Chris Blue

Biographical Info I’ll admit, when I sat down to write this, I had writer’s block for a couple days, not sure of what to say. GSN is full of people who have built careers and legacies in the mining industry. I’ve only been working in it for a little over four years now, so what could I tell you that you’d want to read? Well, it occurred to me that the membership of GSN has not only had careers in mining, they’re passionate about it and about the field of geology. So let me tell you some about me, and what I’m passionate about. I was born and raised here in Reno, and I’ve always had a love for the mountains and desert landscape around me. Whenever I’ve travelled somewhere with no mountains on the horizon, I’ve felt out of place. I grew up hiking all over the valley, hunting for crystals, swimming and fishing in the Truckee river and Pyramid lake, camping in Dog Valley, Going to Cowboy Poetry events in Elko, and visiting family and friends in Fallon. I love Northern Nevada, and as much as I’ve travelled to other parts of world, nothing can quite compare. The only place that has come close for me would be Alaska. At a young age I was lucky enough to go with my dad up to Prince William Sound and spend time in a fishing lodge that he would work at in the summers. While I already knew how to fish, doing so up there was an entirely different experience. I’ve only gotten to go up and fish there a handful of times in my life, but the natural beauty is second to none (and so is the fishing), and each trip is an experience I’ll never forget. Despite spending as much time outside as I could, I was still a pretty nerdy kid, and from as young as I can remember, I would lose myself in books. I’ve always had a very active imagination and reading fed into that. I’d daydream about adventures happening to me as I would walk to school or to a friend’s house. My imagination and my fondness for reading eventually turned into a love of writing, and I enjoy writing short stories to this day. As I grew older and moved through school and into college it became very apparent that math was not my strong suit, and that any degree in the sciences would require more math classes than I felt comfortable with. So I turned that love of books and stories into a study and became an English major at the University of Nevada Reno. Throughout most of my time in college I was juggling school as well as two jobs. For my final year, I was working at the SPCA (where I’d already been working for four years), taking care of the dogs and cats and sending them to good homes (over the five years that I worked there I somehow managed to only bring home one dog and one cat). My other job at that point was a part-time administrative assistant position at SUN Technical Services, a recruiting agency that specialized in staffing for the nuclear power industry. In 2010 I graduated with my Bachelor of Arts in English, and a few months later I left the SPCA and took a full time position with SUN Technical. I spent the next year taking on more and more duties, until eventually the head of the recruiting department offered me a promotion and an opportunity to learn the art of recruiting. I recruited nuclear engineers and technicians of all kinds, and in doing so I learned about the plants they worked in and the processes they go through on a daily basis. Over the years an interest became a passion, and though I haven’t worked in that industry now for years, I still eagerly follow it and the news of new advancements in the field. During those years I taught myself another skill. Being sick of typical college/bachelor pad type food, I learned how to cook. The first few attempts were at least edible and each attempt after those first few got progressively better (except for an occasional mishap). I began cooking for family and friends, and was soon hosting Thanksgiving dinners for thirty or more people, a tradition that has carried on for 12 years so far. It was for those Thanksgiving meals that I first started using a smoker (for a turkey). Since then I’ve become quite adept at creating my own recipes, of all kinds, from smoked duck to jambalaya and especially Alaskan salmon. In 2018 I had another opportunity to go fishing in Alaska. This time on the Tsiu River, a small stream east of the Copper River Delta that cuts a new course every spring through miles of alluvial deposits. I was there for just over a week and brought home fifty pounds of salmon, most of which ended up on the smoker. At that point I had been working for Geotemps / Geopros for a couple years since Sarah Lightner recruited me for an open Staffing Manager position back in 2016. Soon after starting I went to my first GSN meeting at the Elk’s Lodge. A few awkward introductions later and I was ready for the next meeting. Those first few months of meeting, interviewing, and drinking with the geologists in the area and the members of GSN, I began to learn more about the land around me and the joy of exploration geology, much like I had previously learned about the nuclear industry. Since then it has become a passion of mine as well and I eagerly follow new developments. What does most of this article have to do with geology? Well, not much to be honest. But like I’ve said many times before, everyone needs an English major around from time to time, even if it’s just to double check your emails for grammar. And despite my relatively little time in the industry so far, and my arts degree, GSN has welcomed me into the fold and made me feel like one of the family. There is no other industry and no other place that I would rather be working and living in than right here in the mining community of Nevada with each and every one of you.

Email Address cblue@geotemps.com

Company Geotemps, Inc.

Position Technical Recruiter

Phone 775-335-6508

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