Steve Groseclose

John Ames hired Steve Groseclose’s dad to work on the Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant project in Arizona. Steve and other family members soon joined the project, and 40 years later, Steve is retiring from Ames.

“It’s just been a pleasure to work here. I’ve grown as a person; my dad was here and now my son, so we’ve been here for three generations. Those Minnesota farm boys were great people to work for. I love their discipline.”

There have been many memorable projects over the years for Steve. In the early 1990s, John sent Steve to a project in Cooke City, Montana, and when he was done he moved on to the Middle Creek Dam project in Bozeman. This was the first time he worked with Butch Ames and Jerry Everson, Ames’ first civil engineer. He says he learned more about reading plans from them in a half hour than he thought he could learn in a lifetime. “They just turned me loose. It was like it was my construction company, and I just loved that.”

More recently, he’s enjoyed mining projects at Stafford, Arizona, because of the people he works with—including his son Steven.

“I appreciate everything Ames has done for my family. And that goes from John and Butch and all of the Minnesota guys, to the people I’ve worked for in Arizona and Montana and all over.”

He says the biggest change in the company is how big and how quickly Ames has grown. “There are more engineers and more bosses than there used to be to run these jobs. More paperwork. But the work is still the work and that’s always been fun for me.”

Steve plans to be a snowbird, and he’s looking forward to spending time in western Montana, northern Idaho, and other travels.