Ed Morrison Q: Who has been your favorite customer (company/individual) and why?
A: Slawson has been an interesting customer. Our sponsor is a great person. We’ve done some great work to help improve and standardize their automation and have helped move them forward.
Q: What company/office sponsored event did you enjoy most and why?
A: The Holiday Celebration in New Orleans (despite the weather) was a great experience for my wife and me. We lived in New Orleans over 25 years ago and hadn’t been back for quite some time. It was fun to see what had changed and what’s stayed the same.
Q: What would you like to be working on here at Champion in the future?
A: I’m looking forward to continuing to grow the Denver office and contribute to the future success of Champion. Yes, I know…this sounds corny and a text book response. But I truly mean it. I enjoy seeing an office grow and the feeling of pride I get knowing that I’m a part of that growth.
Q: What is your favorite Champion work-related memory?
A: My favorite memory was the help from the Denver team on the very recent move of our office. Nearly every team member gave up most or part of their Saturday, the day of the move, to help with getting the network terminated, organizing offices and the general madness of moving to a new location. Because of their assistance, we were able to be fully operational on Monday morning.
Allen Hobbs Q: Describe a memory from your first year at Champion?
A: Since I spent the majority of my first year as part of the Houston office, memorable moments come from there. I remember working with the automation and telecom groups in the Houston office, becoming familiar with the company culture and learning how to use the tools of the trade (especially Vision). I wish the telecom group well, as they were part of my early days with Champion. Another memory is my move from Houston to Beaumont to better support the office there. I was amazed to discover that Beaumont is actually a great place to live. And yes, it is nice to be out of the daily Houston traffic.
Q: What is your favorite Champion work-related memory?
A: My favorite memory was driving throughout Texas and Louisiana when I was first hired to meet the leadership teams in each office. A close second was seeing everyone again at the Christmas party. I appreciate being part of such a dynamic and motivated team.
Q: When were you proudest to be part of the Champion team?
A: I was proudest to be part of the Champion team when I flew to Los Angeles with Chris Kuhlmann to represent our company at an engineering kickoff meeting with P66 L.A. Terminal Lubes. I had only been with Champion for 3-4 months, but with Chris’s help, the meeting was a success and the project went very well.
Q: Who has been your favorite customer (company/individual) and why?
A: My favorite customer thus far has been the City of Beaumont. Since I have a background in recycling hydraulic fracturing wastewater in West Texas, the City of Beaumont’s water and wastewater SCADA HMI upgrade project reminded me of my past experiences. But Westlake and Louisiana Pigment are not far behind; these boiler management system projects remind me of my early career operating 660-lb steam boilers on my first U.S. Navy ship.
Q: What projects were particularly interesting, exciting, or challenging that you would like to reflect on?
A: My favorite projects thus far have been for Olam Spices, Fruits & Vegetables and LyondellBasell. The Olam project was for a facility that produces packaged paprika. I had the realization that everything in our pantries comes from somewhere and requires a process to get it prepared, packaged, etc. It was also one of my first opportunities at Champion, and I appreciated the help by everyone in the Houston office. My current LyondellBasell projects, based out of the Sulphur office, contain complex scopes that provide daily challenges to the project team. I admire the teamwork, dedication and energy exhibited by everyone involved with these projects.
Q: What is your favorite lunch routine?
A: Due to my workload as a project manager, I typically spend lunchtime in the office to catch up on e-mails or reports. My wife, Nancy, packs my lunch, which also doubles as my attempt to eat healthy. When I do have an opportunity to eat out, it is usually with a client or an engineer to/from a site visit or kickoff meeting.
Q: What company/office sponsored event did you enjoy most and why?
A: I appreciate each of the company / office sponsored events that I have been invited to. My favorite has been the Houston office summer outing. As a native of Brownsville, Texas, spending a few days in Port Aransas reminded me of being home in South Texas. Really enjoyed the company and activities, and who can beat driving on the beach in a golf cart then having an awesome bonfire afterwards?!?
