A senior project manager in civil design that is a commercial pilot in his free time? Gary Odehnal proves that “work hard, play hard” is a quote to live by, taking full advantage of opportunities inside and outside the office.
Gary was swayed to Lamp Rynearson by the Business Development Team’s charismatic personnel. He also found the ESOP and depth of experience throughout the company’s history to be impressive characteristics for a compelling place of work.
Gary’s work with the City of Dacono in Colorado involved him in a multitude of successful grant opportunities. As the Dacono City Engineer, he has seen these grant opportunities fund more modern and updated subdivisions along with public improvements. He has enjoyed collaborating with those that work for the City of Dacono.
“Our Fort Collins team wrote a successful Main Street Grant for the City of Dacono. The project entailed improving accessibility to an existing public park, city fairgrounds, and the Carbon Valley BMX track. The City was granted $800,000 for street, bikeway, drainage, parking, and pedestrian sidewalks.
Aside from his extensive and rewarding work with Dacono, Gary recalls the St. Valentine Apartments as having a lasting impact on him. This project included 54 affordable housing units in Loveland, Colorado for transitional housing which was sponsored by the Denver Archdiocese. Gary served as the Project Civil Engineering Manager. Through public land donation and support from the Loveland Housing Authority, this affordable housing project broke ground in 2022.
Gary is frequently found hiking or biking on his weekends, in addition to alpine and cross-country skiing. As a BMW car club instructor, Gary partakes in performance driving. Always taking advantage of scenic opportunities, Gary has accumulated over 3000 miles of cross-country flying in just this last season. “It’s the best way to see the terrain of the Mountain West and the view is always changing.” He has been flying sailplanes for over 30 years. Yet, on calm summer evenings, Gary says you will find him kayaking blissfully on the lake he resides on.
He would like to continue working with the City of Dacono and begin planning his retirement in the coming years.
Congratulations on your many successes, Gary, and cheers to 5 years!