Jimbo Cloniger

After 34 Years of Hard Work and Dedication to W.B. Hopke Co., Superintendent, Jimbo Cloniger, Shares His Secrets to Longevity

Jimbo Cloniger, superintendent for W.B. Hopke still has not seen it all in 34 years, as every day is a new challenge and new experience. He came to work for W.B. Hopke in June 1989 and has been hard at it ever since. A special thanks to Jimbo for years of dedication and for sharing his story.

Jim originally grew up in Alexandria, VA and at age seven, moved to Culpeper to live with his grandparents. There, he grew up on a farm and learned to drive the farm equipment. His love for equipment and experience with machinery on the farm would eventually prove fruitful to a career at W.B. Hopke. Jimbo moved to Madison after high school and has been there ever since.

When asked how he came to be with Hopke for so many years he said, “I enjoy being in the field and the responsibility that comes with my job. I love working outside and around the crews, the vendors and keeping the clients happy. Every day is different, I never know what I’ll be dealing with when I walk in the door. I have to be ready to adjust, be decisive and communicate well with my general superintendent.”

Jimbo leaves home every day at 4:15 am and generally gets to work by 5:45 am. It’s about an hour and a half drive. “I just put the truck on auto-pilot, and it takes me right to the front door, every day,” he said with a chuckle.

When Jimbo graduated high school, he went to work for a company named Low Master doing welding and one day his cousin, Ernie Hawkins, encouraged him to work for W.B. Hopke. Since joining Hopke, he has held just about every position, and he worked his way up through the ranks. He said, “I started as a laborer, then did a couple of years as a tail man in the trenches, then I went on to be a pipe layer on grade, then a loader operator, a backhoe operator, a foreman and finally a superintendent.”

Jimbo has lots of great memories at Hopke, but working the North Potomac Project is one that he remembers the most. At North Potomac, Hopke worked on the full infrastructure build out of the North Potomac Yards neighborhood, supporting the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus, the new North Potomac Yard Metro Station, and six additional city blocks of new development around the metro.

When asked if the job has changed from his early days, he said, “The job has changed a great deal, especially in the area of safety. One of our main goals is to keep our teams safe and we have a safety department at Hopke that visits each site to ensure that safety measures are in operation. Our clients’ approach to safety has changed too. Safety regulations now are very stringent, from the hats and boots we wear, to the goggles and clothing. And every client is different with regards to safety and procedures.”

When asked to share advice as to what new employees need to do to be successful at Hopke, he answered, “Come to work every day. That’s the most important thing they can do. Give 110% effort. Keep their nose clean and make sure they do their job.”

He continued, “There’s plenty of room for advancement at Hopke. Most all the positions that I have done, were positions I asked for. I would learn a job, do it for a few years and then tell the boss that I’m ready to advance. Whether the position was that of a loader operator, a foreman or a superintendent, I always knew that when I was ready to take on the next challenge, Hopke always provided that opportunity.”

Cloniger has been married for 27 years to his wife Christine. He has 2 children, a daughter 30 and a son 14. He owns and lives on his 15 acres property and has a 2-acre pond. He and his son love to hunt and fish. “Fishing is fun, but taking the gator and heading down to the pond with a couple of beers is what it is all about,” he said.

W.B. Hopke would like to recognize and thank Jimbo Cloniger for 34 years of hard work and dedication to the company. It is the continued efforts of employees like Jimbo, that has made Hopke the company that it is today.

Contact W.B. Hopke about a career in utility installation and site work at 703-971-0404 or info@wbhopke.com.