Powering People and Projects: Travess Herrington’s McKinstry Story

For Travess Herrington, becoming an electrician wasn’t a random career move — it was a continuation of something much bigger. His dad, grandpa and several uncles were all electricians, and by the time he graduated high school it seemed almost inevitable he’d follow the same path. Still, he considered other options. “I was valedictorian and thought I’d go to college,” he says. “But my dad kept telling me, ‘Just try the trade.’ Eventually I realized he was right. You can build a really solid career doing this kind of work and it doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s version of success.”

Travess started in the trade when he was 19 and became a journeyman electrician in 2016. Not long after, he and his partner moved to California where he joined the Hollywood Motion Picture Electricians Local 40 and took a job with Universal Studios. “That was probably one of the most fun jobs I’ve had,” he says. “We were the maintenance electricians for the entire theme park and studio lots. It was wild seeing how everything came together behind the scenes.” One of his favorite projects was helping power up the animatronics for the Jurassic Park ride renovation — setting up the sensors and controls that brought the dinosaurs to life. Another was installing the Christmas lights for Hogsmeade in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. “We worked nights with the Harry Potter theme music playing until two in the morning,” he laughs. “It drove me a little crazy by the end but it was worth it.”

When the pandemic hit, Travess and his partner decided to move back North and he joined an electrical contractor in Oregon. There he managed several large projects, including building out clean rooms and robotics areas for Sig Sauer’s optics division. Through this contractor, he also spent six months in Overseas working as an electrician. “It was hot, long hours” he says. “But it was the kind of experience that sticks with you — you learn a lot about yourself and what you can handle.”

Eventually, the travel-heavy lifestyle didn’t fit with his and his partner’s plans to start a family, so when a family connection told him McKinstry’s electrical department was growing, he reached out. “McKinstry seemed like the kind of place where people care about the work and about each other.” He joined the company in February 2024 and moved to Tacoma to be closer to family.

Since then, Travess has become part of a service team that’s evolving fast and he’s proud to help shape it. “It’s been a lot of learning and a lot of hard work but I love it,” he says. “The people here are what make it special. Everyone’s bought in and it feels like we’re building something together.”

He’s also quick to point out what sets McKinstry’s electrical group apart from other contractors. “A lot of people don’t realize McKinstry does electrical work,” he says. “But what’s really unique is how integrated we are with the mechanical, plumbing and fire protection teams. We all work under one roof so there’s this built-in collaboration that just doesn’t happen at other companies.”

After more than a decade in the trade, Travess has seen a little bit of everything — from theme parks to crossing the globe — but what he’s found at McKinstry feels like the right fit. “I don’t want to go anywhere else,” he says. “There’s so much opportunity here and the people make it worth it.”