That dedication to academics was one of the reasons Nelson chose Boise State, even though it was a long way away from his home in Whitehall, Montana. Over the next four years Nelson would excel on the wrestling mat. He earned Pac-10 Conference Championships at 150 pounds in 1991 and 1992. He also wrestled to a seventhplace finish at nationals as a senior, earning him All-American honors. Nelson graduated with a construction management degree and went to work for Harvey Neef at Interior Systems. After spending some time as an internal project manager at Micron Technology, Nelson finally landed the job he had been waiting for, working with his brother Neil at ESI. Nels and Neil were the youngest of eight children in the Nelson family, and as Nels describes it, the two had been close since childhood. Nels recalls coming down with chicken pox as a kid, and the joy Neil got when he came down with the illness as well because he could stay home and hang out with his brother. Neil followed Nels to Boise State, also as a member of the Bronco wrestling team and a construction management major. After graduation the two had hoped for an opportunity to join forces in the business world, but that chance wouldn’t come right away. Finally in 1998, Neil landed a job with ESI, which prompted Nels to pursue a career with Idaho’s largest privately held construction company. Nels has enjoyed the transition. Not only has he been able to work along side Neil, but he has also been able to
appreciate the results of his hard work; more so than some of the jobs he worked in the past. “For me it is about the satisfaction of finishing a job. [Working for a corporation] there was no bottom line. You couldn’t get it built fast enough. Money was not an object. If you got ahead on a project by three days, they just moved in three days earlier. So there was
always a lot of pressure and no reward.” But that satisfaction is just one of many things Nels said he loves about where he is at in the world today. Nels has been happily married for nine years to his wife, Amy. The couple has two young children; Chloe (6) and Isaac (3). Nels has also helped build ESI to the business it is today, along side Neil who is the company Vice President and co-owner. “One thing that has helped us [in building the company] is that we’ve built really strong
“I think the [competitive] mentality [of being an athlete] transitions through. It’s kind of like making weight. You always remember the guys that didn’t make weight. They broke. In this industry you see people break all the time. It’s like that in life. It’s nice to work with a bunch of guys that you’ve seen riding the bike in the sauna to make weight. You know that guy is going to outwork the guys he’s working against.” Nels said he has no intention of leaving
What are your thoughts on the Varsity B Club? With so many former athletes making their home and raising their families in the Treasure Valley, it is nice to see the continued involvement with the university. It is a good opportunity to stay involved in the growth and success of the university as an Alumni.
relationships over the past 10 years. Another reason I think we’ve been successful is we’re always on the cutting edge of technology.” Nels also attributes a great deal of ESI’s success to the people he works with, including three other former Boise State studentathletes: Jan-Erik Peterson (football), Brad Cook (wrestling) and Larry Quisel (wrestling).
Boise, and hopes he will be able to continue doing what he is doing for a long time. “I think Boise just has it all. It’s a great place to live…The people are just good people to live around and raise a family around. There are some nice parts of other places, but I think Boise has the complete package.”
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