In 2003, the world was introduced to Captain Jack Sparrow, we met a cute little angel fish named Nemo who got lost, and structural engineering at Stewart was forever changed by the addition of a great engineer and leader, Lance Williams.
It is our pleasure to congratulate Lance Williams on his 20th anniversary with Stewart! As Structural Engineering Practice Leader, Lance provides oversight and management of projects, personnel, and general administration for our Structural Engineering practice. We are blessed to work beside a very humble, kind, and knowledgeable individual. As a native North Carolinian, Lance remains focused on how our work can shape our community and the impact structural engineering has to shape and create the future.
Lance has been at Stewart throughout many changes over the years and has greatly contributed towards the evolution of our business. Over the last 20 years, Lance has been a key part of the growth and success of the Charlotte office.
We asked Lance a few questions to get to know him on more of a personal level. Check out what he said below!
- What interested you to first started pursuing structural engineering? I was interested in buildings, construction, Legos, erector sets, and those things from my early childhood. I also had an interest in how things were built and constructed. I enjoyed taking things apart and trying to fix broken toys, bikes, or small engine equipment. In elementary school, my parents were building a house and I got to see construction and created my own plans for my room in the house. That continued to feed my curiosity and interest in construction and structures. In high school, I worked for an HVAC contractor installing duct and mechanical equipment. Frequently we had to cut openings in stud or brick walls and had to frame around these openings. That time frame was when I knew I wanted to go into structural engineering.
- What are some aspects of your job that you enjoy the most? Definitely the technical aspects like design and figuring out how to solve problems or issues on projects. But I really enjoy meeting people and working together as a team in our department.
- What roles have you had at Stewart throughout the years? I started as a project manager, then an assistant structural manager, to the Charlotte structural manager, and now our practice leader.
- If you weren’t a structural engineer what else do you think you would be doing? Too hard to pick only one thing, but I enjoy working on cars and small engines. So maybe a part-time mechanic or maybe in construction.
So now that Lance has reached the milestone of two decades of excellence in Structural Engineering at Stewart, he can look back and be proud of his decision to grow his career here. Those of us that have been given the opportunity to work with Lance are so very glad that we did and look forward to the future!
Congratulations Lance, we hope to have many more great years with you dear friend!