Principal Terry Gebard retires after more than 30 years

In 1991, two years out of college, I answered a classified ad for an architectural designer at OPN Architects, then a firm of 17 people in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

At the end of this year, I will retire from OPN, now a firm of 120 with five locations in three states.

Over the last 34 years, the last 24 as a principal and owner, more than the projects, it is the people I have met along the way that I am most grateful for.

 People transcend the work. When I drive by a building, when I see projects, I think of the people who made those projects and what I learned from them. Many of those relationships endure today.

For the mentors who taught me, the leaders before and beside me, the staff who I had the privilege to work with, and the clients who trusted me – there is one word …

Grateful.