Newsletter published by

Snelson Companies, Inc. The ScoopThe Scoop

PLCA Scholarship

Fund Applications

Snelson Companies, Inc. has

received the Pipe Line Con-

tractors Association (PLCA)

scholarship applications for

the 2011-2012 academic

calendar year.

To be eligible, applicants must

be children, stepchildren or

grandchildren of full-time em-

ployees of Snelson Compa-

nies, Inc., who are high school

seniors or graduates, 25 years

of age or younger, who plan to

enroll (or students already

enrolled) in a full-time

undergraduate course of study

at an accredited 4-year col-

lege or university. Transcript

information must be attached

to the application.

Applications will be accepted

between the dates of October

15, 2010 and those post-

marked prior to January 7,

2010.

To obtain an application,

please contact the PLCA

office in Dallas, TX;

(214) 969-2700.

President’s Note It is with sincere pleasure for me to introduce the Snel-

son family to our new president, Mr. Brad Sitton. Brad

has shared with me how excited he is to join our fam-

ily: “I am humbled by, excited and enthusiastic about

this great opportunity to join the Snelson family. After

having met many of the great people in the company, I

believe there is no doubt that Snelson's legacy of ex-

cellence in our industry can continue. Above all, I value

teamwork and personal integrity as the key ingredients

for an organization to achieve excellence in any aspect

of its business. Snelson appears to share and exhibit

these character traits across the organization and I

hope to earn my way into the fine fold that has been

created here. Thank you all for the warm welcome."

Brad joined the Snelson family on November 1, 2010

and is currently commuting from Denver and living in

La Conner (during the week). Brad and his wife,

Donna, have plans to relocate to Washington in spring

2011 at the end of the school year. Brad and Donna

were married in 1999 and they have five children: Lily

(5, kindergarten); Gabe (7, second grade); Sarah (16,

eleventh grade, Houston, TX); Clay (19, U.S. Navy

boot camp, Great Lakes, IL); and Bailey (22, 2009

graduate of St. Edwards University, Austin, TX, holds a

BA in international business).

Brad was born in Evansville, IN in 1963 and was raised

in south Texas, as well as Indiana and Colorado as a

result of his father's career and travels as a drilling

contractor in the oil and gas industry. He attended

Texas A&I University and The University of Texas at

Austin and earned a BS in civil engineering in 1987.

For 20 years (of his 23 year career), Brad has worked

in the pipeline industry alongside engineering and

construction companies including working with owners

in project engineering, project management and senior

management (domestic and international). It is

my pleasure to welcome Brad to our family.

Happy holidays!

This Issue Vernal Compressor Station

Questar 36” Pipeline Project

Employees of the Month

Gill Ranch Compressor Station

I S S U E

D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 0

01

President/COO

Vernal Compressor Station by Matt Hewitt

In July, the Snelson team was in-

formed by Williams of a need for

assistance on a compressor station

in Vernal, Utah. The project was over

budget, behind schedule and had

numerous erroneous aspects with

severe quality issues. Upon arrival,

Snelson assessed the project site

and it was in dire disarray; no pipe

was accepted as installed. Pre-

fabricated pipe and civil busts con-

sisted of wrong elevations and loca-

tions that plagued the site. The cur-

rent project schedule and documen-

tation were unacceptable. The first

order of team business was to begin

with organization, scope, schedule,

budget and safety then generate a

comprehensive plan and share this

plan with the client.

Williams celebrated our joint efforts along the way

The Dale R. Michels Scholarship for

2011-2012 The application is posted on

the DCA Website at:

www.dca-online.org

Completed applications

should be returned to the

DCA office for review and

submission to the Scholar-

ship Committee. The schol-

arship deadline is

January 20, 2011.

In the event that more than

three (3) applications are

received by the DCA from a

member company, the

member company will be

asked to review and select

three (3) for inclusion in the

application pool. The dead-

line for inclusion for compa-

nies having over three appli-

cations will be January 27,

2011.

The winning applicants will

be awarded an unspecified

amount of financial aid for

the 2011-2012 academic

year and this amount could

be renewable for up to four

(4) years with proof of aca-

demic success.

Financial need and commu-

nity service will also con-

tinue to be considered by

the Scholarship

Committee.

