It was a lot of fun looking back at all we accomplished last year.  We donated to important causes, we celebrated professional development milestones, we said goodbye to colleagues, and we welcomed new ones. Our core values of teamwork, a passion for excellence, technological innovations, and life-work balance were on display throughout the year. 

Westlake kicked off the year with fantastic news—Sam Hargrave passed his Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) licensing exam. We bid a fond farewell to Doug Liles, PLS, with a lively retirement party. As food brings us together, Westlake launched the year with a spirited chili cook-off, and we celebrated Pi Day with an afternoon of pie-eating and camaraderie.   As part of our dedication to community service, we sponsored a Winter Care Kit Drive for the Blanchet House in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Spring brought the start of our Lunch & Learn program, where staff members learned about everything from fly fishing to land use development. Many of our staff participated in the charity Lake Oswego Lake Run, supporting NW Housing Alternatives. Those who preferred less activity still got outside in early spring to clean the streets as part of our commitment to the City of Tigard’s Adopt-A-Street clean-up program.

As warm summer days rolled in, Mike Hargrave and Chris Kaleikilo fired up the grill for our lunchtime BBQ tradition. Great things came in twos….two fantastic interns joined the Engineering Department for the summer and two internal promotions brought our Industrial Measurement specialists back to Portland from their assignment in New Mexico back to Portland: Bobby Clapham moved into the office, and Jose Gomez was promoted.

With fall just around the corner, Westlake was asked to host a luncheon and learning tour for high school Career Technical Education teachers through the Portland Area CTE Consortium (PACTEC) and Portland Community College. It was an inspiring day of collaboration and learning. Our fall community service was our annual Back to School Drive and just for a little more fun we held an Ice Cream Social.

As the year wound down, we didn’t slow down. Each Westlake department teamed up to support Project 48 by providing holiday gifts for teens in the foster care system. The friendly rivalry between departments helped us not only meet but exceeded the requested aid. The holiday season was full of fun with our Halloween Costume contest, Ugly Sweater Show, Mike’s Holiday Hot Toddy event, and a spectacular evening Holiday Party at the Oregon Golf Club.

Here’s to looking forward to a great 2025!