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In Loving Memory Of... Born in Clay County Kentucky, Gary began his life in a humble rural setting. He attended elementary and one year of middle school there, one year of middle school in Ohio, then back to Clay County for two years of high school. His final two years of high school were completed at Laurel County High School in London, Kentucky. Gary knew exactly what he wanted to study when he arrived at the University of Kentucky in August 1976. Against the odds and the advice of his advisor, he was determined to earn an engineering degree. As was the case with anything Gary set out to do, the odds and the advisor were soon proven wrong and he earned a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Kentucky in December 1980, his professional licensure from the state of Kentucky in 1985, and his Structural Engineer licensure in 1987. Gary began a very successful career in the timber industry in October of 1981. As time passed, Gary experienced a growing desire to build his own business. With much forethought and planning, our founder, the late Gary W. Gray, P.E., along with his wife Margaret, took a leap of faith and began a structural engineering consulting firm. With 16 plus years of experience in the laminated/heavy timber industry, Gary had established an impeccable reputation industry wide, and was more than up for the challenge of the new company. On September 2, 1998 Gray Engineering and Design, LLC opened its door in a small office on 5th Street in London, Kentucky. As the company grew, so did the need for more space, and in September 2000 the move to the newly constructed office building on Old Pond Road in London took place. Additional staff was added along the way and the company and Gary gained national recognition. With professional licensure in 21 states and 25 years of heavy timber/glulam experience, Gary established a reputation as one of only a handful of glulam experts in the country. Articles written by Gary and published in "Structural Engineer" (read article 1 & article 2) and "Structure" (read article 1) magazines detailed forensic work done by Gray Engineering, and offered design considerations and possibilities for industry professionals through the use of glued laminated timber. He was invited on several occasions to speak to Engineering students at multiple universities, and he looked forward to sharing his experiences with them. Gary served as a member of the American Institute of Timber Construction Technical Advisory Committee from 1986-2007, serving as committee chairman for two years; he also served on the industry Technical Review Board from May 2003 – April 2005. Gary was active in the London community, primarily through his service as a member of the board of the London Laurel County Chamber of Commerce and the Planning Committee of Marymount Medical Certer and Hospital Site Selection Committee. Gary also faithfully served his church in many ways: as a deacon, assistant Sunday School teacher and he especially enjoyed teaching the Wednesday evening Royal Ambassador class of rambunctious young boys for many years. As important as these tasks were, Gary still considered the roles of husband, father, brother and son to be his most treasured. As Gray Engineering looks to the future, we are grateful that Gary laid a firm foundation of quality and integrity for us to build on, along with the steadfast knowledge that providing a superior finished product to our clients is always the right thing to do. Although illness took him from our physical presence, Gary will always be present in our hearts. |
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