If you have any questions,

please contact Kathy

Pettersen.

During the ten week period our team

was able to install all large bore

above ground and underground

piping, all small bore piping and

pulled the project back on schedule

with zero safety incidents all the

while maintaining a high level of

efficiency. Commissioning began on

schedule, purge and pack began on

schedule and the commissioning

team was on schedule to fire up the

compressor October 26th.

Williams celebrated our joint efforts

and the completion of the project by

hosting two different parties. Notable

attendees included: V.P. Lewis, Troy

Ruflin, Mitch Zimmerman, Dale Mill-

sap, Chief Scheduler Spencer and

Head Project Controls Buckley.

Williams NWPL: Rock Spencer, Rosemary Lewis, Lance Buckley

Rosemary Lewis & Bree Madlung

Reporting began with one week cycles for

work activities and one week cycles for

schedule updates.

Within two weeks time the project re-

alignment and sequencing began taking

shape and our crew members were able to

punch the throttle.

In just ten weeks of performing work on-

site, the Snelson team reached mechani-

cal completion (and in some historically

knowledgeable minds), faster than anyone

they had ever seen!

Small Jobs = Big Returns By Tim Brown A majority of Division 02s crews have

been involved in smaller mainte-

nance work. These projects can be

just as dangerous and costly as big

ones if not well planned out. One

example of that is a project we just

completed in Palm Springs. This

project combined using a crew we

had never met and working next to

the railroad tracks, which could have

caused problems. But, because of

the planning of project manager, Lou

Whitmire, and the supervision of our

superintendant, Jeff Elliott, we had a

safe and successful project for Kinder

Morgan. In Roy, WA we worked with

employees we barely knew and had a

tight timeline, but thanks to our superin-

tendant, Trevor Thayer, not only did we

accomplish what was asked of us, every-

one went home safe. This did not go

unnoticed by our client, BP. That same

crew went to Coeur d’Alene, ID and as-

sisted TransCanada with some up-

grades. Creek restorations at Kelsey

and Colony Creeks for BP and also

cathodic protection installation for Wil-

liams Northwest have kept crews busy.

In Wyoming we put a crew together

for the Questar project. Superinten-

dant, John Kennedy, and our staff

added to Questar’s respect for our

work. Enterprise also called for our

help on some maintenance work by

sending some of our crew out of

state. Despite the weather and vari-

ety of work requested of us, our

safety and quality have not suffered.

Superintendant, Jeff Fox, is in Penn-

sylvania assisting IPS Engineering to

begin work in the Marcellus Shale

area, with plans of additional crews.

After the storm

At

tThe New Curtis H. Allen Scholarship for

2011-2012

At the 2010 Distribution Con-

tractors Association (DCA)

Convention, Bentonite Per-

formance Minerals an-

nounced that the DCA would

facilitate a $2,500 per year

scholarship in honor of the late

Curtis Allen. The scholarship

will be funded by Halliburton.

The focus of the scholarship

will be on a student or stu-

dents entering a trade or tech-

nical school and will be

awarded at the March 2011

Convention. The application

can be found on the DCA

Website: www.dca-online.org.

Please note the following

guidelines: Completed appli-

cations should be returned to

the DCA office for review and

submission to the Curtis H.

Allen Scholarship Committee.

The deadline for the scholar-

ship is January 20, 2011. In

the event that more than three

(3) applications are received

by the DCA from a member

company, the member com-

pany will be asked to review

and select three (3) for inclu-

sion in the application pool.

The deadline for inclusion for

companies having over three

applications will be January

27, 2011. The winning appli-

cants will be awarded an

unspecified amount of finan-

cial aid for the 2011-2012

academic year, unless other

arrangements are made.

Questar 36” Pipeline Project By David Dixon

The crew lays two double joint drag sections from the top. The crew has gotten to the overbend part of the hill near the top. This picture was after the Monday snow storm. High winds on top but moderate on the face.

Digging Horse Canyon. Keith's hill crew finished in White Canyon and moved to Horse Canyon to do a sharp valley pipe lay on each side. The crew is digging the coming in side ditch.

Pipe gang in canyon. Hot filler trucks coming over rise waiting for pipe gang to get off hillside.

