2024 Core Values Spotlight

JANUARY: Brock Walla, PE, Civil Engineering Project Engineer

Over the last year and a half, E&A has worked hard on our recruitment efforts at various colleges. One college we have specifically focused on building a relationship with is South Dakota State University’s s (SDSU) School of Engineering. We have attended their fall and spring career fairs and presented at their ASCE chapter meetings. SDSU has the largest college ASCE Chapter in the Midwest, and maintaining this relationship is essential. Due to a hectic career fair season, I was double booked and was unable to attend the SDSU Career Fair. Brock had previously attended the fair with me and did an excellent job talking about E&A and our internship program and opportunities. I approached Brock about attending the fall career fair this year on his own so E&A could still be represented and not miss out on the recruitment opportunity. Brock stepped right up and took the challenge on without hesitation. He returned with many great resumes that even had detailed notes for me to review. Because of Brock’s help, we were able to continue building our relationship with SDSU, have a presence at their career fair, and even receive several internship applications as a response to E&A’s attendance at the fair. I am so thankful Brock stepped up and supported our recruitment efforts

*Submitted by Kendra Nielsen, Human Resources Specialist

What sets this example apart?
Brock is living our core values by taking action to help Our Company continue to grow and thrive. Because of Brock’s willingness to travel and attend a career fair in South Dakota, Kendra received several intern candidates that might not have otherwise known about E&A’s internship program. Thank you, Brock, for representing Our People and helping your fellow co-worker!

FEBRUARY: Jason Liekhus, Civil Engineering Technician, and Daniel VanderMolen, SIT, Land Surveying Party Chief

The week before Christmas was unseasonably warm, and I received a call from another engineering firm to help them get a small section paved in an area that borders two of our projects. Their contractor wanted to get this last piece of paving in before the snow fell, but the other engineering firm couldn’t get it done on the required schedule. I received the call on Monday; the contractor wanted to pour on Thursday and requested stakes by the end of the day on Tuesday.

With our workload, I was doubtful that we could turn it around that quickly. With employees stepping up, I was proven wrong. By the end of the day Monday, Jason Liekhus was able to put a plan and profile sheet together and delivered it to survey. Although the survey crews were booked on Tuesday, Daniel VanderMolen finished a job early. Rather than calling it a day, he drove across town to stake the hubs for this job. The missing segment was paved on Thursday before our white Christmas shutdown paving for the year. Props to Jason & Daniel for making E&A stand out from the crowd yet again.

*Submitted by Caleb Beasley, PE, Civil Engineering Project Manager

What sets this example apart?
Jason and Daniel are living our core values by going the extra mile for Our People and Our Customers. Because of their inclination to help Caleb in such a time crunch, Daniel and Jason were able to please contractors and avoid other issues down the road. Their work showed a great reflection of E&A.

APRIL: Trevor Wald, EI, Civil Engineering Designer

Bob Czerwinski (Municipal Services Department Manager) came by midday on a Friday and mentioned that he was meeting with an HOA group on Monday morning to review a grading plan that we had provided them. He said that some members of the HOA did not understand the grading contours. Bob asked if there was anything else that we could do. I talked with Trevor about creating a 3D flythrough video to communicate the grading plan more clearly. Trevor volunteered to stay late and put together an InfraWorks video. In addition, Trevor helped finalize a few other things over the weekend so that Bob could share everything on Monday morning. The HOA loved the video, and it resulted in a successful meeting due to Trevor’s help!

What sets this example apart?
Trevor’s willingness to not only help on this project, but stay after hours to do so, is admirable. His efforts had a positive impact on Our People that, in turn, created a positive response from Our Customers.

MAY: Jason Brackett, CPESC, Environmental Scientist

I nominate Jason Brackett for his role in developing our team’s SOP/Procedures for SWPPP Inspections. As usual, Jason provided me a table of contents/outline. After my review, we agreed on what was important and had to be included. We both agreed on a timeframe and amount of resources required. After draft #1 was completed, I reviewed it and he edited. Then when Draft #2 was prepared, Patrick Sechser (Environmental Services Assistant Manager) reviewed it. Once completed, it was a work of art, and it took Jason nearly 80 hours to create. Moving forward this will be instrumental in training new employees and giving them a head start when they are hired. We are off and working on PCSMP now. It was extremely detailed and organized. Jason worked diligently and did a phenomenal job on it.

*Submitted by Zach Jilek, CPESC, Environmental Services Department Manager

What sets this example apart?
Jason’s work on this project is exceptional due to his thoroughness and teamwork. He not only provided a detailed outline but also welcomed feedback throughout the process, spending nearly 80 hours to ensure all bases were covered.

JUNE: Rich Skarin, PLS, Land Surveying Technician

The transportation team has a street improvement project with the City of Omaha near 29th and Hamilton, and our success on it is important for getting future work from the City. We recently were putting together our 75% progress submittal package and realized about one week before turn-in that the city would like ROW legal and exhibits. To meet our turn-in timeframe would mean survey and Rich expediting the legal and exhibits. Rich did two key things during the week. First, he didn’t make assumptions about what the client wanted but asked important questions about the client’s expectations based on past experience. This led us to find out about additional requirements that were not originally passed onto our team from the City. Our communication helped show our client we understand their specific needs and that we are proactive about ensuring we meet them. Secondly, Rich worked over the weekend with us to ensure the needed updates were made to the 24 exhibits and that they were ready to go for our Monday submittal. Although Rich would not be directly impacted by the submittal being late, his pride in ownership and working as an internal team ensured we met our project timeframe and did the little things well. This teamwork and communication will help set us up for future work opportunities with the City.

