More than 32 years ago, a young man from Scranton quit his high school teaching job to start working for a mine company in what would be one of the best career moves of his life.

Terry Hildestad, who started as an assistant foreman at Knife RiverCoal Mining Co.'s mine in Gascoyne in 1974, eventually moved through the ranks to head that MDU Resources Group Inc. subsidiary in 1991.

"When Itook the job at the mining company, it was like taking a vacation every day,"Hildestad said. "(Idid)something different every day."

And today, the North Dakota native feels the same way.

But now Hildestad heads the entire parent company, MDUResources Group, taking the place of former chief executive officer Martin White as of this fall.

Hildestad's co-workers and former boss speak highly of the new CEO's commitment, integrity and values, and the way he approaches work.

"His integrity and his just good principles were very important to me,"said White, who is now dean of the University of Mary's Tharaldson School of Business and Technology. "Aperson can't run an organization and do it effectively without that integrity."

White and Hildestad worked closely together for about 15 years, and in his last year, White prepared and mentoredHildestad for the position.

Bill Schneider, who now heads Knife River Corp., said that mentoring plan and Hildestad's previous experience were what will make the new CEOan exceptionally successful leader.

"It's been great working for Terry. He has been with the company for 30-some years,"Schneider said. "And he came up from the bottom, which is something Ihave a great deal of respect for."

Starting as the assistant foreman for the coal company, Hildestad's co-workers say he constantly showed commitment to growing the company.

That commitment paid off, his co-workers say.

"First of all, I think, when you're evaluating an executive to run a corporation, one of the things you have to look at is their ability to grow an organization,"White said. "He took Knife River from a small North Dakota mining company and built it into one of the top five construction material companies in America."

In fact, in the past decade, MDUResources has added nearly 100 companies to its corporation. Its Knife River alone acquired three companies this year.

Hildestad attributes the growth to his co-workers, employees and the full team's commitment, but sees opportunities in the way acquired companies are run. His focus with MDU's growth will be efficiency, he says.

But what's intrigued him most about his jobs within the MDUResources Group is that no day is the same, with new challenges and surprises. Like being on a vacation, he says.

And being from North Dakota, he's pleased that the company is headquartered in Bismarck.

"It's a good place to live and a good place to grow and raise a family," said Hildestad, who's also an avid outdoorsman.

In fact, every time he flies back into Bismarck from being out of state for meetings, he says he smiles to himself as the city comes into view.

"We're just delighted (the company)is in Bismarck,"he said. "It's a great place to do business."

Family is something that those who've worked with the CEOsay is very important to him. In fact, Schneider said Hildestad's strong family values reflect in his daily work ethic.

"Terry's a real strong family guy. His relationship with Kathy, his three daughters and his grandchildren, speaks highly of him and his integrity,"Schneider said.

Heading a company that employs nearly 1,000 people in state and nearly 13,500 people nationwide and does business in 44 states and three other countries isn't intimidating to Hildestad, who will always enjoy going to work every day.

His personal goals reflect the goals of the company:To continue to add value to the shareholders, keep a safe and enjoyable workplace, and continue to grow the company. But he said when he started at the company 32 years ago, he had never set the goal to be president.

"I've always enjoyed what Ido,"Hildestad said. "Certainly I wanted to do a good job."

Both White and Schneider are confident in Hildestad's abilities, and say that his character and integrity and his management team will pay off when it comes to making difficult decisions.

"He'll have challenges, he'll have lots of challenges," White said.

"Sometimes when you have a challenge, how you deal with it depends on integrity. He's a good person; he's a smart person."