We have had company neighbors;

John Kennedy and his crews are in

Opal, about an hour away. Division 5

has been working below us for Wil-

liams on the Vernal Compressor

Station. Jimmy Burns has his usual

group of key personnel and subcon-

tractors on the project, which really

makes for a smooth working spread.

A few people miss Skagit Valley but

they seem to be sticking it out. It

looks like we will be working right up

to the holiday season at the end of

December, trying to get the line

tested. Final cleanup again will de-

pend on nature.

The Apex project in the Wasatch

Mountains to the west above Salt

Lake City has already seen several

feet of snow on top. We have had

quite a few visitors from Corporate

and IPS. For most of us it “almost”

seems like we’re home as this is the

fourth year we have worked in the

Rock Springs area. The project en-

tails the construction of approxi-

mately 43 miles of 36” O.D. natural

gas steel pipe. It runs from the com-

pressor station Division 5. Five were

added on a few years ago behind

Cruel Jacks to Cubin 31, which is

west of Little America. The line gen-

erally parallels I-80 and crosses two

rivers. There are five directional drills,

all but one now completed by South-

east Directional Drilling. Snelson’s

own crews are drilling approximately

11 road and railroad bores.

Sixty percent of the project parallels

existing lines. The crews started on

the east end, which has approxi-

mately 15 miles of aggressive terrain

with hills and canyons just as steep

as those we worked on in Colorado

last year. The line continues west-

ward and goes right by Little America

and all its signs advertising “fifty cent

ice cream cones.”

Snelson had hoped to follow the

GRS / California pipeline project with

a July 15 start on the Questar ML

133, 36” project in Green River,

WY. Needless to say things changed

on both ends. At any rate, the

Questar project got the go ahead late

on September 9.

Personnel started drifting in the first

couple weeks of the month. We have

had to share the labor pool in the

Rockies with the spreads on the

Bison project out of Gillette and the

Ruby project heading from Opal

westward. Just up the street, Price-

Gregory also has a project yard. The

pipe gang kicked off on September

27. Since that time, we have been in

a race with the weather. So far, only

a handful of snowy and cold days

have slowed up the crews. The last

week of October temperatures were

in the teens.

Our “Normal” Payroll Process

By Robie Nash

Our employee level can alter,

often by 200 to 300 within a

week or two (we’re currently at

approximately 600 employees

spread over five states), but

there are some constants within

our processes. We process a

minimum of four payrolls per

week for multiple companies

(only when our work volume is

low). We are currently process-

ing eight payrolls and our “high”

was nine. ALL payrolls must be

finished by 5pm on Thursday

although we are usually finished

with all processing by Wednes-

day afternoon. And out-of-area

jobs process on Monday or

Tuesday. We print the checks to

the jobsites or via FedEx. We

submit approximately 100 union

reports each month. Some are

required weekly but most are

once a month. Each craft, local

and agreement (PLCA, DCA,

AGC) have their own require-

ments for reporting. Those re-

ports are in addition to the mis-

cellaneous dues and deduction

reports required. We submit

assorted state taxes weekly,

monthly and quarterly depending

on the state and volume. Quar-

terly reports are required for

about 15 states for the four com-

panies we’re currently process-

ing. The reports must be submit-

ted even if there is no activity in a

state. There are also weekly

garnishment and levy payments

plus questions to answer. That is

our “normal” payroll cycle. Next

time we’ll address our “abnormal”

processes. Stay tuned.

2010 Employees of the Month

Judah Larsen is the Office Em-

ployee of the Month. Judah has

been an outstanding contributor to

the success of several challenging

IT projects in the last six weeks.

Judah is a highly valued team

member.

Nick Beutler is the Field Employee

of the Month. Nick does a great job

communicating with his fellow su-

pervisors and lining the laborers

out. Nick also has been a key per-

son in the implementation of safety

corrections at the Vernal Compres-

sor Station. Nick is always eager to

accommodate and cooperate with

fellow trades and carries an uplifting

attitude that is spread to all those

around him.

August August September

Jeri Pagh, is the office Employee of

the Month. Jeri is an Administration

Assistant for Donna Kearns and

Kathy Pettersen. She has been with

Snelson for over nine months. She

has done an excellent job with all

that is put before her.

Mike Robinson (aka Sugar) is the

Field Employee of the Month. He is

a versatile employee, a qualified

teamster and purchasing agent /

warehouseman. He is the first one

there and the last one to leave. A

great team player.

