We are pleased to announce the promotions of Bret Beaupain, Erik Howe, and Jeff Ballard to the Principals Group. Each engineer exemplifies the values that drive our company forward: integrity, loyalty, technical excellence, quality, innovation, cost management, state-of-the-art practices, and exceeding client expectations.
Bret earned his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Seattle University in 1994, and worked four years in construction management prior to joining RH2 in 1998. In his early career with RH2, Bret carved out a niche in utility design, stormwater engineering, and site design, and then later expanded to projects in transportation design. Nearly half of Bret’s career with RH2 has been spent in some capacity as a Contract City Engineer for key clients such as Bonney Lake and Stanwood. This has exposed him to the many challenges that our clients routinely face and has helped him develop strategies for how to best serve them.
Bret enjoys solving problems by applying his construction background and thinking about projects not only from the engineering perspective, but the perspective of the client, the contractor, and inspection personnel. He believes that a team approach and working collaboratively helps build solid relationships and a superior product. While Bret has worked on many notable projects for RH2, what he values most are the friendships he has made with coworkers and the relationships he has built with clients. Since day one at RH2, Bret has felt inspired and challenged by his colleagues and strives to provide that same motivation and mentorship in return.
Erik started his career with RH2 in 2006 after spending almost 6 years with WSDOT. Erik earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Washington in Civil Engineering. Erik’s background is in transportation engineering, but he has enjoyed the opportunity to learn so much more about municipal engineering through a variety of projects at RH2. Erik tries to perpetuate the people-oriented culture of RH2 that was demonstrated by his previous mentors.
Erik says one of the most enjoyable parts of the work we do is making things better and always learning and improving. Erik finds it gratifying to drive through a project, like a new roundabout, and think about how much better traffic flows or how much safer it is to cross the road. RH2 knows that many people take for granted all the thought and time that goes into our projects, but Erik says that, “For those of us behind the scenes, we are proud to have our fingerprints on these monuments that are improving our communities.” Erik loves living in the Wenatchee valley where he can enjoy God’s creation with family and friends.
Jeff started his career at RH2 in 2011 when Public Works Management was acquired by RH2. Jeff has a Bachelor of Science degree from Oregon Institute of Technology in Civil Engineering. Jeff has covered a wide spectrum of assignments in his career. He was the contract Public Works Director for two cities for almost 10 years, and has been the Contract City Engineer for three cities for 15 years. After transitioning to RH2, he has used the opportunity to expand his design experience for larger projects. In March 2014, Jeff was the PM that coordinated the design and construction necessary to address drought conditions under a compressed schedule of five months for a project that would normally span two years. This project required complete design and construction of 15,000 linear feet of transmission pipeline, upgrades to existing pump stations in the Cities of Phoenix and Talent, and a new temporary pump station in the City of Ashland.
Recently Jeff has had the opportunity to manage a 36-inch bore under Interstate 5, coordinate the design of a new baseball complex, and secure funding for fire damaged communities in the Rogue Valley. He is currently the manager of the Medford office and is always searching for opportunities to showcase RH2 abilities in the Rogue Valley across all disciplines. He is always up for competition and was one of the masterminds behind the remote offices teaming up to challenge the Bothell office to a softball game at one of our recent company retreats. He has a hard time remembering who won, so it may have to happen again.
Bret, Erik, and Jeff now join Edwin Halim, John Hendron, Steve Nelson, Ryan Peterson, Chris Roberts, Doug Schlepp, and James Swanson as Principals at RH2, rounding out an exemplary group of talented, esteemed leaders in their respective fields. We look forward to watching them continue to grow and excel in their respective fields as Principals and provide leadership that shapes the future and success of RH2 for many years to come.
Feel free to connect with Bret, Erik, and Jeff on LinkedIn and congratulate them on this exciting new phase of their careers!
