John Helander Celebrates 24 Years at Essex

John is the longest tenured employee at Essex and we love having him as a part of the team!  Because of that, we wanted to learn more about about his time at Essex, in addition to all the great projects he has built in our community.

We asked John:

Why did you join Essex? I had my own construction company, doing both residential and commercial work, including projects for Pietro’s and BJ’s. The market was drying up, and Tim White, a former Essex employee told me I should come work at Essex. Essex was just 10 years old, and Jon Texter was running the company. I ran jobs with my own tools and worked out of my own trucks before Essex had company vehicles for employees.

Can you share a memory of your time with Essex? My best memory was when I was nominated for a state-wide builders’ award. I made it to number 5. I was nominated for my work on Fairfield Elementary School and the Music Room at Shasta Middle School. That was back in the day when I was the Project Manager, Superintendent, Project Engineer and Carpenter on my jobs. The project was delivered on-time, and I was nominated by the architect who worked for gLAs Architects. Another good memory was winning the iron man award for my first 5 years at Essex never missing a day or calling in sick.

What has kept here for 24 years? Staying employed, never being laid off, learning a lot along the way and being recognized for my efforts and sacrifices. I am more than just an employee.

We agree. John is more than an employee. Thanks for bringing your best for 24 years!

Projects John has worked on include Country Crossroads, FOOD for Lane County, Travel Lane County, Roseburg Armory, The Animal Teaching Facility at Oregon State University and many, many Cafe Yumm! restaurants.