Editor’s Note: The article author, Heather Creech, is a newly named member of the 2025 IEC Emerging Leaders cohort. She shares her career path story as an example of how electrical contractors can think beyond the traditional post-high school entry point to the electrical industry. She also provides highlights of her chapter’s and her company’s efforts on workforce recruitment and retention. 

Prior to the electrical industry, I was a math and science educator (STEM) in the public school setting for​​ 12 years. My students truly THRIVED when I was able to take a backward design approach to learning and created some award-winning, client-connected projects. One in particular was when I was given an earthquake simulator for my geology unit. I split my teams into “companies” and had them research, design, build, and test their “buildings” to withstand a 7.0 earthquake. Each hour, the team that won were the ones who constructed a building with minimal damage and without exceeding their budgets. Winners from each hour would then have an opportunity to have lunch and learn with visiting industry professionals to learn more about their jobs. Despite having specific leadership roles, I noticed the females in my class let the boys dominate the conversation and were much better at looking at the research before just buying materials and jumping in. I then started to make this a battle of the sexes challenge and saw my female teams dominate…I have seen several of my former students pursue science / trade careers since then and I am beyond proud. 

As an educator I found it hard to prepare kids for a future that didn’t seem real to them yet. When it came to electrical, it was really hard to get kids excited about electricity — so I would seek outside professionals to make it fun and relevant. I had a rep from Ameren (electric power and natural gas utility) bring in kits that kids could put their hands on (the original LEDs) and the rep told the best stories of an interesting industry. Back then, I had no clue what this industry truly had to offer. 

Fast forward to surviving the opening and closing of a brick-and-mortar health coaching company from 2018-2022, where I learned first-hand what it was like to run a business. I was promoted to senior-level business development based on how my store and team performed, against all odds. We kicked it old school: mailed handwritten cards, sent care packages, spoke on ​​TV, radio and podcast, volunteered in the community, built STRONG relationships, and were creative in how we could get foot traffic inside our new building during a pandemic. We were protected under the Homeland Security Act and turned our discovery room into a place where blood donations could occur. Since schools and businesses were closed, we saw an opportunity to help. When that company decided to close its doors, I ended up finding temporary work for a workforce development SAS company that sent me to Jefferson City for the Missouri Workforce2030 Conference. It was there that I learned about the IEC — and was invited for a tour of IEC Greater St. Louis. That led to my first job in the electrical industry. 

My IEC Chapter Role 

My career path has been driven by a couple of great recruitment efforts, and I have benefitted and learned from both of them. First, the invitation to visit the IEC chapter led to me accepting the training director role at the IEC of Greater St. Louis. I immediately connected myself to leaders in other successful chapters, such as Kathy Gurba and Jeff Hooper, to wrap my brain around how to serve in my role well. 

My team and I worked diligently to connect with 58 schools through a variety of recruitment tactics. Sure, we did the traditional “lemonade stand job fairs” but those events felt so impersonal and fleeting. We started to set up tours, like students who visit colleges before making their decisions, and invited kids and electrical tech classes in to meet contractors, put their hands on tools, pull wire, and ask questions. They all left with a swag bag and materials to get started. We would give our potential students a red-carpet tour, just like in college, and have their names on the big screens when they walked in and truly tried to personalize their experience (just like I had when teaching). The hands-on experience plus college credit of an electrical apprenticeship was so easy to speak to because it’s not a matter of either / or anymore — it’s an incredible opportunity to do both and never feel stuck. We even built a relationship with a local community college which opened up another classroom for us (for free) so our apprentices could have a smooth transition to their associates degrees. I leveraged my teaching experience and pushed my way into courses that taught electrical standards and shared what we do. It was SO fun! 

During my initial tour at the IEC, one of the instructors, a former vet, showed me two panels. Both worked, but the one that was nice, neat, and organized was done by a female. That moment took me back to my STEM days…and I appreciated how much pride he took in educating the next generations of electricians — three of which were my former high school students. Talk about full circle! 

