FEBRUARY SPOTLIGHT
Jason Askim

Jason is an experienced superintendent who has worked on a variety of projects as a carpenter, carpenter foreman, safety supervisor, and superintendent. A carpenter by trade, Jason has spent his whole life in the construction industry; his father was in the residential construction industry in Vancouver, WA, and Jason worked with him after high school for several years. His family spent summers in southeast Alaska at their owned and operated fishing lodge, and Jason also worked as a fishing guide until joining the carpenter’s union in 2000. He spent some time in the Las Vegas area until 2010, then returned home to the Pacific Northwest.

Jason has been with JR Merit for about six years. He’s led crews for some of our most significant hydro and water resources projects, including the Shoshone Falls Hydroelectric Project plant upgrade where he spent 20-months in Twin Falls, Idaho and a 13-month project at Fall Creek Fish Hatchery in Hornbook, California.

“From both my experience as a fishing guide and as a construction leader in the office and in the field, I’ve learned that people skills are a huge part of being successful. The deeper into construction management and team leadership you get, the more your people skills have to shine, especially as a new era of construction emerges. The industry is evolving and the image of a ‘construction worker’ is changing. I’ve enjoyed being part of that evolution and change.”

One of the biggest industry shifts that Jason has noticed over the years is greater prioritization of safety. “When I first started, safety measures and management were nothing like they are today. That’s been a great evolution to see. With the kinds of challenging and sometimes dangerous environments we work in, that’s really significant. You’re more likely to hurt yourself at home than you are on a construction job now!”

Jason also sees evolution and improvements in quality taking place industry wide. “In the past, how projects get designed on paper and constructed in the field haven’t always lined up. Owners are demanding a higher quality of work, which is driving change from sometimes old ways of doing things to new and better strategies.”

Jason’s favorite part of his work at JR Merit is “all the challenging things we do. A lot of this stuff is unique—we’re out here doing things that haven’t been done before. We’re remodeling things that weren’t designed to be remodeled, like hundred-year-old power plants—no one was thinking about how to fix these facilities after a hundred years when they were being built.

He also enjoys the team camaraderie and opportunities to develop team members. “We’ve developed great teams and partners over the years. Helping them be successful, sharing my knowledge, making sure they know that management is there to support them—these are big reasons I enjoy this work.

“I want to keep mentoring and training our team’s next generation. You can tell someone how to do a thing, but it really helps to tell them why. I like to pass on what I’ve learned; lead by example and show them why I approach things the way I do. Taking the time to explain the reasons helps teams make the right decisions. This kind of critical thinking helps us develop solutions for the ‘never-been-done-before’ challenges that we address every day.”

Outside of work, Jason enjoys being outdoors with his family, hiking, backpacking, and snowshoeing with his wife, stepdaughter, and his dogs. Despite his early years as a fishing guide, he hasn’t fished in a long time, but hopes to get back into it. “I think my wife would enjoy it; it would be fun to teach her. As a fishing guide, you enjoy watching people catch their own. Seeing their excitement, now that’s fun.”