by Kelly Chapman

Where we’ve been…
A lot of things happened in the summer of 1968. The Yankees turned their 21st triple
play in the club’s history, Don Drysdale pitched a record 58th consecutive scoreless inning, and Bobby Bonds hit a grand slam in his major league debut. As you can probably tell, baseball is a big part of my life, but something else happened in the summer of ’68 that has become important to me as well, and that was the birth of Anderson & Associates, Inc. (A&A). This was the year that thirty year-old Virginia Tech Masters student Ken Anderson would bring his vision to life.
As most good things do, A&A started out small. Very small, in fact. The infant firm grew to 13 employees and moved from Ken’s home to the Ardmore Street headquarters in Blacksburg before the end of the 70’s. During the 80’s, while the Red Sox were making a trip to the World Series and the Mets were winning it, A&A was growing to 63 employees, establishing a North Carolina office in Greensboro, and implementing an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. 1990 began a time of ups and downs for the firm. While answering the challenges that came with the mini-recession during the early 90’s, Anderson & Associates was spreading its wings, opening offices in Richmond, Middletown, and Fredericksburg, Virginia and in Gray, Tennessee. Other milestones were reached before the turn of the century, such as the addition of 7,000 square feet to the headquarters in Blacksburg, being named company of the year by the ESOP Mid-Atlantic Chapter, and making its debut on ENR’s Top 500 list. And so, 35 years after Brave Hank Aaron hit his 500th home run off of Giant Mike McCormick, here we are…

Today, Anderson & Associates is more than 160 strong with 5 offices spanning three states. A unique, orange chocolate custard company in this everyday, vanilla world of calculations and measurements, (I like ice cream, too), A&A continues to cultivate its people and foster new and imaginative ways to provide professional services to an array of clients. Known as an organization where creativity transcends conformity, A&A is also a place where Vice Presidents wear casual attire, where all employees have access to company financial information via the firm’s Intranet, and where clients take precedence over all else. Our patrons still enjoy receiving the Ampersand, also celebrating an anniversary (15 years), only today, more than 400 people take advantage of the online version of the publication. Our services now include web-enabled Geographic Information Systems, computer simulation and web site development, and video and multimedia production. The addition and maturation of these services in the last ten years has not only enhanced our traditional service capabilities and expanded our range of expertise, but it has also given A&A a solid foundation for growth and success as we head toward the second half of the 21st Century and beyond.

Growth has always been a priority at A&A, but the focus of the firm is not on being the biggest, it is on being the best. And in these 35 years, we have learned that being the best comes from the growth of the three most important ingredients that come together to create this casserole that is Anderson & Associates: its people, its services, and its client base. At A&A, employees are presented with a palpable pattern of growth from the beginning and an environment in which any employee can create his or her own opportunities for advancement. The firm’s services and office locations are also given vast opportunities for expansion and growth and are continuously evolving. Whether it’s the development of our fiscal impact modeling service or the evolution of our railroad engineering operations, whether it’s an office in West Virginia or abroad, you never know into which region or service arena we’ll be venturing next. One thing is for sure, however. Just as Cy Young was an influence in the sport of baseball and an inspiration to pitchers everywhere, Anderson & Associates will continue to provide leadership and innovation within the industry and will faithfully utilize its qualified personnel and technological aptitude to improve the quality and timeliness of engineering practices. &

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