Brian Olson:
CLASS OF 1987
United Township High SchoolClass of 1987
East moline, IL
Glenview Middle SchoolClass of 1983
East moline, IL
Riverdale Junior High SchoolClass of 1982
Port byron, IL
Southwest Elementary SchoolClass of 1981
Geneseo, IL
Cone Elementary SchoolClass of 1980
Conway, AR
Brian's Story
Life
My Professional Life after High School:
I joined the USN right out of HS. I went to boot camp in Great Lakes, IL. When boot camp was finished I attended Navy Tech. School learning and working on electrical control systems for jet engines. After that, I was sent to Long Beach, CA where I lived for the next six years. During my time stationed in Long Beach, I sailed on three deployments one of which included the 1st Gulf War. Today, I regard the 1st Gulf War as more of a skirmish than what is compared to what we are dealing with right now in Iraq. While serving on my second ship, I was awarded Senior Sailor of the Quarter twice in one year. Not too bad considering there were roughly 150 senior sailors on board. In addition to the awards from the ship, I was also awarded Senior Sailor of the Quarter, twice in one year for my Destroyer Squadron. There were 12 ships in my squadron. Another year past and I was awarded Senior Sailor of the Year for my ship, AND my Destroyer Squadron AND my Battle Group. This consisted of 34 ships. I achieved all of this within 6 years of enlistment. I was also nominated for Senior Sailor of the Year for the whole Pacific Fleet. But I lost out to someone who took 18 years to make his achievements. The Battle Group Admiral had told me I really did not have a chance to get this one because I was too young. That had me really upset, because in my mind, achieving all that I had in such a short amount of time was an achievement in itself.
After I left Long Beach, I was off back to Great Lakes to teach as a Navy Instructor. I ta...Expand for more
ught new students the trade that I excelled in, gas turbine technology. I did that for 2 years and decided I would take my experience into the real world and make real money. I was honorably discharged in 1996. Nine years was enough. I was never meant to be a lifer.
In 1996 I entered the world of power plants. It may seem boring to most people but hey, Im a self described techno-geek and everyone expects the lights to come on when they flip a switch. Right? I began my new career with Westinghouse Corp. in the construction of a new power plant and after construction and start-up was completed, I began operating and maintaining it. I spent 6 years at that plant and decided it was time to move on to another because some day, I wanted to manage one. I left to construct and start up another new plant, which is the one I am currently at. I moved up the ranks starting as a senior operator and Instrumentation and Controls Technician. I was then promoted to Operations and Maintenance Manager. And then FINALLY, after my boss, the Plant Manager, was promoted to Regional Vice President, I then became the Plant Manager. It took me nineteen years, but I feel I have achieved all that I wanted out of my professional life. I'm quite comfy right now where Im at.
My personal life is a lot harder to describe and would require writing a book along the lines of One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. No, Im not cuckoo, my family is. And Im NOT referring to my wife or kids. But I will say this, I have a lovely wife named Tammy and we have two beautiful children, Ryan and Aimee.
Register for Free to view all details!
Yearbooks
Register for Free to view all yearbooks!
Reunions
Register for Free to view all events!