Gresham Smith Celebrates People, Projects and Practice at Annual Firmwide Event

April 16, 2019

Gresham Smith employees gathered to recognize award recipients and numerous promotions at the firm’s annual Celebration event on Thursday, April 11. All Gresham Smith staff joined together in-person and via livestream broadcast from the Country Music Hall of Fame for a panel discussion with the firm’s executive leaders and to honor the many achievements of employees, projects and practice over the past year. After-parties in each Gresham Smith office were also held following the firmwide event.

“This is the first Celebration with our new name of Gresham Smith, an annual event that’s enjoyed by the entire firm of nearly one thousand employees in 24 office locations,” said Al Pramuk, chief executive officer. “Award recipients and those receiving promotions from each of our offices came to the event in Nashville, along with their spouse, partner or guest, to be recognized and celebrate together. The event embraces the spirit of our brand promise and tagline, “Genuine Ingenuity,” giving every employee the chance to take a break from their normal routine and enjoy each other. It’s an event we look forward to year after year.

A new award, the Power of Collaboration Award, was established to recognize individuals or teams that are living out the firm’s core value of Teamwork. This year’s award was presented to two recipients: an individual and a team. Tim Beecken, an architect in Gresham Smith’s Aviation market, received the individual award for his commitment to fostering and strengthening cross-team and cross-market communication, hosting lunch and learns to share technology tips and tricks, and using his talents to support project delivery and pursuit efforts in multiple markets. Gresham Smith’s Louisville Land Planning and Transportation groups received the team award for their commitment to cross-market, cross-office collaboration through outreach, face-to-face internal meetings, and collaborative, synergistic approaches to project pursuits and deliverables.

The annual Award for Innovation (formerly the Edgar Powers, Jr., Memorial Award) celebrates an employee or group of employees showcasing innovation and ingenuity in their work by incorporating advanced technology or design thinking to improve our projects and client service. This year’s award was presented to Chris Gaddes, a CADD Technician in the firm’s Industrial market who works full-time at the General Motors Spring Hill Manufacturing Plant. His passion for 3D modeling technology and 3D printing has helped him spearhead the creation and production of numerous cost-effective tools for use in GM’s vehicle manufacturing processes.

The annual Sustainability Leadership Award honors an employee or group of employees who embody the firm’s commitment to a clean, safe and healthy environment and develop extraordinarily innovative and sustainable solutions for projects and clients. This year’s award was presented to the Kaiser Permanente Bowie Medical Center project team. The cross-market team of dedicated staff designed the facility to meet LEED v4, one of the first projects at Gresham Smith to implement the criteria. Additionally, they volunteered to create a successful series of webinars to share the LEED v4 criteria with fellow employees.

The annual Community Impact Award recognizes an employee who has positively impacted his or her community and possesses stand-out leadership, passion, self-motivation and commitment to service. This year’s award was presented to Valarie Franklin, AIA, an architect in Gresham Smith’s Nashville office. From her work to start a Nashville chapter of the National Organization for Minority Architects to her mentoring efforts with impressionable youth, Franklin is passionate about using her voice, talents and time to help to solve problems for underserved and underrepresented members of her community.

Additionally, it was announced that 15 projects will be featured in this year’s Showcase, the firm’s annual collection of internally-nominated, externally-judged projects highlighting a variety of disciplines and markets. Projects were judged for their complexity, innovation, social and environmental responsibility, and client satisfaction and success. Showcase stories, images and videos will be unveiled later this year.

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