They started as teenagers interning with Williams during college.

Three decades later, Marc Edwards, Tom Clouse and Jeremy Weaver are leading operations – and new generations of operations technicians — in the Pacific Northwest.

“We all started at the Plymouth, Washington, LNG storage plant, and as interns, we did everything from cleaning up to helping rebuild engines. There was no job we weren’t willing to tackle,” said Edwards, senior operations manager of Eastern Washington.

“I didn’t know much about the natural gas industry when I got the job, but I fell in love with operations and how it all worked,” he said.

Edwards said he enrolled in Oregon’s Blue Mountain Community college to play basketball, but instead found a career in the much bigger court of the natural gas industry – where teamwork is just as important for success.

Still the three did have some friendly rivalry in the beginning.

“We used to fight over wrenches, over who could do it quicker and better,” he said. “But we were genuinely enthusiastic and eager to learn new things.”

Weaver and Clouse both planned to enter the natural gas industry as Instrumentation and Electrical (I&E) students at Washington’s Columbia Basin College but never guessed they’d build such long careers at Williams, growing along with the company.

Weaver, now senior operations manager in our Portland, Oregon, district, said he was attracted to Williams’ people-centered culture which values respect for employees, a focus on safety and work-life balance.

As a leader, Weaver said he expects his team to perform at a high level and always look for opportunities to develop new skills and roles.

“I believe Williams has always hired very good employees,” he said. “I value my employees and expect a lot out of them, just like what was expected of me.”

Clouse, supervisor of operations for Eastern Washington, said he’s still energized by tackling new roles and responsibilities. “I never get bored because there are still so many different things to learn.”

Clouse, whose career journey brought him back to the Plymouth plant, often speaks to students at local technical colleges about opportunities at Williams.

“We talk about the future of natural gas, the reliability it offers and how we are reducing emissions. And we explain that at Williams, we invest in developing people.

“Our motto here is to develop a people-centered culture,” he said. “We look at everything we do through that lens. Is this going to develop people and help them advance? We are constantly evolving and it’s a great place to be.”

Interested in learning more about how you can build a career at Williams? Visit our careers site and check out open positions.