There's no place like home for Hall

by Mary Le Arneal
posted 7/15/09

Greg Hall has seen some interesting places, but the view he likes best is out his present office window in downtown North Bend.

Hall, a 1987 graduate of North Bend Central High School, moved back to his hometown in November 2002 while continuing to work for Peter Kiewit Sons Inc. in Omaha. In February 2009 he quit Kiewit and started his own business, Mokuhini Consulting, with home offices in downtown North Bend.

Greg Hall operates his consulting business from the Datel Building in downtown North Bend.

The name itself, pronounced Mok-u-hina, has a story.

After NBC, Hall attended Rose Hulman Institute of Technology in Terra Haute, Ind. The school appealed to him because of its emphasis on engineering in a bachelor program. Graduating from there in 1990, Hall took a job with Peter Kiewit Sons, Inc, in Omaha as engineer in the legal department.

“This experience sowed the seed for what I do now,” Hall said.
This job, as well as Hall’s other jobs, have always entailed travel, going to wherever the work was.

In February 1996 he was sent to Maui, Hawaii, as the project engineer on a $10 million “Front Street Improvement.” It was a mile of road, much like the Old Market in Omaha. Kiewit came in and replaced all the utilities and paving. He also worked on the lower Honaupiilani Road project, doing similar work in a resort area.

“All work was done on both projects overnight,” Hall said. “It was a public relations challenge.”

One of the projects included making new street signs, including one for Mokuhini Avenue. After the sign was up for a month, a native pointed out that it was misspelled, it should read Mokuhinia, which is the name of the moat that surrounds the Royal Hawaiian residence. So the sign was replaced, and the old sign is now used by Hall as his business sign and inspirtaion for his company’s name.

In December 1998 Hall was sent to Hemet, Calif., as project engineer for the East Dam project, a two-mile long dam. He was able to stay with this job until it was completed in May 2000.

“I was the last person to leave that job,” Hall said. “I was able to put together skills I am using now.”

For six months Hall comuted to San Diego doing estimates on jobs. Then he worked as a field superintendent on the Los Angles to Pasadena Blue Line, a passenger railroad line built to ease traffic.

It was while he was on this project that his wife, Jana, called one day and left him a message that she had found a house in Fremont.

“I didn’t know we were moving,” Hall said with a laugh. “I knew at some point we would move back. It was just the right time.”

With their oldest daughter in sixth grade, the Halls were ready to move back to Nebraska.

His dad, Jerry, found a house in North Bend that would suit their needs so in November 2002, Greg and Jana Hall and children moved to North Bend.
Hall continued to work in Omaha as a training manager for Kiewit, traveling some, but mostly he was in Omaha. In March 2008 he decided it was time to move out on his own and started building bridges with people. This February he took the leap of faith and quit Kiewit.

“Feb. 4 was my last day at Kiewit,” Hall said. “On Feb. 9, I was on a plane to Los Angles for my first consulting job.”

Hall, 40, knew his plan work when Kiewit would hire him back for consulting jobs.

“I’m doing a lot of what I did before, but now I have more time to do specialized training,” Hall said.

Hall continues to work for Kiewit and other large construction companies as an contract administrator, dealing with huge government or private entities.

When he is not consulting with construction jobs, he is doing what he likes best. Writing.

Hall writes fiction centering on characters in the construction industry, a theme he has seen very little written around.

“There are a lot of really interesting characters in the construction business,” Hall said. “It is a high stress, high finance business.”

Hall has submitted 80 short stories, with six of them accepted for publication or online release. He said he didn’t start writing to make money, but because it interest him.

He is presently working on a book centering around a traffic facility that happened at a construction job in California. He has another book competed, but has set it aside for a while to look at it later with a fresh perspective.

The recent Nebraska Writers Workshop in Omaha was an eye opener for him, but he is sticking to his writing.

“That’s the goal,” Hall said about the possibility of writing full time. “But now I wouldn’t be able to write without a full time job.”

So for now, Hall, his wife Jana, children Melanie, 18, Cecilia, 17, Clarissa, 14, Alex, 11, Emily, 8, and Drew, 5, will be content with his office in downtown North Bend and flying off to consulting jobs.

Hall is happy to be back in North Bend. He likes being able to walk to work or to stores to get about anything he needs, he like that he doesn’t hear the police helicopter flying overhead at all hours and he likes the opportunities his children have for involvement in school

“Compared to other towns the same size, North Bend has a lot going for it,” Hall said. “It has a lot to offer.”

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