Eric Dahlgren is the Office Em-

ployee of the month. Eric has per-

formed at a high level throughout

2010 and in his 18 months of em-

ployment he has become a key

member of the Snelson team. Much

of his work bridges relationships

with our partners Sheehan Pipe

Line Company and IPS Engineering

as well as our parent, IPS. He is

always willing to lend a hand and

his positive attitude makes him a joy

to work with.

Keith Maxwell is the Field Employee

of the month. Keith has been with

Snelson Companies for over 15

years. He has done an excellent job

on the current Questar project in

Wyoming, having been assigned to

lay pipe up the four steepest hills on

the project that required equipment

from above with cable. He has the

most difficult feature of the project.

His crew is always well-organized

and operates safely in extremely

difficult situations.

September October October

The Gill Ranch Compressor Station By Clint Shearer

Finishing Strong

By Todd Wright, CSP

We are close to the end of

another great year and

wrapping up several suc-

cessful projects. When

projects get close to com-

pletion the risk of compla-

cency and the urge to hurry

and get done is present. As

a project is winding down it

is a great time to re-

energize your project envi-

ronmental safety and health

processes. Put emphasis

on the small things; remem-

ber to recognize positive

behaviors or accomplish-

ments and keep positive

attitudes prevalent as they

are contagious. Many

weeks or months of long

work days naturally take

their toll emotionally and

physically on all employees.

Do your part to help your

project and finish strong.

2011 Holidays Observed

New Year’s Day

Fri. December 31, 2010

President’s Day

Mon. February 21, 2011

Memorial Day

Mon. May 30, 2011

Independence Day

Mon. July 4, 2011

Labor Day

Mon. September 5, 2011

Thanksgiving Day

Thurs. November 24, 2011

Day after Thanksgiving

Fri. November 25, 2011

Day after Christmas

Mon. December 26, 2011

The next goal of mechanical comple-

tion is to be done by November 30th;

this work is well under way and will

be achieved before the deadline. We

are scheduled for the project to be

completely finished by December

31st. We currently are down to just

59 crew members from a peak of well

over 200. Demobilization is well

underway and we should all be home

before the end of the year. Though

challenging, this project has been a

great experience.

The amount of work Snelson and

GRS has accomplished in the past

year in the San Joaquin Valley has

been nothing short of amazing. We

have now worked more than 330,000

man-hours on the compressor station

and well pads alone with only one

recordable incident and zero lost

time. The crews have done an in-

credible job of staying safe and effi-

cient. The project reached the first

major mechanical milestone of gas

injection in early October and has

been running ever since.

Snelson was able to overcome a

difficult compacted schedule to meet

our goals. This would not have been

possible without the hard work of

many talented local tradesman, sub-

contractors and vendors. The local

area has proved to be abundant;

excellent resources and people. The

hard work has culminated into a safe,

successful conclusion of a high qual-

ity project that those involved should

be proud of. A big THANK YOU from

the Snelson staff to all who safely

made this project a success.

601 W. State Street Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284 Phone: 360.856.6511 Fax: 360.856.5816 Email: info@snelsonco.com Web: www.snelsonco.com

Company Interests A group from the pipeline project in Green River, WY traveled

to Cheyenne on September 11, 2010 to attend a concert by

Country Music Hall of Fame star, Roy Clark. Roy hosted the

long running T.V. series Hee Haw and is also a personal

friend of Jim and Patricia Burns. After the show the group was

invited back stage to visit and take pictures with Roy.

Mark Tyra found

this little bunny

rabbit on his well

pad on the GRS

Project and it was

all alone.

They didn’t know what to do with it, so one of the guys on his crew, Antonio Bentencourt,

had a Chihuahua named Che-wawa, that just had puppies. So he suggested bringing it

home and seeing if the momma would take it in. Sure enough!

The Scoop Issue 01 December 2010

Snelson 2010 Christmas Fund

Snelson Company, Inc. will

match any donated funds.

We will be collecting for the

local food bank, Teen Oasis

and our Special Seasoned

Citizens at Ovenell Family

Home. We hope to continue

the support with your gener-

ous donations. Please con-

tact Colleen at the front desk:

360-856-6511