Q: What would you like to be working on here at Champion in the future?
A:My desire is to continue working closely with our engineers in Houston, Baton Rouge, Beaumont, Lafayette and Sulphur. Each project has been unique. I appreciate the mentorship and professionalism of the technical leads assigned to the projects. I also appreciate the energy and enthusiasm of our junior engineers as they make important contributions each and every day.
Q: What is something that you’d like to see Champion do in the next 15 years?
A:I believe that Champion can grow existing offices, such as Beaumont, and open new locations in the next 15 years. Prior to Champion, my background was oil & gas and military. Champion is certainly more diversified than those two sectors, and if current backlog is any indication, our company is ready to expand and become even more of a household name.
Q: Who’s been the most influential on your role (mentor), and how/why?
A:At the risk of leaving someone out, I appreciate the mentorship of Dan Ward while I was ‘coming up to speed’ as a project manager. The daily environment is certainly fast paced; Dan helped me navigate through difficult days with competing demands, prepare for meetings during my first few months, and figure out Vision. But I also really have to thank our Office Administrators (OAs), who provide support on a daily basis. They are the administrative backbone of the company.
Q: Why did you decide to join Champion?
A:I decided to join Champion because of an interview process that was second to none. Location played a role as well. I appreciated the approach taken by Ken Hackler, Rama Sinha, Brad Jordan and Laurie Firmin. Every interaction with them was interesting, professional and positive. I gave up other opportunities to join the Champion team… and I’m glad I did!
Eric MiltonQ: Why did you decide to join Champion?
A: Well I’ve known about Champion for a number of years through my uncle, Mike O’Leary, who used to work here at the Lake Charles office. When I was getting ready to graduate, he introduced me to Scott, who showed me around the office so I could get a feel of the kind of work they do at Champion. Since then, Champion has always kind of been in the back of my mind because of how varied the type of work is.
Q: What is your favorite Champion work-related memory ?
A: The first time I went to the Martin Neches site, I went with Ricky Shetler from our office to help him with the quarterly maintenance that we provide for them. I remember seeing the magic yellow mountain of sulfur for the first time, and it took me by surprise because it didn’t look like anything I’ve seen before.
Q: What projects were particularly interesting, exciting, or challenging that you would like to reflect on?
A: I worked on a project for Phillips 66 in Pasadena to install new isolation valves on their truck racks. That was the first startup that I did myself from start to finish. There were some unexpected obstacles along the way, but we ultimately finished and the customer was happy, so that was a pretty satisfying experience.
Q: What is your favorite lunch routine?
A: Almost every day I’ll drive back to Lake Charles from our office and get some kind of soup at Panera. It’s the easiest way for me to pretend that I’m healthy. It’s hard to get fat when all you eat is water.
Q: Who has been your favorite customer (company/individual) and why?
A: My favorite customer probably has to be Martin in Beaumont. I’ve gotten to know most of the people at that site because I go there so often, so I kind of feel at home there. I’ll be moving over to the Beaumont office in about a year or so, so I go to a lot of the Beaumont sites. I think I’ve been to Martin more times than any other site so far. I also really like it when my car smells like sulfur.
Q: What would like to be working on here at Champion in the future?
A: Really anything where I get to do some programming. I like programming.
Q: What is something that you’d like to see Champion do in the next 15 years?
A: It would be cool if Champion would open more offices further up north. We already have some customers up there (like P66 Tremley in New Jersey), and there’s definitely more sites that we haven’t served yet. So I think if Champion would just steadily grow by adding more offices near those locations, it would benefit the company quite a bit.
Q: Who’s been most influential on your role (mentor), and how/why?
A: I think the most influential person has been Asa Ange, in the sense that I’ve probably learned more from him than anyone else so far. I’m pretty sure he knows everything.
With Champion’s Employee Referral Program, you can receive a referral bonus for helping the Champion team grow! Simply refer a qualified individual to Champion, and if they join the company, you’ll be rewarded with a referral bonus.
