Team Spotlight: Josh Wilhite, Principal / Project Manager
Ok, so maybe he’s not exactly swinging a hammer, but every team needs a quarterback, every boat needs a captain, every expedition needs a fearless leader, and every home construction company needs that impossible-to-please, nit-picky, slave-to-the-details, churner-out-of-bills-and-budgets, communicator-to-the-clients, and “the buck stops here” kind of guy. That’s Josh. Here’s a little more than you always wanted to know about one of Copperline’s head honchos.
Josh is originally from San Diego, CA (don’t get him started on why Mexican food in Bend is sub-par). He made a short pit-stop in the Bay Area to pick up a finance degree from Santa Clara University (played a little lacrosse, dabbled in a frat, sealed a friendship with a high school girl who would later become his wife), and shortly after moved up to Bend to start building houses with his dad, Mark. Josh’s first forays into home building were during the glory days gone by of spec homes and land grabs in the early 2000’s. Copperline got lean and mean during the housing crisis of 2007-2010 but plugged along building a great product and eventually rode out the recession with an excellent reputation for craftsmanship and an eye for details. Josh is a big part of that design eye that makes Copperline special.
If you’re a client, you want Josh on your team. He lives and breathes his work; rarely is it far from his mind or his heart. He cares about the details of your home you haven’t even considered yet, and he’s the guy who will work to make sure those details are perfect (even if it means a “running to a job really quickly” on a Saturday afternoon between soccer games). He’s equally as fastidious about spreadsheets, budgets, and a little job communications tool called Basecamp. If you’re a sub, you might start picking up the pace when you see Josh’s truck pull up on site and let your buddies know that “corporate” is in the house, but you know that a finished Copperline product is always the best thing going in your portfolio.
In addition to Josh’s ability to keep the three-ring circus that is a major custom home build organized, within budget, and on time, he is remarkably creative and talented on the design end of his job. This is where Josh’s artist heart and his passion for his work really lies. If Josh had all the time in the world (he doesn’t) he would be personally designing all of those houses he’s building. Ask any interior designer he’s ever collaborated with, Josh has opinions, about EVERYTHING. And we all hate to admit it, but he’s usually right.
Outside of the office and away from the jobsite Josh is as busy and exacting as he is at work. Living in Central Oregon has slowly rubbed off on him and it seems like he picks up a new hobby or sport every year or two. In addition to becoming a cycling nut (road, mountain, gravel, cyclocross- he’s up for all of it), Josh geeks out on fly fishing, snowboarding, cross country skiing, and anything that comes along with adventuring with his two little boys and wife in their Airstream in the summertime. He’s an excellent cook, has a passion for delicious food and drink, loves live music and is a pretty darn good self-taught guitarist. Bottom line, anything Josh tries, he tries to do well. It’s the first-born, type-A personality in him. He’s not satisfied unless he’s doing his best, and he sets a pretty high bar.
