First off, how is it that in the blink of an eye, we’ve spent 30 years at this gig? And 43 in the profession? What?

Time moves too quickly.

When we started the firm in the spring of 1995, I was 34 years old; Karla and I had a son who was not quite five and a daughter not quite three.  We’d been trying to move the firm we worked for, the Office of Robert Perron, to a partnership or corporation; long-time staff in Portland and Spokane wanted an ownership stake in the firm, which was a sole proprietorship at the time. We spent time putting together a viable business plan as vetted by the Portland accounting staff and senior staff, but Bob was reluctant to move ahead with that change.

We had a difficult decision to make: the Spokane staff and Portland alike.

On April 7, 1995, I decided to resign. Ken Van Voorhis followed immediately; Tom Pratt, our other founding partner, followed a few days later as he was on vacation when we pulled the ejection seat handle.

Awkward, to say the least.  And, terrifying, not knowing where the next paycheck was coming from.

Bob, Landscape Architect for Expo 74 and Riverfront Park, ‘guru of landscape architecture in the Inland Northwest’ as my mentor Len Zickler correctly stated, accepted our resignations with grace and gave our newly formed firm, T. C. Sherry & Associates, about $100K in work to do on Day One.  He transferred numerous contracts to us, desiring only to be paid for outstanding balances and to retain just a few of his old friends as clients.

On Monday, April 24, 1995, we opened the doors in a tiny office in the Symons building, which comprised four hundred and fifty square feet of space.

Needless to say, we were stunned by Bob’s graciousness. Bob has been gone several years now, but I will never forget his act of kindness, mentorship, guidance, and desire to expand the profession in Spokane and better our community, region, and relationship with the environment. Through him, our firm established a long-term relationship with Gonzaga University that extends to this day. We’re a company that holds servant leadership as a core value, and we’ve been honored to work with dozens of clients over more than 2,500 projects in our 30 years of service.

While Tom Pratt is no longer with the company, we recognize his contribution and his value to the profession, which still continues at another firm.

Our client 001 is Gonzaga University. Guided by Gonzaga’s overall vision and mission, we’ve helped create a world-class campus since 1987, transforming a neighborhood into a true campus experience. As a Protestant kid, I’ve enjoyed learning of the deep faith on that campus and in the Jesuit community and seeing the connections across denominations. Getting to help create a place of enduring belief, a shrine to the Madonna where one can find solace while enveloped by the chaotic world around us, was a unique gift.

Without the trust that our clients have placed in us, we would not have been successful in serving our region and, I hope, bettering our environment for the generations to come. Those partnerships and the knowledge that what we do can impact people in our communities for decades make this work profoundly meaningful.

Spokane is a very different place than in 1974 when I decided, at the age of 14 during Expo ’74, that I wanted to be a landscape architect.

Bob Perron was the L.A. for both Expo and Riverfront Park, and when I saw how the Expo site had transformed, I knew I wanted to do that for a living. To work for the guy who designed the Fair site and Riverfront Park and later manage the firm was an incredible opportunity that I will never forget.

There are far too many people to thank for the time and work we’ve done in the region—many, many clients and friends deeply committed to serving their communities by building better places to work, learn, compete, and enjoy our time here.  It has been a true honor to work with all of you to improve our region, serve the public, and enhance our environment. Thank you all for placing your faith in us to serve for the past thirty years, and we hope for many years to come.