Not your typical dictionary definition? Perhaps not, but we at Anderson & Associates know this definition to be true, as proven by Project Engineer, Kelly Henshaw.

Shortly after earning her Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech four years ago, Kelly began working at A&A. Her depth of experience is not limited to one discipline, but instead covers site development, environmental issues, road design, utilities, stormwater, and wastewater. Kelly wears many hats at A&A's Middletown office, as well as outside of work. She is a wife and a mother, and she also teaches a dual enrollment course, Engineering Graphics and Computer Aided Drafting, for Lord Fairfax Community College at Strasburg High School. In addition to these courses, Kelly also volunteers her time leading the children’s choirs and youth group with her husband at their church.

When asked what a typical day is like for her, Kelly responds,
"It is crazy!" Her schedule varies from week to week, depending on personal and professional project demands. "Working for A&A allows me to not only be a mom, wife, and teacher, but also to be involved with my church, its music program, and its youth."

The neighborhood of Morningside Homes, chosen as the reconstruction site, was a focus of national attention on November 3, 1979, for a tragic confrontation between the Ku Klux Klan and the Communist Worker’s Party. In its place, the new community of Willow Oaks will be home to people of mixed-incomes and will include townhomes and single-family residences.

To initiate the project, the residents were relocated, buildings were razed, streets were demolished, and then the rebuilding process began.

Anderson & Associates was contacted to help facilitate the design of this redevelopment. A&A suggested low level photogrammetry as a cost effective method to collect topographic features. In an effort to also preserve nature’s work, large trees were later identified for size and species by field inspection. Another cost savings alternative that A&A suggested used the recently completed City of Greensboro stormwater network inventory, eliminating the need to collect stormwater information.

Once design was complete, A&A provided construction layout for the new infrastructure which was recently completed. A&A also provided construction layout for the first group of homes known as the Villas. The second group, known as The Townhomes are currently under construction and will be finished this fall. A&A is also working on mapping and monumenting approximately 100 new lots as part of Phase I.

"Working hand in hand with the designers, the developers, and the construction firms involved with this project has been very exciting," says Michael Davis, A&A Project Manager. "It has been really rewarding to be a part of this dynamic project. Replacing the old Morningside Homes with the new Willow Oaks will have a tremendous impact on the quality of life for the residents of this once depressed section of Greensboro."