When he’s not busy working, Block Electric General Foreman Jason Carline spends most of his time with his wife Amy and their children Anthony, 13 and Haily, 11. The family resides in Montgomery, Illinois. “Currently we are anxiously awaiting the warmer weather. We love to be in the outdoors,” Jason said. “From bike riding to hiking, we enjoy spending time at different forest preserves and state parks. Our kids enjoy everything from hiking, fishing, and taking our canoe out for a cruise.” Before becoming an electrician, Jason juggled
attending college and working different jobs. He began working with Block Electric
in 1997 as a summer helper, working for Tom Sieck at Landis Plastics. After the summer helper program ended, Jason was
presented with an opportunity to drive the trucks in Shorewood. “After working with the people I was teamed up with
as a summer helper, it was an easy choice,” Jason said. “After working in the shop for a short while Tim Boyce suggested to me that I should apply to the apprenticeship. No one in my family was in the trades, so until he suggested it, I never considered
it. I took his advice, and it’s been a great choice.” While Jason is a long-time Block Electric employee, he said people would be surprised to know he is not an Illinois native and that he moved around quite a bit while growing up before moving here when he was 14. Born in San Bernardino, California, Jason lived in two different parts of California and Michigan and also lived in Pennsylvania. When he was in high school, Jason was invited to participate in an exchange program and spent his senior year of high school in Maypen, Jamaica. “As I look back, I might not have had a traditional childhood, but I certainly had a unique one,” Jason said. “Living in different parts of this country (and abroad) I was exposed to different cultures, different people, and different attitudes that people may have. I hope I bring that experience to what we do now, allowing me to keep an isviagraotc open mind when dealing with our customers.” Jason is currently working on a project at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn and it’s proving to be a challenging experience. “In order to work here I have had to change the way we normally think. We have a task, we move forward,” Jason
said. “On this job we have to get every move we make approved by different groups in the hospital, from the end users to infectious control. In order to do this they need to know where and how we plan to perform our work. I had to learn how to make electronic drawings with “Blue Beam” from the building footprint to show every step of our work plan. It’s been quite a challenge.”
Before working on the Christ Hospital job, Jason had just finished working on two different parking structures. One was a four-story garage in Palatine and the other was a seven-story garage for Christ Hospital. “Both jobs were done with really great crews,” Jason said. “In both situations we had some pretty tough weather conditions, from heavy snow to extreme heat. Everyone who worked with me did a great job.”