A unique approach my team and I executed for recruitment was to connect some of my A&T Committee members into the field with my hometown high school construction tech class. These students, along with two terrific instructors, built real homes which then went on the market for sale. I arranged a day for our contractors to come out and be an extra set of hands and eyes on the students as they wired the house. It was one of the coolest moments because I could see how much FUN our contractors were having, showing some efficiency tricks of the trade and finding leaders to elevate. From there, I would see kids wearing high-vis t-shirts and the course hung up our banners in their school. To this day, I am still referring to students I meet in my new role. 

Lastly, another approach was actively connecting with organizations that help place retiring veterans. I come from a strong Army family and some of our best contractors and workers already possess those hard skills (I never call them soft) it takes to do well in our industry. In fact, we had an active duty serviceman apply, pass our year one exam, and hit the ground running in year two! 

Next Up: Electrical Contracting Company 

The second recruitment effort I experienced led to my current role as marketing and business development manager at EcoPower Electric Co., an IEC of Greater St. Louis chapter member. After sitting down with owners Kent and Amanda Joggerst last year, I felt like I had found a place to really utilize my skillset and experience. I am a great connector, and they saw my superpower for what it’s worth. Kent and Amanda took a leap of faith and invested in me to help them grow inside out, and outside in. Seeing the other side of the electrical industry, let me tell you, it is NOT for the weak! This power couple is truly doing things the right way to grow at a manageable pace — and I am here for it! 

EcoPower is an active member with the Home Builders Association Student Chapter Committee as well and recently was one of four sponsors for an etiquette lunch. We had the opportunity to really get to know and meet two future electricians. Among our other recruitment and development activities: 

• Work with local high schools to come tour our facility and connect with our leadership team 
• Volunteer to visit high schools with electrical trades curriculum and give feedback on curriculum 
• Help facilitate a “Competition in a Box” where local schools got to compete for prizes 
• Speak at chambers and Business Networking International (BNI) groups about what makes our apprenticeship/company unique 
• Conduct one-on-ones with our apprentices and field workers to ensure they are on the right path and in the right division 
• Volunteer for “Build My Future” events in our area 
• Promote from within 
• Have two veteran leaders on staff to speak to that market 
• In the process of beta-testing a safety app that has multiple features to ensure our team is safe every single day 
• Host company outings 
• Share St. Louis Blues’ season tickets with employees and partners 
• Meet weekly with a business coach who helps us streamline our goals and action plan to ensure we continue to be a successful business 

Furthermore, at EcoPower, we are extremely picky about who we bring onto our team.  

“We’re very, very particular on who we hire and who is part of our team,” Kent says. “We want to make sure that each employee is a good fit for us personally and professionally. We have a group of people that really looks out for one another and takes care of one another at work and away from work. That’s very important to me.” 

Kent’s process begins with each applicant supplying a resume, whether they are just out of high school or years into their electrical career. Through this, he evaluates the candidate’s attention to detail, ability to use simple technology, and overall thought process. 

“I pay close attention to details like grammar and punctuation on resumes,” he says. “If someone takes the time to get the small things right when applying, it shows they’re likely to be detail-oriented on the job as well.” 

Next is a telephone interview to get a better feel for the person, followed by an in-person interview for those who seem to fit the EcoPower community. Kent highly values ethics, personality, ability to work as part of a team, and leadership potential.  

 Kent, who also is part of the 2025 IEC Emerging Leaders cohort, and Amanda saw these things in me, and I find it’s easy to spread the word on a company like EcoPower. Our company tries its best to promote from within and create a workplace and environment so that we can all put our heads down at night and be proud of what we do and how we help our people. We have a great reputation in our area, and we intend to keep it that way. 

Kent and Amanda have worked hard to build our company’s reputation. They lead by example and EcoPower employees respect their drive, talent, and compassion. We always strive to do outstanding work for our clients and exceed their expectations. In return, Kent and Amanda respect each employee and value their individual skills. I feel blessed they took a chance on me and am honored to help them continue to grow their business.