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“Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it." Psalm 127:1
In 1994, the average price of gas was $1.09 per gallon and the rate of inflation was 2.61%. If you wanted to see one of the popular movies that year, like The Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump, or The Lion King, you would probably pay about $4.00 for your ticket. For those folks who preferred to stay home and watch TV, the top shows that year were Seinfeld and E.R.
One of the most enduring projects that we began to work on was the stabilization and eventual restoration of the badly deteriorated historic West Baden Springs and French Lick Springs Hotels in southern Indiana. The initial scope of the project began as a rescue mission in 1996 and was expanded until both hotels were completely restored and open for business in 2006-2007 as world-class destination hotels. In 1998, the West Baden Springs Hotel Restoration was named the Indiana Civil Engineering Project of the Year by the Indiana Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
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When Steve Kessinger decided to start a structural engineering firm in 1994, he considered several names for the company, but nothing seemed just right – until he remembered the moment he knew he wanted to become a structural engineer. He was looking at a bridge over Silver Creek in New Albany, Indiana, when he recognized his lifelong love of engineering for what it was and decided to make it his profession. On May 16, 1994, Silver Creek Engineering, Inc. was incorporated and soon opened its first office location at 1449 N. Pennsylvania Street in Indianapolis. Shortly after that, Kevin Hazel joined Steve as an owner and remained an important part of Silver Creek for over twenty years, until he passed away in 2015.
Silver Creek Engineering, Inc. turned 25 years old on May 16th, 2019! We are very grateful to everyone who has helped us reach this benchmark – and there are many more of you than we could ever hope to name here. Employees, clients, friends and family – you are the reason that Silver Creek has gone from being the new kid on the block 25 years ago to become a trusted and familiar name in the community. As we look back over the last 25 years, we realize that many things have changed all around us. Silver Creek Engineering has changed, too. We’re going to take some time over the next couple of weeks to look back to 1994 and remember what things were like in between then and now. We hope you’ll join us here.
Silver Creek Engineering is 25 Years Old!
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In 1999, Silver Creek Engineering turned 5 years old. The first five years brought more clients asking for our services and we added more employees to provide them. That included Jason Williams, who started working at Silver Creek in 1998, and Matt Owen, who joined the company in 1999. Both men began their careers as entry-level Staff Engineers. Over two decades later, they are Owners and Senior Structural Engineers at Silver Creek Engineering. They have not only developed their own professional skills, but have played important roles in the development and leadership of Silver Creek Engineering.
With more clients, more projects, and more employees, we soon outgrew our first office space and moved twice, finally relocating on the northwest side of Indianapolis.
In 1999, the average price of gas was $1.22 per gallon and the rate of inflation was 2.19%. Blockbuster movies such as Independence Day and The Titanic were among the highest-grossing movies during this time, along with the long-awaited fourth Star Wars film Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Five years after its debut in 1994, ER remained the most popular TV show in 1999, followed by Friends.
Much of the world held its collective breath overnight on December 31st, 1999. This was the moment of truth for Y2K, the name given to the idea that chaos would ensue if the world’s computers did not successfully manage the transition from 1999 to 2000. Perhaps thanks to foresight and preparation, the moment proved to be anticlimactic and we smoothly entered the 21st Century.
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During the first five years of the new century, Silver Creek Engineering continued to establish itself as a trusted provider of structural and site/civil engineering services throughout Indiana. But that was not enough to meet all our clients’ needs, particularly those who had projects located outside Indiana. So in order to serve these clients better, we acquired the appropriate licensing for additional states. At this point, acting in response to our clients’ needs, we are licensed to offer structural engineering services in thirty-one states. You can find a list of these states on our website at www.sceindy.com/licensing.
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Because we are committed to providing our clients with the services they need within their established budget and timeline, we continued to add employees during this period.
Scott Szentes, who is a Professional Engineer and Professional Geologist, joined Silver Creek in 2001. He is now a Senior Structural Engineer and an Owner, working with clients and mentoring young engineers who come to Silver Creek as recent graduates, ready to start their careers.
In 2003 Mark Frossard came to work at Silver Creek Engineering as a Staff Engineer. He has also moved up to become a Senior Structural Engineer and is working alongside Steve, Jason, Matt, and Scott as an Owner and leader.
Together these five owners bring decades of experience as Professional Engineers and Project Managers; together they preserve Silver Creek’s reputation for professional commitment and integrity.
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In 2005, Jameson (Jamie) Owens, our CAD Technician, joined Silver Creek Engineering. He has been an important part of the team ever since.
The United States was attacked on September 1, 2001 when terrorists hijacked four U.S. passenger planes, flying two of them into the World Trade Center in New York City and one into the Pentagon. The fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people, including hundreds of first responders, were killed in the attacks that morning. The impact of those events would be felt around the world for years to come as the United States declared war on terrorism.
In 2005, the average price of gas was $3.18 per gallon and inflation was 3.39%. Four of the most successful movies from 2000 – 2005 were sequels or series installments: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone; The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; Shrek 2; and Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith. The popular TV show The Gilmore Girls launched its seven-year run in 2000, while Friends ended its seven-year run in 2004.
