Yep, that’s me—one of the “Class of ‘67 rookies.” CH2M had “more than 300 employees and four offices in the Pacific Northwest” as stated in the tri-fold brochure that I’ve kept in my file. Noted cohorts (all of us with our short hair/flattops/buzz cuts in the photos) included Don Marske, Joe Maurais, Rick Reid, Roger Bissell, John Turner, and Phil Hall.
It doesn’t seem that long ago that Mary and I (on Spring break and job interviewing up the west coast with our 2-year-old in the back of our VW) rolled into Corvallis where I fortunately ended up with an impromptu interview with Fred Merryfield. The interview was practically a religious experience for me. I came away so fired up about becoming a consultant that I could hardly wait to say, “Yes” to the offer.
Gordon, circa 1970
What then started on June 19, 1967, was the most fun and fulfilling experience an engineer could ask for. The key was the leadership of our founding fathers, the staff they had hired, and the incredible mentoring we all received over the years. Toss in the bi-weekly (bringyour-own brownbag) luncheons to cover all aspects of studies, design, client development, and related topics presented by the best CVO designers and PMs — life couldn’t be better. John Filbert schooled me in the nuances of wastewater treatment plant design while Dick Humphrey taught me about collection system studies and design with my first one being for Bend, OR. Now that was an experience! Prior to our work, their “system” discharged sewage outside of town to an open ditch, which flowed to a depressed area underlain with lava tubes/crevasses and “disappeared” since the early 1900s.
However, times were changing. As the company grew, thanks in a great part to the generous EPA grant program, there was a real need to build staff in new or expanding offices. The writing was on the wall: move, grow, and advance in the company. So Mary and I packed up (as many had done and even more would do), left “Mecca,” and moved to the Portland office in 1974. I was very fortunate to work on a PDX project with Les Wierson prior to the move for the Kihei, Maui, wastewater system. It was hard to consider that as work. Les had the knack of developing work well beyond the small PDX region: American Samoa, Guam, Japan, Middle-east, and Europe. PDX was an exciting place to be! It had a reputation for folks stretching their limits about how to serve new clients and new areas. We all enjoyed our “Chicken Thursday’s” after-hours meeting (KFC and liquid refreshments served) where anything was fair game for discussion with Joe Worth usually as moderator. BD, projects, client service (or lack thereof), office issues, who’s doing what, etc. made for lively evenings.
Then one day Dann Madden asked me to lunch in March 1983. Little did I know that he would propose a “1-year assignment” working with Carter and Burgess in Dallas to see if we could develop a presence in Texas. Needless to say, this proposal did not receive a lot of enthusiasm from Mary and the girls. But, as many before us had done and because CH2M HILL had really been good to us, we packed up and made the move. The next few years were a blur for us all. We were successful in obtaining work with many regional firms by providing the technical support for their developed clients. Teaming also provided opportunities for opening other offices such as the Edwards Aquifer job for the San Antonio office and a JV (named Lake Travis Consultants) with B&V to design WTP 4 for the Austin office.
As we added local engineers, more transfers, and developed our own relationships with clients, the Texas operations grew into a competitive force that continued to expand in services and expertise.
It wasn’t always easy to build from the grass roots level. We added local staff as fast as we could in Dallas like Glen Middleton, David Lewis, and Ron Sieger and transferred in as many as would come; however, not everyone stayed or enjoyed the “start-up” phase of the business (much less some of the weather challenges). In the early years, we had multiple nameplates and offices for anyone who came in to assist with projects and filled the bookshelves with our old college books and spread papers on the desk to give the office that “lived-in look” (anything to help appear local and well staffed!). Luckily, we had great leadership and guidance provided by Bob Pailthorp, Phil Hall, Steve Aasheim, and Kent Robinson.
In 1995, we moved to Austin and thoroughly enjoyed our work with the Austin staff and clients. We’d still be there if not for our first grandchild arriving back in Dallas. We moved back in 2000 with family close by. My transition to part-time and flex-time went smoothly over the past few years and enabled me to continue supporting the DFW and AUS offices, staff, and clients.
Now I fill a good part of my time as the Retiree/Alumni newsletter editor, helping with the Alumni History website development, and the CH Retiree/Emeritus Retreats (held in Sun Valley September 14-17 this year). Mary and I do a lot of traveling and family activities with our kids/grandkids so close, tennis, and jogging. We are most grateful for the many good years and friends within the company. Life is good!