Bobby Humphrey is Making His Mark in Omaha
A love of numbers, ledgers and managing money convinced Bobby Humphrey he was destined to become an accountant.
Those aspirations changed when he realized that college wasn’t a great option for him. “I didn't even make it a full semester,” he recalls. “It just was not the right atmosphere for me.”
Instead, Humphrey followed in the footsteps of his dad and grandfather, becoming a third-generation union operator.
It’s a career path that suits his knack for numbers. “We manage all kinds of numbers: depths, lengths, percentages, yardages,” he says.
Building a Career with Castle
Humphrey’s introduction to Castle came in 2010 when he began working on the patient care tower at University Hospital on the campus of the University of Missouri-Columbia. Located about 30 miles from his home in New Franklin, Missouri, the project opened the door to a steady stream of Castle project assignments across the U.S.— from California to Virginia and Alabama to Colorado.
“I've worked pretty much everywhere and run all types of equipment — dozers, scrapers, track loaders, excavators,” says Humphrey, whose favorite pieces of equipment to operate are excavators and finish dozers.
He credits two Castle colleagues — Project Superintendent Duane Hidritch and General Superintendent Roy Hardester— for continuing to mentor and inspire him. “Both of them helped shape me into the field employee I am today,” he says. “I've learned a lot from both of them and everybody else along my path.”
in 2019, Humphrey started working on his first Omaha project: sitework and utility installation on a data center campus for client PayneCrest Electric.
Building Castle's Omaha Office from the Ground Up
That assignment positioned him on the ground floor of Castle’s new Omaha office. “I'm very proud to be one of the few people who helped start this office,” he says. “I wouldn’t mind being here for the rest of my career, but I’d also go start another division for Castle anywhere in the U.S.”
Since earning a promotion to project superintendent in January 2021, Humphrey has focused on managing foremen on a variety of Castle projects. “I've usually got two or three different jobs going at the same time, so I'm constantly moving,” he says. His current assignments include a couple of data center campuses and a wastewater treatment plant.
“I like the accountability of my job,” he says. “At the end of the day, I’m accountable for the field efficiency and result of projects with close coordination and input from project managers.”
He’s also grown accustomed to working in Omaha, which he calls “the biggest small town in America.”
Humphrey Is Always on the Move
Humphrey and his wife, Rachel, have four children: 14-year-old Lainey is a freshman in high school; Levi, 11, is in 6th grade; 9-year-old Avery is in 4th grade; and Anna, 8, is in 2nd grade.
Not surprisingly, kids’ activities consume most of Humphrey’s free time. His oldest daughter plays softball; both sons are involved in wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu; and his youngest daughter is a competitive cheerleader and dancer. “We spend a lot of time on the road,” he laughs.
In August, Humphrey is embarking on a unique adventure: taking his son Avery to North Dakota to dig up dinosaur fossils. “He’s only in 4th grade, but has been serious about paleontology his whole life,” he says. “And he’s very excited because he gets to put his name on whatever bones we dig up.”
Interested in a career with Castle? Explore our open positions today.
