Exit Interview

Dale Hofert retired from Story Construction in 2022 after 37 years with Story Construction. Listen to this episode of Exit Interview to hear directly from Dale as he talks about his career, his lessons learned, and shares a bit about his retirement plans. 

Pete Lonergan retired as Story's warehouse manager in March 2022, after 31 years with the company. To many at Story and to those in the industry who have worked with him, Pete embodies many of Story's core values. His helpfulness in providing tools and equipment for job sites and his consideration for safety made him a valued team member on every Story project. In this episode, hear Pete recount his career and some of his lessons learned in the construction industry. 

Lloyd Uitermarkt is another longtime superintendent at Story who retired officially in 2018. Listen to this episode of Exit Interview to hear about Lloyd's journey in the industry and at Story. 

After coming to Iowa as a freshman at Iowa State University, John Haila planted roots that eventually led to owning his own architecture firm, Haila Architecture + Structure + Planning, growing his family, and an encore gig as mayor of Ames. Hear John's story and the lessons he's learned in this episode of Exit Interview. 

Donny Paris worked for James Thompson & Sons, and then Story Construction, beginning in 1966. He's served as a role model for many younger foreman and superintendents throughout his career and has worked on many significant projects in Ames, Cedar Falls and elsewhere throughout Iowa. Hear a bit about Donny's career and the memories he's made over the last 50+ years. 

Jerry Nelson is the third generation of Nelson Electric, which was founded in 1908 by his grandfather just as electric systems were being installed in homes around Ames for the first time. In this episode we talked with Jerry about the family business, changes in the industry over time, and some of the advice he has for younger generations in the trade. 

What started out as a part time job with Interstates - then called Johnny's Electric - became a 44-year career for Larry Den Herder, who retired in 2016 as the company's chairman after stepping down as CEO in 2014 to begin the transition into retirement. In this episode of Exit Interview, we talk with Larry about his time at Interstates and his contributions to his community, the industry and the state of Iowa. 

This interview with Larry also kicks off our venture beyond Story's own retirees into the broader community of leaders in Iowa's A/E/C industry. Is there a retired or retiring leader in Iowa's A/E/C industry you'd like to hear on this podcast? Email [email protected] with your ideas. 

Rod worked at Story Construction for 46 years before retiring at the end of 2018, and had a unique role within the company over those years. Rod began as a laborer, but progressed and shifted roles from timekeeper to project engineer and provided estimating support, before eventually becoming more and more involved in the company's adoption of technology as it advanced with the rest of the industry. In this episode you'll hear a bit about Rod's experience through the decades and remember some of the old technology you may have used yourself. 

Norm returns to talk about the evolution of many of the systems Story Construction uses today, and how those systems changed over four decades and the introduction of computer technology to construction estimating. 

Randy finished his career in construction in 2019 after more than 4 decades in the industry as a superintendent, building mostly water and wastewater treatment plants all over Iowa. He spent the last several of his years at Story Construction as a Construction Production 2.0 coach and mentor, monitoring many job sites at once and helping the company implement and refine its lean methodology. In this episode you'll hear Randy recall many memories and experiences that shaped him into a leader and respected team member to many people.