2021 was an outstanding year, and I’m grateful for our excellent clients and great staff. The most exciting highlight of the year included our announcement of Sain’s new company ownership program and the addition of three new associates – Nathan Currie, Paul Gilliam, and Jeff Stephenson.
It was an award-winning year at Sain. Awards included:
- ACEC of Alabama Engineering Excellence Awards: Prattville Industrial Park South (Honor Award – Transportation)
- ABC of Alabama Excellence in Construction Awards: Valley Hotel in Homewood (1st Place for Civil Engineering)
- ABC of North Alabama Excellence in Construction Awards: Valley Hotel in Homewood (Award of Excellence – Engineering)
- Alabama Chapter of the American Planning Association: Project Prattville 2040 (Outstanding Planning Award for a Comprehensive Plan)
Other highlights included:
- We added ten staff members this year, and we continued to grow and diversify our Huntsville branch office.
- Jennifer Brown was presented with the 4th annual Spirit of Lauren Award.
- Our staff was very involved in community and professional organizations.
- Erin Curry, from our Pulaski, Tennessee office, continued to serve on the Giles County Commission.
- Our Sales Leader group completed sales training.
- Jim Meads was elected as ACEC Alabama’s National Director.
- I was recognized in Birmingham Business Journal’s Building Birmingham Showcase.
- We continued to expand our work for municipalities, counties, and DOTs with new projects in Irondale, Auburn, Dothan, Opelika, Prattville, Huntsville, Birmingham, Anniston, Pell City, Hoover, Mountain Brook, Phenix City, St. Clair County, Calhoun County, Autauga County, Elmore County, and other cities/counties.
- The Industrial Economic Development market continued to be a bright spot for us in 2021. This included work with Jefferson County Economic and Industrial Development Authority, Central Alabama Electric Cooperative, Hoar Construction, Dunn Building Company, ARCO, Doster, and others. Also, we landed an engineering services contract for the largest non-automotive project in the last twenty years in McCalla, Alabama – a 1.2 Billion food and beverage project.
- We assisted our clients in pursuing grant projects, including TAP, Industrial Access Road, EDA, and ATRIP II.
- We provided GIS services for Broadband masterplans.
- Our work in the commercial sector included projects with Retail Specialists and Capstone Real Estate Investments.
- We continued to grow and diversify our transportation planning and design services in Alabama and Tennessee with new project assignments from TDOT, ALDOT, and several MPOs.
- Our work in the residential market included projects with Tower Homes, Retail Specialists, and Bill Thornton.
- We started new projects with Huntsville Madison County Airport Authority and Madison County Executive Airport.
Although 2021 included many high points, it also had several lows for our Sain family, including the passing of former president Randy Sain, Jim Meads’ twin grandsons, Tucker and Bennett Meads, and business development consultant Preston Huddleston. We think of these individuals daily and are thankful for their impact on our lives. We also appreciate the many expressions of condolence from our industry partners and friends.
While we are optimistic heading into 2022, the biggest challenge that remains is COVID-19 and its impact on the industry. We appreciate our friends and clients who have helped to sustain our business this past year and going forward. We wish all of you a healthy and better 2022.