Tony Harris, now the principal construction inspector at the Port of Long Beach, has been working in construction since he was 18 years old. A Long Beach local, Harris started working for a small construction company after high school. He then took a position with the gas department at the City of Long Beach, where he primarily worked on digging ditches and putting pipes in the ground before advancing into a role in inspection. About seven years ago, this experience led Harris to his position at the port’s construction management division. Harris said one of the reasons he was drawn to the port was the opportunity to work on different aspects of construction. “There are so many different things that go on down here that the challenges are never ending,” he said. Harris mainly oversees site inspection assignments for construction projects while coordinating with tenants, terminal managers and maintenance division personnel. Harris has worked on capital projects such as the construction of racks for reefers, which are refrigerated storage units for containers, at the port’s Middle Harbor terminal. His work now solely focuses on overseeing high-priority construction projects on an on-call basis. One of the projects he is currently overseeing is the restoration of a rock dike, which protects the coast against ocean waves, by the harbor. Harris credits his joy of coming to the job to the people he works with. “I’ve had so many good mentors throughout the years down here in the harbor department in particular,” he said.