*Submitted by Matt Beran, PE, Transportation and Public Works Project Manager

What sets this example apart?
Rather than assume the client’s needs, Rich asked key questions, uncovering additional requirements. This proactive communication showed our understanding and commitment. Rich also worked over the weekend to
update 24 exhibits, ensuring we met our Monday submittal deadline. His pride in ownership and teamwork, despite not being directly impacted by a late submission, helped us succeed and positioned us for future opportunities with the City.

JULY: Frank Elder, PLS, SIT, CST III, Land Surveying Senior Technician

Recently, the FAA updated the requirements for the UAV that we use in the land surveying dept. These new mandates required new electronics for the UAV & a software update. The electronics update wasn’t a simple snap-in upgrade; rather, Frank was needed to unsolder to old board and solder in the new board. Additionally, the software update did not work as planned. When the UAV manufacture’s tech support was not helpful, Frank conducted some research and reached out directly to the developer of the software that is used by the UAV. They were very responsive and helped Frank get the UAV back in the air so that he could map the next 167 acres.

What sets this example apart?
Frank never gave up and did what he needed to do to keep the UAV in production. After the first update attempt didn’t work, Frank could have sent the non-functioning parts back to get repaired. This would have taken at least 6 weeks. Instead, Frank was willing to dig in, find another, more responsive support avenue and then step out of his comfort zone to solder in the new electronics.

AUGUST: Dave Horstmeyer, Construction Administration Technician

Recently, on his way to one job site, Dave passed by another of his projects (Granite Falls North; GFN) that was being graded. While E&A is not typically responsible for grading, Dave noticed that a utility contractor was working on a project adjacent to GFN in a location where a storm sewer outlet was to be built by GFN. Dave stopped, asked questions of the utility contractor and took some measurements. He then called E&A’s survey department and asked for verification of his measurements, which they could do. The utility contractor was able to modify the depth of their installation. By being knowledgeable of his project, observant and proactive, Dave prevented a future conflict.

*Submitted by Craig Morton, CST III, Land Survey Party Field Manager

What sets this example apart?
This sighting stands out because it highlights Dave’s proactive approach and deep understanding of his projects. He noticed a potential problem, and went out of his way to make sure things were handled properly. By being observant and taking action, Dave prevented a future conflict.

OCTOBER: Matt Tiarks, PLA, ASLA, CPSI, Landscape Architect, and Chris Anderson, Municipal Services Technician

Matt Tiarks received an email from Teresa Wooten (Municipal Services Project Engineer), who had noticed trash in the residents’ lawns and believed it may have been left by the contractor. She asked if the contractor could be notified to clean it up, as it was a concern for the residents.

Matt responded graciously, explaining that he had been on-site marking tree locations before the contractor’s arrival and had observed that the area was already littered due to its proximity to a busy roadway. He reassured Teresa that his contractor consistently maintains a clean worksite.

Rather than involve the contractor, Matt took the initiative to grab a trash bag from the office during his lunch break, and he, along with Chris Anderson, went out to personally clean up the area.

*Submitted by Brad Williams, Planning Services Technician

What sets this example apart?
Instead of deflecting responsibility or passing the issue along, they responded with understanding and took immediate action. Their hands-on involvement highlights a strong sense of accountability and teamwork, ensuring the residents’ concerns were resolved promptly and with care. This initiative reflects their commitment to maintaining a positive community relationship.

NOVEMBER: David Harvey, Planning Services, Planner

My third day of work I was asked to prepare a color exhibit for an important meeting for Kyle Haase (Planning Services Assistant Manager) and Kyle Vohl (Project Manager). I ran into several walls very quickly and was in dire need of help to get this exhibit done. David, who normally prepares color exhibits was on vacation, and had not yet trained me on the processes. Nobody in the office was familiar enough to help me out and I was running out of time and resources. Sensing the severity of the situation Nicolette (Director of Human Resources) reached out to David and within twenty minutes he called me on the phone to help me out. David took the time to talk me through his process, patiently answered all of my questions, and saved me hours of work. Thanks to him we got the exhibit prepared and the meeting was a success!

*Submitted by Jarrett Austin, CPSI, Planning Services, Landscape Designer

What sets this example apart?
This sighting highlights David’s dedication, stepping in to help a new team member navigate an urgent task despite being on vacation. His quick response, patience, and guidance made it possible to complete the exhibit on time, ensuring the success of the meeting.

DECEMBER: Jen Cink, Platting Services, Assistant Project Coordinator

I’m writing to nominate Jen as a Core Values Sighting Employee! She has gone extra miles, leaps and bounds and extra laps (for real running) in Jeff’s (Platting Services Department Manager) absence. She’s kept our team on track by being the liaison between multiple jurisdictional staff, clients and other departments to ensure that our projects continue to be on time, prioritized correctly and that our questions are answered. Even with all of the extra work on her plate she’s maintained a positive attitude and kept our morale up. She even passes out gold stars for a job well done. Can’t express enough how much of an asset she’s been to the planning and platting team.

What sets this example apart?
Stepping up in Jeff’s absence, Jen not only took on additional responsibilities but excelled by serving as a crucial liaison between jurisdictional staff, clients, and departments. Her efforts ensured projects stayed on track, prioritized, and on time—no small feat given the complexity of her role.