Employee Spotlight – Laura April Metivier
As we wind down the year and look back at 40 years of MOUNTAIN, LTD., it only makes sense that our final employee spotlight of 2019 is the person who has been with us the longest. Laura April Metivier, our Chief Operating Officer, is truly a leader that employees can rely on. Her history, knowledge, intuition, and ability to lead with grit, grace, and heart make April a role model for all. She is the type of leader that does whatever it takes to get the job done, even if that means taking a last-minute red-eye flight to meet with a client who needs a face to face meeting or trudging through ditches to get some last-minute field notes for a big project. We have so many stories of April pushing the envelope to innovate the work that happens at not only MOUNTAIN, but the ways in which MTN operates to keep up with the telecom engineering industry. For example, in the last two years, MOUNTAIN has created and expanded our wireless division with the acquisition of two companies. Though there are many stories, success in our industry is often measured by the numbers. Since 2012, our weekly sales figures have increased by 100%! To double our weekly sales figures in just 7 years is an incredible feat. Our client and employee list have grown to the point that we have had to open new offices and expand our teams. MOUNTAIN is the kind of workplace where 110% is just the standard, and that kind of work culture has been created through the vision and leadership that April gives to MOUNTAIN each and every day. Many of us know Laura only as April in the world of MOUNTAIN because back in the early days when she first started, there was already an individual named Laura working for the company, so began the legacy of April Metivier.
How long have you been working at MOUNTAIN, LTD.?
– Almost 20 years.
What position/s do/have you had at MOUNTAIN?
– I was hired in 2000 as a recruiter, promoted to Operations Manager, then to Vice President of Operations and ultimately to the position I hold today, COO of MOUNTAIN, LTD.
What is your favorite thing about working for MOUNTAIN?
– The people within our organization. From the support we receive from our parent company, System One Services, to all of the various individuals within our company – it’s simply astounding to witness the level of dedication, loyalty, hard work, creativity and commitment by everyone. They push me to be a better leader and person.
I consider many of the people I work with some of the closest individuals in my life and feel grateful to work around such an amazing group of people. Our work is tough. We get beat up by the competitiveness in our industry and the trials that face us each and every day. During these times, we have a few choices on how we can approach these challenges. (I like to call them opportunities vs. challenges.) It nice to know that I never feel alone because I’m surrounded by individuals that are as passionate about MOUNTAIN as I am. Plus, we can laugh at our own mistakes and are never alone in our laughter as there is surely someone else that knows that laughter is much better than the alternative. We lift each other up and realize that we can get through any opportunity given to us.
What is one of your greatest professional highlights?
– Working with our team to grow MOUNTAIN from a heavily focused staffing related company (in the early 2000’s) to a full turnkey engineering services-company. Today we engineer more fiber than any other Telecommunications Outside Plant Engineering service provider that I know. In fact, two of the largest communications providers in America have told us that we are their number one engineering service provider.
Complementing our wireline work, MOUNTAIN purchased two self-performing site acquisition service companies within the last 2 years that offer us the ability to provide the full range of services to all of our clients. We are also looking at closing our 3rd acquisition of a Professional Engineering company that will help to complement this range of services.
What are some opportunities that have come your way as a result of working at MOUNTAIN?
– The opportunities have been unlimited. From the people that I get to work with and meet each day to watching the actual work that we perform – it’s been surreal. We engineer fiber networks that expand broadband to businesses, homes and out to the rural communities each and every day. We help to build new cell towers and modify existing towers to provide greater bandwidth and upgraded services to consumers. Watching what MOUNTAIN has accomplished and does each and every day is nothing short of spectacular. We are changing the landscape of broadband within America.
What does a typical day look like for you?
– I spend 1/3 of my days traveling to our various offices throughout the US. I could be in Phoenix, Denver, Boise, Seattle, West Virginia, or any of our other offices. During these days, I’m usually running from the airport to a client meeting or to our offices for various meetings and employee engagements.
When I’m not traveling, a lot of my time is spent working on contracts, bids and catching up with employees. I also sit on the Board of Directors for the Telecommunications Association of New England.
What is something you’ve learned at MOUNTAIN that you never thought you would?
– If someone would have asked me when I graduated college if I would be where I am today – I never would have believed it. I want to believe that if you put your mind to something and you work hard enough and show the dedication it takes to work hard and overcome obstacles, anything is possible at MOUNTAIN.
MOUNTAIN has provided those opportunities to me as well as so many others within our company. Most of the individuals that sit on our Senior Leadership team started in entry-level positions – whether it was in sales, recruiting or even administrative type roles. Identifying someone’s potential and allowing them to grow within their next role has been a contributing factor to MOUNTAIN’s success.
Tell us a story about a MOUNTAIN experience.
– The original Founders of MOUNTAIN, LTD., Joe & Sandy Hosmer, sold our company to a larger company in 1999. In 2001, they bought the company back due to the rising concerns that they were seeing.
At that point in time, MOUNTAIN became owned by the Hosmer family once again. It was at that time that I was challenged with working to get MOUNTAIN certified as a Woman-Owned company. We were certified within 3 months by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), Boston Chapter. After meeting this challenge, MOUNTAIN then embarked on becoming ISO 9001:2000 certified and TL 9000 Registered. TL 9000 is a standard sets the quality measurements and standards within the telecommunications industry. We achieved this status just 3 months after setting our sight on this goal.
What do you like doing outside of work?
– Because I travel so much for my job, I like spending as much time as I can with my family. We have a family home in the rural mountains of Maine. I often spend my weekends with my family here. I climb the local mountain (Saddleback) at least once a weekend (with my kiddos). Outside of this, I swim with a competitive group 3x a week, run, hike and ski (and skin up) the mountain as much as I can.
What are you passionate about?
Outside of my family and my church – I’m passionate about doing my best every day. Why? I have been given opportunities beyond my imagination. I want to show up to work each and every day and give my best to help others grow and see their potential so that they can pass on these opportunities to others. Each day we are fortunate to have the health that we have. I want to make sure that I live every day to my fullest potential so that I can look back on my life and feel like I made a difference.
What is your favorite movie?
– Gladiator – “What we do in life echoes in eternity.”
Thank you, April, for being a leader to us all!