News

By: JoBe Hope

Field Services Manager

 

While I have not been part of all 51 years of Triad’s history, joining the company in 1990 has given me the opportunity to witness more than three decades of progress within Triad and throughout the construction industry.

My path to Triad was not exactly planned. In the spring of 1990, I was struggling to make a living as a real estate agent. At 22 years old, still living at home, I do not think many people had confidence in me as an agent. A coworker mentioned that his uncle, Bobby Hypes, was often looking for people at an engineering firm called Triad. I met with Bobby at the Scott Depot office, and he told me he would call if a position became available.

In the meantime, I took a job working night shifts at SuperAmerica, now Speedway, just to earn some income. One morning, Bobby called and woke me up at 9 a.m. with a simple question: “Can you start Monday?” On August 20, 1990, I walked through Triad’s doors thinking, “This will work until I figure out what I want to do with my life.”

On my first day, I was told that Triad was going to teach me how to test concrete in both the field and the laboratory. My first stop was the concrete lab, where someone pointed to a machine and said, “This is where we break concrete cylinders.” I remember thinking, why in the world would you break concrete? That introduction led me to learn from people like Ali Dastghieb, Brian Crist, Ray Pennington, and Chris Haverland as I began understanding the fundamentals of construction materials testing.

Some of my earliest projects included the construction of the Joan C. Edwards Stadium at Marshall University, the Kmart in Teays Valley that is now Kroger, and the Cub Foods project in Huntington that is also now a Kroger. Those projects taught me an important lesson early in my career: if you make yourself useful, stay willing to learn, and take on new challenges, there will always be opportunities to grow.

Over the years, I had the chance to work with nearly every department in the Teays Valley office. I served as a drill helper, survey rodman, asbestos inspector, erosion and sediment control inspector, and assisted the geotechnical department with field logging. Each role provided a different perspective and helped me better understand how every service Triad provides contributes to the larger project.

One of the unique things about spending 36 years with a company is that your career becomes intertwined with history. I was on a coal mine site testing concrete for a silo slip project when Magic Johnson announced his retirement from professional basketball. I was working in the laboratory when the O.J. Simpson verdict was announced. On September 11, 2001, I was performing quality control work on a parking garage deck pour at what was then the tallest building in Charleston. Like everyone else that day, we were trying to understand what was happening and whether we were safe. Those moments remain vivid reminders of how work and life often intersect in unexpected ways.

The most noticeable changes throughout my career have come through technology. When I started, office desks were filled with calculators, typewriters, phone books, desk calendars, and landline telephones. In the field, we carried clipboards, forms, pencils, highlighters, and drawing sets. If you needed to contact the office, you found a pay phone. Directions to a job site were handwritten and often relied on local landmarks.

Today, a computer and smartphone have replaced most of those tools. Communication is instant, project information is readily accessible, and navigation is as simple as opening an app. Technology has significantly improved efficiency, but the core of the work remains the same. Success still depends on experience, attention to detail, and people working together to deliver quality results.

Over the last 36 years, I have watched Triad grow into a respected leader throughout our region. At the same time, Triad has helped me grow personally and professionally. My career progressed from laboratory technician to Quality Control Practice Leader, but the company has also been present for many of life’s most important milestones. During my time here, I became a husband, father, father-in-law, grandfather, and proud employee-owner through our ESOP.

One of the things I value most is the relationships built along the way. I still meet monthly with a group of friends I first met during my first year at Triad. Bobby Hypes and Brian Crist are part of that group, along with Matt Perdue and Tommy Hypes. There are even two employees still connected to the office from when I started: Lisa Young and John Haynes. John was a high school student doing odd jobs around the shop at the time. Those friendships and connections are a reminder that Triad has always been more than a workplace.

Looking back, Triad has played a significant role in shaping who I am. It helped me build a career, support a family, and develop friendships that have lasted decades. To describe it as simply a job would not come close to telling the full story.

When I first walked through the door in 1990, I thought Triad would be a temporary stop while I figured out what I wanted to do with my life. Thirty-six years later, I am still here. If I do not figure it out in the next six and a half years, Triad might just get to watch me retire.