About this user
Eric Lee Wathen was born February 8, 1975. He grew up in Lizton with his mother, Kathy, and younger brother Matt. Eric spent a lot of time on his grandparents, Walker and Betty Sharps, farm just down the road from his home. As a young teen, Eric worked summers as a corn de-tassler and bailing hay for local farmers. He attended North Salem Elementary and then Tri-West Hendricks High School where he graduated with an academics honors diploma in 1993. After graduating, he went on to attend Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. At Rose, Eric played football, volunteered at the campus radio station and was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering in 1997.
Upon graduation, Eric worked in Chicago as a field engineer. He worked in Chicago briefly and then returned home to an engineering firm in Indianapolis. At DLZ, Eric worked on road design as well as working in the field on construction projects. The mixture of his farm experience and his education help mold him into a great leader on the job sites.
In 1999, Eric married his high-school/college sweetheart, Ann. They lived in Lizton and then Speedway for the first 2 years of their marriage. In 2000, Eric ran for Hendricks County Council. Although he was unsuccessful, he made a good impression on the party and community and got to know many leaders. Eric and Ann have 4 sons, Zane, 8, Drew, 6, Tyler, 4 and Luke who will be 1 in May. Eric has been working for Rinker Materials for 6 years. He does technical marketing and sales for their concrete pipe division. Eric routinely speaks to large groups and meets one on one with his clients. Throughout his 6 years, at Rinker, he has been able to make strong connections and relationships with clients that include engineering firms, construction contractors and INDOT. It was this leadership and his interest in local politics that lead him to be encouraged to run for Hendricks County Commissioner. Eric successfully beat 3 other candidates in a party caucus in August of 2007. He immediately added a fresh young perspective to the county. His knowledge of business and infrastructure really added to the efficiency of how the county was run. In 2008, he ran a successful campaign and won another term as commissioner. Working toward completion of Ronald Reagan Parkways is perhaps what he is best known for. Eric has worked intently with surrounding counties, town and state officials to find ways to fund the construction of the parkways to connect I-70 to 1-74 and eventually through Boone County to I-65.
