>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

Tom Insko became Boise Cascade's manager for this region last year. (Observer photos/CHRIS BAXTER).

After stints at Kettle Falls and Boise, 1989 Elgin High grad is back home in Union County

Bill Rautenstrauch

The Observer

Tom Insko's career with Boise Cascade has come full circle. And that's the way he likes it.

As Boise Cascade's Inland Region manager, based in La Grande, Insko gets the chance to play on a team he knows well and respects deeply.

"I love my job. The people I work with make it exciting," the 35-year-old Elgin product said recently. "They're smart, they're hard working, and they're everywhere."

Insko, son of Lee and Beth Insko, was born in Union County and raised in rural Elgin. He attended Elgin High, graduating in 1989.

After high school, he enrolled at Eastern Oregon University, pursuing degrees in math and business economics, at the same time working as a Boise Cascade laborer.

"I love math, logic and the sciences in general. The hard sciences prepare you well," Insko said of his studies. "I knew I wanted to go into business management. I knew focusing on the math degree would give me the tools I needed."

In 1993, he married Emily Wilkens, also of Elgin.

He completed his work at Eastern in 1994, and from there went to William and Mary College in Virginia. He earned a masters in business administration in 1996.

Then, it was time to come back home.

In 1996, Boise hired him as an an administrative analyst. He worked in

La Grande, designing math models as the company struggled to adjust to shrinking timber supplies.

"We were trying to organize the operation to respond to the decline of the wood baskets," he said. "I learned a lot about operations."

Between 1996 and 2001, Insko held several key positions locally.

He moved into management, assuming responsibility for the Elgin studmill. Later, he became the manager for the entire Elgin complex, including the plywood plant.

Insko and the Elgin crew faced some stiff trials and tribulations in the late 1990s, but survived.

In 1997, Boise was set to close down the Elgin studmill for good, but that never came to pass.

And in 1999, a fire all but destroyed the plywood plant. It was a devastating blow to the Elgin community.

The plant was rebuilt, however, and set back into operation.

"We have outstanding people here in Union County," Insko said. "We've had numerous challenges when we might have failed, but we haven't. It was phenomenal the way we turned it around after the fire.

"That's the way it's always been, my whole time with Boise. The people take on the challenges and at the end of the day we're still here."

Insko enjoyed managing at Elgin, but in 2001, an opportunity to to put his math and accounting skills to work again came up.

He moved to Boise and went to work in the company's finance department.

"It was managing the finances of the corporation, and that included the paper and office products divisions," he said.

Next came an assignment as manager of Boise Cascade's Kettle Falls complex in Kettle Falls, Wash.

Insko ran the plants there as Boise Cascade changed ownership and began a huge reorganization.

"There's always a lot of anxiety in a situation like that. I had to deal with it for myself and others, too," he said.

"But on the same token, I saw it as exciting. It provided us with the opportunity to focus on wood products. For five or 10 years before that, we were dealing with office products, too."

Another opportunity presented itself. As part of its reorganization, Boise created the new Inland Region, encompassing seven plants in Kettle falls, La Grande, Island City and Elgin.

Last year, Insko got the job as region manager. With it came the chance to return to Union County.

"I was absolutely hoping to come home again," he said. "For me, being near family is important. My parents and my brother are here and it's nice to be close to them."

As one of its first orders of business, the new Boise sold its timber assets to Forest Capital Partners.

That meant Boise Cascade would do business in a radically different way, said Insko.

"It was a transition from a business model where we had integrated timber lands to one where we do not. Procuring wood is an ongoing challenge," he said.

All the plants are up and running, though the road turned a little bumpy last year when the La Grande sawmill was forced to curtail a shift. The reason for the cutback was a steep increase in the price of the natural gas Boise uses to dry wood.

Fortunately, natural gas prices have fallen a bit. At the same time, the wood products market has taken a turn for the better. Those circumstances enabled Boise to call the shift back.

Insko said the next task for the local plant is to install a boiler system to replace the natural gas-fired drying system now in use.

"My belief is, we'll be able to put together the investment to get off natural gas," Insko said. "We're working on a solution and I'm cautiously optimistic we'll be able to get our arms around it."

At the La Grande sawmill, Island City particleboard plant, and Elgin stud mill and plywood plants, Boise employs about 700 people. Add in the Kettle Falls operation, and Insko manages more than 1,000 employees.

Boise's continued success in the region depends on those workers. The manager believes they will prevail as they always have.

"Leading a team that size presents new opportunities and challenges daily," he said. "I'm fortunate to be surrounded by skilled and energetic people who share my desire to be successful.