One of the things Hill Electric are most proud of is its employees; they are the heart and soul of the organization and are grateful for their service. One employee that has been a longstanding steady hand is electrician Jimmy Yelder. Hired on May 15, Jimmy retired this month, ending a 34-year tenure with our team.
Jimmy is from Saint Louis but moved to the Upstate on a recommendation from a friend after finishing a tour with the National Guard. He was attending Tri-County Tech for HVAC certification when he heard about Hill Electric; it wasn’t long before he applied, interviewed, and was ultimately hired by the previous owner Steve Kay.
measure twice, cut once
Throughout his career as an electrician, the one tool Jimmy couldn’t work without is his tape measure. His work focused predominantly on running conduits, so he was constantly taking measurements, cutting, bending, and creating. His motto was always, “measure twice, cut once!”
Jimmy said that Hill Electric has a big heart and love for its people. While he learned from many, Randy Knox stood out to him as a mentor and someone he hoped to emulate throughout the rest of his career.
shutdown project
The project taught him that no matter what, everyone will roll their sleeves up and work hard to get the job done
While working on a shutdown project, Jimmy was asked to do some hard work digging under looms. The next day, Randy was the one under the looms digging and gave Jimmy a less laborious task. That taught him that no matter what someone’s title was, everyone will roll their sleeves up and work hard to get the job done.
Jimmy always felt generosity and support he felt from the top down. Only a couple of years into his work, Jimmy’s father passed away. While preparing to travel to the funeral, his car broke down. He requested an advance on his paycheck to make the necessary repairs.
Investing time
When Steve found out, he spoke with Jimmy, expressing his condolences, and told him that a rental car in his name was waiting, along with a BP gas card to get him to Saint Louis and back and that he needed to focus on his family and not worry about a paycheck or car repairs.
Jimmy knew this was a lifelong place to invest his time in, knowing he was appreciated and amongst good people.
sharing advice with the younger generation
Looking forward to spending more time with his wife, two sons, their wives, and soon-to-be first grandson, Jimmy left Hill Electric sharing this advice to the younger generation coming into the workforce, “Always be patient."
"Each step is important to learning the framework of the job and needs to be mastered before moving on to the next so that mistakes don’t happen. You should always ask questions so you’re always learning and growing.”
