• Posted: November 23, 2020
• better careers, better construction

As the Vice President of Estimating and Procurement for Libertyville, Illinois-based Aldridge Electric, Lynn Meersman knows her numbers. Bid too high on a new project, and it’s likely to go to another firm. Bid too low, and the project is no longer profitable. With $500 million in annual revenue at Aldridge, the entire company is counting on Lynn and her team to get the number right every time and continue to keep the new business pipeline moving. Given Lynn’s background, it’s hard to imagine many people better suited for the job.

As the daughter and granddaughter of IBEW Local 134 members who owned Meersman Electric, the electrical industry has always been a part of Lynn’s life. Growing up, however, it was a legacy she had very little interest in carrying on personally. Still, at her father’s urging, she added her name to the waitlist for the apprenticeship program just before heading off to college despite having little idea of what the apprenticeship program actually entailed. Once in college, Lynn found herself drawn to finance, choosing it as her major.

After graduating from Illinois State University with a bachelor’s degree in finance and a minor in math, Lynn entered the business world full-steam ahead, eventually landing a position as a runner on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Proving herself in the role and with a Series 7 license in hand, she moved on to trading stocks and bonds for a large securities firm as she worked with numerous money managers across the globe executing trades for thousands of customers. Enjoying the job and doing exactly what she set out to accomplish after finishing school, Lynn had no intention of doing anything else. When her position was moved to New York, though, timing and a bit of luck pushed her in another direction.

“Right around the time I learned my job was moving to New York City, I received a call from Local 134 telling me that I had been selected from the waitlist for the apprenticeship program,” Lynn recalls. “At that point, it had been more than five years since I signed up for the program, and I had forgotten that I had even applied. But I didn’t want to move to New York and the timing was perfect. Two of my brothers were electricians by then, along with my dad, and they convinced me to give it a try.”

Soon after making the decision to change careers, Lynn found herself immersed in the apprenticeship program and uncertain about whether she had made the right choice.

“There were a lot of days when I remember thinking ‘this is not for me’ and I’m not going to make it through five years as an apprentice,” Lynn says. “Math ended up being my savior and helped me be accepted by the guys in the program. I helped several of my fellow apprentices who were struggling in math class. I earned their trust along with their acceptance as a female in the program.”

Lynn persevered and gained valuable experience in the field in the process. In her first rotation with a contractor, she worked on the Terminal 5 expansion at O’Hare Airport before ending up with Huen Electric on a large project at Navy Pier. As someone who was used to a much different schedule from her time working in finance, Lynn found herself with more time in the day and seized the opportunity to take the next step in her professional journey by pursuing her MBA while completing her apprenticeship.

This decision ended up being Lynn’s big break in the electrical industry. Mike Hughes, the owner of Huen Electric, found out that he had an apprentice working in the field that had her MBA and a degree in finance, and called her to find out what she wanted to do with her career. Lynn told him that she didn’t have a plan mapped out, and Hughes extended an offer to come work in Huen’s office if she wanted to learn the business of electrical contracting, starting with estimating. Lynn took him up on the offer, a decision that has profoundly shaped her career.

“I didn’t know what to expect, but I decided to give it a try,” she says. “Mike taught me everything. Beginning with estimating and then project management. I ended up managing the project at Soldier Field when the stadium was rebuilt in the early 2000s. That ended up being the flagship project in my career. I lived and breathed that job for 18 months. It was a great experience.”

This was no small accomplishment for someone who entered the industry reluctantly and without a clear path. Huen’s work on the project included the installation of lighting, power, life safety and fire alarm systems on what was ultimately one of the largest stadium renovation projects in U.S. history. In addition to the restoration of historic exterior lighting, Huen also completed the structured wiring system for voice/data, security, point of sale, internet access and building automation.

During her almost 13-year tenure at Huen, Lynn learned the electrical contracting business inside and out, getting hands-on experience and coming to the realization that estimating was exactly what she was meant to be doing.

“When you’re estimating, you’re using a different side of your brain than when you’re working with tools in the field,” she says. “You’re still doing the building, but it’s in your mind. You study a project on paper to determine what it will cost to build.  Every project is a new puzzle and you have to figure out all of the pieces.”

In 2005, Lynn began working at Aldridge Electric as a Senior Project Manager, later earning a promotion to Vice President of Estimating in 2016. With more than 30 years of experience in the unionized electrical industry in a variety of roles, Lynn has seen firsthand how things have changed. Technology, in particular, has transformed the way her work is carried out and how projects are completed.

“When I started, all of the planning and estimating was done with paper and a pencil,” she says. “There were no computers. Now we have sophisticated programs for everything. The technology in the electrical industry today definitely improves accuracy and reduces costs, and it even makes our work safer. A lot of that starts in estimating by using technology to model the job and figure out how to build it in a way that keeps our electricians out of harm’s way.”

Having achieved quite a bit in a career she never expected to be in, Lynn is passionate about helping people find their way in the trades like others did for her.

“Construction is a great career, and there are so many facets to it,” she says. “If you want to be on job sites working with tools, you can. If you prefer working in an office, consider estimating or project management. There are so many opportunities available. What you find is that our industry is filled with very smart people who are dedicated to providing customers with better construction. My advice to anyone who’s starting off their career and trying to figure out where they’re headed is that when an opportunity presents itself – reach out and grab it.”

To read about others who have found better careers in the unionized electrical industry, visit our news page.