None of us know what life is going to throw at us, but John Gill is someone who knows how to roll with the punches and end up better for it.
John Gill, our Industrial Division Site Project Manager, has been with New River Electrical since 2007, but his experience in the electrical field started long before that. Working as an electrician in Pittsburgh, he decided to return to the area when his father passed away. “I’m originally from Virginia, so I moved back home to be closer to my mother,” John explained.
It didn’t take long for him to get connected with New River Electrical. “My brother had been working with New River already, and he told me that it was a good company,” explained John. “If you came in and were a good worker, you could move up and get promoted.” Ever since his union placed him with New River, John hasn’t looked back, starting out as a wireman in the Hampton Roads area.
“I was there for about a year and then got transferred to Baltimore to work on a project that needed extra help. That’s where I got set up as a Foreman,” he says. When his wife was diagnosed with an illness, John requested a move closer to home so he could be with her. “I was working in substations at the time. When I called NRE to tell them, they were good to me and placed me in Industrial.”
It turns out, even though the reason for the move was unforeseen, the Industrial Division has been a great fit for John where he can utilize all of his extensive experience. The Industrial Division covers complex projects including installing electrical equipment in buildings such as lights, receptacles, heaters, and exhaust fans, as well as substations.
John worked for the first few years as a wire foreman at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant. In 2012, John and his team began transitioning to GIS projects with substations. If you know New River Electrical, you know our divisions work on some of the most complex projects in the country, so it’s no surprise that our Industrial Division completed one of the largest GIS builds in North America on Washington, D.C.’s Waterfront. “It’s exciting to work on big projects like that,” said John, “and set a new standard for what kind of projects we can accomplish here at New River.”
It’s that ambition that has kept John here after more than 14 years. “I plan on staying here until I retire, there’s no doubt about that,” he laughed.
John has worked in the DC area for the past six years as the site project manager on projects like Waterfront, Takoma Park, Harvard, and Tyson’s Corner. He commutes up to the nation’s capital weekly from his home in Roanoke. When he’s not hard at work, John enjoys riding his Harley motorcycle and camping with his family.