Journey - Duane Howell, Vice President

From an early age, Duane Howell was passionate about using his hands to build and work. He was the middle son of flight engineer for the USAF and part-time farmer so there was always work to be done on the farm. Duane went on to study engineering in college and gravitated to the construction industry.

Duane started his career with MetroPower in November of 1995. After spending two years in the field learning the industry, Duane was immersed in management upon MetroPower’s acquisition of a business in Moultrie. Managing this newly acquired business brought challenges that he continues to learn and reflect on such as the importance of communicating information often with direct reports. Performance is far greater when teams understand how they are performing, how department goals are aligned with the overall organization and identifying areas of growth.

While early on Duane was delighted to design and design-assist construction projects, he found he was most rewarded with developing young managers. Duane has been instrumental in the Management Trainee (MT) program that teaches transitioning managers who have been promoted from the field, newly hired engineers, or construction managers best practices. The MT program meets twice a year and discusses all aspects of the Project Management role within MPI.

MetroPower has always promoted that every person at every level train their replacement. This has allowed Duane to surround himself with people that share the same values, work ethic, and culture that is similar to his own. Duane said, “I have thoroughly enjoyed watching the employees that I have helped over the years prosper in their work and home lives as much as they have helped me personally.”