Reflections on 25 Years with HBA
As my 25th anniversary with HBA approaches, I reflect with appreciation on all of the wonderful opportunities I’ve been given and the chance to make my dreams come true. It all started when I was about seven years old. My father had a drafting set from college (I loved to “borrow” all his tools, especially his dissection set – but that’s another story), which I used to draw plans for my dream mansion. Instead of playing house or dress up like other little girls, I played “office,” and learned to type using his typewriter. So, it’s pretty neat that now that I’m all grown up, I get to play “office” for real with a great group of talented and creative architects! I was the only one in my family who wanted to move to the “big city” and work in a tall building when I grew up. So what’s even neater is when I first started working for HBA, I had a delivery to make at One Columbus Center (back when it stood taller than everything else with no other buildings around it – just trees), and I stood at the bottom and looked up to the top, thinking “Now THAT’s where I want to work some day!” Nineteen years later, I helped coordinate HBA’s move into One Columbus Center, where I now have an office on the 10th floor with a great view, doing the things I love most with people I respect and admire. What more could I ask for?
There are several reasons why my 25 years at HBA have been so rewarding. Management immediately recognized my potential and has consistently expanded and elevated my responsibilities. After starting out as a temporary receptionist, I have done just about everything (except drafting and design) –specifications, shop drawings, marketing proposals, IT, purchasing, office management, building management and basic bookkeeping, professional services contracts, DOD fee proposals, human resources, birthday treat baker, event coordinator, stand-in for Santa, and so on. It never gets boring, and I never run out of things to do.
Our community involvement is outstanding. Under the “Adopt-A-Highway” program, we’ve adopted the stretch of Virginia Beach Boulevard that runs through Town Center, past our office and past my house, so I have the chance to officially pick up all that annoying trash that I see on my way to work every day! But for REAL fun, nothing will ever beat the great times I had participating in the Polar Plunge last February (a Special Olympics fundraiser), where we got to run into the Atlantic Ocean wearing next to nothing during a freak blizzard! What more perfect of a way could there be to enjoy a blinding snowstorm?
The thing that makes working here so wonderful is that creative, fresh ideas are always welcomed and encouraged. As the company grows and changes with the industry, processes and practices are constantly being improved and updated. There are always new challenges and opportunities to help make things more efficient.
HBA has a longstanding reputation for raising the bar in everything we do, and I’m very proud to be a part of it. It is truly a privilege to work with such a talented and creative group. I sincerely appreciate all the experiences and opportunities over the years, and look forward to many more.
– Rebecca Dozier