JANUARY SPOTLIGHT
Ian Harris

Ian is a general foreman and has been with JR Merit for two years. He’s spent his whole life in the construction industry, beginning at the young age of 13 with his own landscaping company he called Easy Grow, Easy Mow. “I employed about half the neighborhood kids and we cut lawns on the weekends.” When Ian turned 18, he took over his uncle’s construction company, Hold Fast Construction, and ran it for seven years until the recession hit. “I was working way out in Friday Harbor at the time and had been on the road for about a year chasing work. My wife was pregnant with our second child and I decided to join the union so I’d have a steady job and paycheck close to home. Been doing that for 18 years now.”

Ian joined JR Merit to work on the Fall Creek Fish Hatchery project. “I’m an avid fisherman, so this project sounded really cool!” Since then, he’s worked on several projects of various types. “I’m game to work on any job and I’m glad to be there. I enjoy some of the complicated things we get into. I’ve built a lot of high-rises in the past, and this spot in the industry that JR Merit has doing industrial construction really intrigues me. You can’t beat a day at the office when the office is the Swift Reservoir and you’re looking out and working at a beautiful lake! Compared to the grind of having gone into Portland every day for previous jobs, there’s a lot of exciting project opportunities at JR Merit.

With a lifetime of experience in the industry, Ian shared two big lessons learned he’s taken to heart over the years: “Client relationships are key. I learned that even as a kid handing out flyers in my neighborhood and getting the next lawnmowing job off a reference from one neighbor to the next. If you build a strong name and maintain relationships, you’ll go somewhere. Another lesson learned is to surround yourself with the same types of birds—birds of a feather flock together, right? These people become your work family, and you spend as much or more time with them as you do with your own family. Working with the right people matters. As they say, you don’t quit your job, you quit your boss. And you stay when you’re with the right people.”

Asked what challenges he’s experienced over the years, Ian was quick to say, “I try not to focus on the negatives. I’d rather try to compliment more and criticize less. After raising four kids, and having been married for 19 years, I’ve learned how important it is to stay on the positive side of things!”

Ian is looking forward to working on more cool projects in the next few years. “I enjoy my role immensely. I always have room for growth, and I plan to eventually become a superintendent, but I’m pretty good with where I’m at now. I’d love to keep chasing fish hatchery projects. That’s been one of the coolest jobs I’ve ever done. Most of my friends are also union carpenters and I get to brag about the cool work I do. They’re like, ‘Yeah I’m installing parts in a ceiling,’ and I get to say, ‘I’m working at a fish hatchery!’”

In his free time, Ian is a hunter and a fisherman, and also a car and motor enthusiast with a Ducati street bike. He’s also a proud member of the Scottish Clan McLeod. “The loud McLeods!” Ian and his family have been going to the Highland Games for many years, and recently returned from a vacation to Scotland.