As the sun slowly sets on 2021 and with the dawn of 2022 on the horizon, it is a perfect time to ponder on all this year was. After the trials and tribulations of 2020, we looked at 2021 to be a promising fresh start. We stepped into the new year with cautious optimism and were greeted with an insurgence at our Nation’s Capital. The pandemic continued to rage on, exhausting our emotional health all the while the impending widespread release of a vaccine provided a glimmer of future normalcy. Yet, this newfound sense of normalcy has faced challenges along the way. 2021 has been a continuous ebb and flow of progress forward and steps back.
The wavering nature of 2021 has at times seemed like a fork in the road – with two paths to potentially travel. The first to go into despair, cynicism, and fury. The other into finding deeper meaning within the journey and letting potential distress act as a catalyst for progress. As a firm, we stood in the fire this year, continually choosing to walk the path of compassion, resiliency, and purposeful advancement.
In 2021, we focused on what we could control and the positive, lasting impacts we could contribute to our employees, company, communities, and future. Crafting methods of incorporating equity into the built environment, pertinently impacting social issues while creating community value, and growing our capacity for holistic and sustainable solutions have allowed us to evolve as a firm and individually. In this moment, the “how’s” and “whys” we do this work have never been more evident.
Throughout 2021, we have been successful due to our resiliency that has the ring of hope, optimism, and openness to future growth and possibilities. Once again, in a sometimes-tumultuous year, we have come together with grace, support, and respect for one another, while doing our jobs exceptionally well. We celebrate all that we have accomplished and look towards the work still to be done. As we step into the emergence of 2022, let’s carry on in the spirit of camaraderie and commitment for our continued success in this new year.
Nancy Pridal, PE, ENV-SP
Lamp Rynearson President and CEO