Exit Interview

Jerry Long joined Story Construction in 1983 as a project engineer, ultimately working for the company for 41 years before retiring at the end of 2024. He progressed to the rank of superintendent and then project manager in 2000, overseeing projects in industrial, treatment plants and a variety of other markets. Hear from Jerry as he wraps up more than 40 years in the construction industry!

Joe Hewitt retired in 2024 after 10 years with Story Construction managing safety initiatives and compliance. Prior to joining Story, Joe had a long career with Martin Marietta in supervision and safety roles. Joe imparts some knowledge and perspective around safety and the industry in general in this Exit Interview.

Dean McCormick joined Story Construction in 2017 after 22 years leading Iowa State University's design and construction services team. His career includes the rare combination of sitting in the design, owner and contractor seats at the table before retiring this spring. Dean's impact at Story Construction and on the construction industry in Iowa is immeasurable, and we're glad he took time this summer to sit down with us for his Exit Interview.

Kenny Lendt retired from Story Construction in 2023 after more than 37 years with the company. Hear from Kenny as he talks about his career as a superintendent in the construction industry and shares some lessons learned during his time at Story.

After beginning his career with Spencer Construction in northwest Iowa, Rick Sippel and his wife Cindy picked up roots and moved to central Iowa, where he began his career at Story Construction. He retired from running the crane full-time in December 2022 and sat down with us to discuss his life and career as a crane operator.

As we continue to bring in other industry retirees, this episode features our conversation with Dennis Tiernan of NAI Electrical Contractors based out of Ames. Dennis recently wrapped up his long career in the industry and was kind enough to sit down with us in November 2022 to discuss his journey and lessons learned during his time working for - and leading - NAI.

Larry Sperlich joined Allen Construction, Story's predecessor company, in 1972, and has been one of the most influential builders of projects and people in the company's history. Now that he's (mostly) retired, hear from Larry about his journey in life, the construction industry, and Story Construction.

Steve Chmelar retires from Carroll Distribution & Construction Supply, Inc. at the end of 2022 after almost exactly 50 years with the company. We had the pleasure of bringing in Steve in the summer of 2022 to record his Exit Interview and hear about this life and career in the industry... and the famous foam finger.

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 mitch.anderson@storycon.com 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.

Jim Rogers began his career with Story Construction's predecessor James Thomson & Sons as a laborer working on the Hilton Coliseum project, where his dad was the lead superintendent. Jim progressed to foreman and then superintendent, and is known for his creativity and problem-solving abilities on the job site. Though Jim is technically retired, he's still around Story's office and job sites from time to time sharing his wisdom and experience with the younger generations.

Larry Dix played many roles throughout his career at Story Construction and helped propel the company with developments in estimating, our Small Projects Group, and hiring and bringing up young employees. Like many retirees at Story, Larry's impact is still felt strongly in the company today, even years after his retirement.

Though he retired in 2009, Jim can still be seen from time to time around Story's office and on job sites. Jim joined Story Construction in 1961 when it was known as James Thompson & Sons, where began as a timekeeper and eventually worked his way up to superintendent. Jim's long career has given him an invaluable cache of knowledge and wisdom that he's still passing down to younger generations, even more than a decade after officially retiring.

A project manager at Story for more than 25 years, hear about Mike's journey from growing up in Dubuque to college at Iowa State, and then to California before returning to Ames again. Mike retired in the early part of 2020, but his impact on Story and the industry will be felt for years to come.

While Norm Riis was growing up in Denmark, his great uncle James Thompson was growing a thriving construction business in the United States. Decades later, Norm would become president of that company, then known as Story Construction. Norm retired in 2000, and though this Exit Interview is 20 years overdue, we talk with Norm about arriving in the United States and the ensuing decades he spent with Story Construction.

The first episode of Exit Interview is with Linda Hurd, Story's receptionist since 2016. Linda retired at the end of June 2020. She shares about her life, her careers and her plans after retirement.

Introducing Exit Interview, and podcast by Story Construction.