On our fifth anniversary in business, I could not be prouder of how far we have expanded our reach, strengthened our operational foundation, and enriched our skills as a collective since our first launch. No matter how many years you spend working for other people’s firms, crafting your own from the ground up is unequivocally different. From setting a cultural table where people will enjoy and stay in their jobs, to bringing best practices in project delivery from across different pockets of the industry, it has been a great joy to be able to define the “Talisman way” in so much more detail this year.

While this year brought us continued COVID challenges, but despite this continued pandemic roller coaster, we still experienced unprecedented growth in terms of project reach and client impact. We brought incredible new repeat clients into the fold, connected with dozens of new design partners and collaborators, and grew our talented team. We also wrapped up the year by celebrating another one of our long-time teammates, Dustin Kimbrough, completing the requirements for earning his Professional Engineering license. This brings our team now to seven licensed professionals, up from just two five years ago.

As we have continued to adapt to a flexible work schedule, mixing home-based work and office-based work into our weeks, we also had the opportunity to expand our office home base, absorbing another 3,000 square feet of space within our South Main Street building.

Our team has also grown together a great deal. We have collaborated much more across project teams and learned from each other’s past experiences. We also instituted a fantastic new Talisman Family Fall Fest event, bringing together clients, partners, and our families to enjoy some good times away from the proverbial to-do list. Our team also spent a good deal of time refining our quality control procedures to better set us up for even more consistent success in the years to come.

But I would be remiss to not mention a terrible loss we also went through collectively in 2021. After bringing aboard a senior leader in the region’s engineering industry, George Benford, who quickly became a valued mentor, colleague, and friend to so many of us; we had to say goodbye far too soon when he passed away on October 13^th. In his short time with our team, George made a great impact on each of us, and impressed our clients a great deal. He is already missed.

Thanks to each of our clients who continue to invest in partnership with us for the enrichment of our lives and our communities. We are excited to see the great new plans we collectively deliver around the region in the year ahead.

Sincerely,

Ryan Cathey, P.E. | President
Talisman Civil Consultants