once-in-10,000-lifetimes project. I’ve had like four or five or six of these once-in-a-thousand-lifetime kind of projects. The temple projects for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints are really special projects. They positively impact everyone who touches them. They have meaning to me on a personal level, and I know how much they mean to the people who will use and enjoy the buildings. They are also a lot of work and a chance to really think through the design and details. My favorite temple projects include the Provo City Center Temple; Hartford, Connecticut; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Tucson, Arizona. I also have to throw in the seismic upgrade we did for the historic Salt Lake Tabernacle. Each of these great buildings is a story by itself. Truly, these are once-in-10,000-lifetimes projects, and I have been so fortunate to have been part of them. You became the president of FFKR. How did that unfold? I was made a principal in 1998. I was getting work on my own. I had projects for the Davis and Granite School Districts, and I was doing LDS Church projects. For a long time, Ken Louder was the president of the company. As his time ran down, I was the de facto leader in the group — not the most senior, but the leader in the office. When we had some layoffs and people were frightened, I was the one who brought the staff together to explain what was happening in the company. Ken did everything, but I was not going to do everything because I still had active clients and active projects. So, we split the presidency into several pieces. Jeff Fisher took one part, Kevin Mass and others took parts of the work, and I took a part. I was at the helm for seven and a half years. It was difficult, but it was great. It was fun. At the time, I knew every person in our office. As a principal, you’re the one that gets the work, but there are the people that do the work. I was always shocked at the summer party when everybody was there with their family and kids. You look around and think, “Wow, look at all these people who are counting on me to bring in work so that I can write them a check.” You really need all the people to rally the team and get things done. Otherwise, you’re just a single-person office doing single‑person projects. There are firms like that do great work, 15
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