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The next five years, from 2006 through 2010, were not marked by any significant event or changes at Silver Creek Engineering. Instead we focused on doing what we do well – and continued to find ways to do it better. What we do well is listen carefully to our clients to understand what they need and then use our expertise and experience to meet that need. Continuing education allows our engineers to keep adding to their knowledge and experience, as well as enabling them to acquire new tools and skills that benefit our clients and our company.
Silver Creek Engineering is all about providing structural and site/civil engineering services. But in order to do that, we have to stay in business! Molly Vaughn, our Controller, and Amy Wesner, our Business Manager, handle the endless administrative tasks that are a part of any business. Molly started working part-time at Silver Creek Engineering when she was 14, joining her father and mother, Steve and Alice Kessinger. Years later, after completing her Bachelor’s degree at Indiana University and her Master’s degree at the University of Kentucky, she returned to Indianapolis and eventually began working full-time at Silver Creek Engineering, first as the Office Manger and later as Controller. Amy Wesner, who also graduated from Indiana University, began working at Silver Creek as the company’s Business Manager the same year. 2019 marks ten years of full-time employment at Silver Creek Engineering for both of these ladies.
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Molly Vaughn
Amy Wesner
Three of the top movies in the five year period were sequels: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Spider Man 3, and Toy Story 3. Although it wasn’t a sequel, The Dark Knight was yet another attempt at interpreting the angst of Batman. Avatar was a movie without equal or sequel, at least so far, although there have been rumors.
During this five-year period, the price of a U.S. stamp rose to 44 cents and inflation in 2010 was 1.64%.
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The average price of a gallon of gas was $3.03 in 2006, rose to $3.39 in 2008, and then dropped to $2.73 in 2010.
From 2011 to 2015, Silver Creek continued to provide engineering services to both new and established clients. At this point, it was becoming hard to travel around Indianapolis, or even Indiana, without running into (not literally, we hope) a structure that Silver Creek Engineering helped design, modify, stabilize, analyze, renovate, or restore.
In 2014, Ryan Hom, a Purdue University graduate, joined our engineering team as a Staff Engineer. Ryan has continued to develop his engineering skills and experience and today he is a Project Engineer at Silver Creek.
One of the hardest days for Silver Creek Engineering was April 23, 2015, when Kevin Hazel unexpectedly passed away at age 47. Kevin joined the company shortly after Steve founded it in 1994 and was the President of Silver Creek Engineering when he died. He was an integral part of the company and his contributions to its success were notable and long-lasting. He has been greatly missed by both clients and coworkers. You can read more about Kevin on our website by clicking this link: https://www.sceindy.com/kevin-hazel.
The U.S. inflation rate in 2011 was 3.16% and continued to decrease during the next four years until it reached 0.12% in 2015. The price of gas changed from $3.52 per gallon in 2011 to $2.40 per gallon in 2015. In 2015, the average price of a movie ticket was $8.43. American Sniper in 2014 was the only highest-grossing movie that was not part of a larger franchise, notably The Avengers, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and Star Wars.
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On May 2, 2011, Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. Special Forces in Pakistan. On November 6, 2012, U.S. President Barack Obama was reelected to a second term.
And in England, the body of King Richard III was discovered under a car park in Leicester – more than 500 years after his death. The car park was built on the site of the Battle of Bosworth, where Richard met his death in 1485. After extensive testing, including matching DNA to two of Richard’s living descendants, it was accepted by the scientific community that these were indeed the remains of King Richard III. In 2015, the King was reinterred at Leicester Cathedral with all the pomp and circumstance due a king.
Showing herself to be of heartier stock than the royal Richard, Harriette Thompson became the oldest woman to complete a marathon when she ran the San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in a time of 7:24:36 in 2015. She was 92 years and 93 days old.
Jacob Ullom (left), a graduate of Trine University, and Tom Sweeney (right), a Notre Dame grad, began their professional careers at Silver Creek Engineering as Staff Engineers in the summer of 2016.
In 2017, Aaron Jacobs (left), a North Carolina University alum, moved to Indiana and to Silver Creek Engineering. Our newest Staff Engineer is Alex Mejia (right), who joined us in 2018, after graduating from Purdue University.
Together with the more experienced engineers at Silver Creek, they help to create and sustain an atmosphere of learning and development. Continuing education for employees of all experience levels is an important tool that enables us to deliver the best service possible to our clients.
The rate of inflation was 1.26% in 2016 and continued to climb over the next two years, ending at 2.44% in 2018. Postage stamps cost $0.49 each at the beginning of 2016, but were then decreased to $0.47 in April. However, this trend lasted less than a year, and by 2018 it had climbed to $0.50. In 2019, it was increased by a significant five cents to $0.55. This last rate was challenged in court and the cost of the stamp stays at $0.55 until the outcome of the lawsuit is determined. From 2016-2018, the Star Wars franchise claimed 2 of the 3 top movies, with Rogue One and The Last Jedi. Marvel had the top movie in 2018 when Black Panther made his screen debut.
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Some outcomes of 2019 have not been determined at this writing in October, 2019. However, one anniversary has successfully come and gone: on May 16, 2019, Silver Creek Engineering turned 25 years old!!! We regret that we have only been able to name a few of the many friends, family members, and clients who have supported our efforts and contributed to our past, present, and future. However, we appreciate and value each of you and thank you for helping us reach this special milestone in the life of Silver Creek Engineering.
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