airports) are technically very complex facilities and are projects that last a considerable amount of time. I like the diversity of projects that I work on; it really lets you explore and understand and relate with the overall community. It’s just a really interesting job.”

Hahle was part of the design team that did the Boise Airport several years ago, one of the most significant projects CSHQA has done. He is also working on airport projects in Fresno, Calif., Reno, Nev., Medford, Ore., and Spokane, Wash.

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Brandon Bowen, 33
Architectural Illustrator/3D Graphic Artist
GSBS Architects, Salt Lake City

Brandon Bowen spent 4 ½ years studying to be a Political Science major at the University of Utah, with the intent of going into pre-law, before realizing it wasn’t a career he was that interested in. Fortunately, he was able to land a job doing something he did for fun in his spare time and had a great passion for – 3D graphic illustration for Salt Lake-based GSBS Architects.

BRANDON BOWEN

“Even if I had all the money in the world, I’d do this for fun,” says Bowen. “The fact that I get paid to do this makes it the greatest job ever.”

Bowen has been with GSBS for 8 years and ironically, took over the position from his brother Brent, who left to start his own graphic design company. Bowen learned a few things from his brother, but basically taught himself how to operate the software packages he uses to create 3D illustrations. He said he works with Autodesk 3D Max 9 about 25% of the time, and Photoshop the other 75%.

“Basically it’s my artistic eye that produces results in the end, but you just start messing around with it and learn by trial and error,” says Bowen. He enjoys the fact that the illustrations he creates allow clients and owners to get a more realistic perspective of what their project is actually going to look like prior to it being built.

“The entire architectural process isn’t as pretty as a 3D model – it’s hard to visualize in a set of drawings,” Bowen says. “I’m the one people visit to see what a project looks like. I kind of feel like the superstar guy in our office.”

Bowen prides himself on all his illustrations, but is especially proud of images he created for the Brooks Arcade Building in Salt Lake, the Wallace Bennett Building in Salt Lake, the UVSC Wasatch Campus, and the two office buildings at the Utah State Capitol.

“It’s an absolutely phenomenal job – it allows me to be as creative as I want,” he says.

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Scott Bailey, 40
Party Chief/GPS Specialist
ESI Engineering

Surveying an existing highway or busy road reconstruction project can be a dicey proposition at times. Just ask Scott Bailey.

SCOTT BAILEY

“On any given day, it can be very dangerous,” says Bailey, 40, a party chief and GPS specialist for Salt Lake-based ESI Engineering. “If somebody screws up driving, you’ve got nowhere to go. Cones and barrels aren’t going to save you.”

Bailey recants one story of working on the reconstruction of Main Street in Tooele, Utah, in summer 2001, when a woman came barreling north through the construction zone at a speed well above the posted 15 mph limit.

“I was with two other guys and we all yelled at her to slow it down,” says Bailey.
“We got back to work and next thing we know, a car comes screeching to a halt in the southbound lane, and it’s this same woman. I swear she was 400 lbs. if she was an ounce.

“She starts dropping F-bombs on us, calling us every name in the book,” he continues. “I was trying to keep calm and told her to just slow down through the work zone. She says something back like, ‘you f-ing white trash’ and I was like, that’s it. So I leaned in through her car window and got about 6 inches from her face and said ‘if you don’t drive away right now, I’m going to drag your fat carcass out of the car and kick your ass.’ She flips back around and tears through the zone, and a cop saw it all. He comes over and says, ‘was that a blue Chevy Lumina?’ and we’re like ‘go get her.’ It was just desserts.”

An Illinois native, Bailey grew up surveying with his father, Richard, who started Richard E. Bailey & Assoc. in 1975 in Elgin, Ill., after nearly 30 years with another survey firm. Bailey’s first job was at age 10 surveying a restaurant in Algonquin, Ill. for a guy he claims was tied in with the Chicago mafia. He spent summers and weekends learning the roots of the trade from his dad. The equipment used back then was rudimentary compared to today’s sophisticated technology, but it taught Bailey the basics, which today is a forgotten art.

“The first projects I did, they were reading transits and I was pulling a chain,” he says. “That’s what I grew up on – they didn’t have any of this fancy high-tech sh** when I was a kid. I never used a plain table, but I learned all the basics of surveying from my dad – leveling, chaining…all the essential things that you can’t learn in a book.

“Nobody learns the basics anymore,” he adds. “Since ’95, I would say 99% of surveyors are button pushers. I was fortunate to learn the core values of surveying from my dad. I owe him a lot – he taught me how to survey and play golf.”

Bailey figured his father’s firm would ultimately be very successful, as he was 11 and his brother, Dusty, was 16. But less than two years later, Dusty was killed in a car accident, which emotionally devastated his father.

“That really shot his dream,” says Bailey. “He just kind of muddled through until I was able to help carry the load a little more.” Besides working for his dad, Bailey gained valuable experience at a couple other survey firms during and after high school. When his mother passed away from cancer in 1989, he expressed a desire to help his dad grow the family business, but is just wasn’t in the cards.

“I went to my dad and told him we needed to go big time – get new gear, plotters, printers, AutoCAD. He said no. At 64, he didn’t want to go full-tilt and I did. We started butting heads and I realized I needed to spread my wings.”

In October 1990, a month before his 22nd birthday, Bailey headed west to ski with his life savings in tow. He moved to Salt Lake, found a cheap apartment up Emigration Canyon, bought a season pass to Park West (now The Canyons) and spent the winter shredding powder and partying. When the ski season ended (and his bankroll dried up), Bailey figured it was time to get serious about a career. He set up interviews with local survey firms and eventually landed a job with ESI Engineering.

“He had good experience working with his dad, and we were looking for someone who was anxious to do it,” says Keith Hafen, vice president of ESI. “Scott is very up-to-date and knowledgeable on equipment. He has good PR skills; he works well with people.”

“Scott is very enthusiastic about his job,” adds Fred Campbell, ESI president. “He likes working outdoors by himself. He’s a very hard worker who likes to get things done and not let them sit.”

Bailey admits that he prefers working by himself in the field.

“There’re a couple reasons I like working solo,” Bailey says. “One, there’s no one to blame but yourself when things go south – I tend to be a lot more thorough with my calculations. Second, when you have other guys with you, it’s just a bullsh** session and you don’t get anything done.”

Besides his experience with ESI, Bailey spent six years as a GPS trainer for Monsen Engineering in Salt Lake. “I would characterize him as being very smart and knowledgeable about his trade,” company president Richard Monsen says about Bailey. “We had some good years working together. I’m impressed with what he’s accomplished in his career.”

Bailey says he plans to keep on surveying for another 20 years or so, which would give him a half-century worth of experience.

“I realized the other day I’ve got 30 years experience – hell, I’m due to retire right now,” he laughs. “It’s a good profession, one that’s in my blood. I like being outside, working in the field. Every day is something different – it never gets mundane.”

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