As 2023 draws to a close, we at Osborn Consulting would like to express our sincere gratitude for your support and partnership throughout the year. On behalf of the entire Osborn team, we wish you a joyous holiday season and a prosperous New Year. As we reflect on the remarkable achievements we’ve accomplished together this year, we are proud to share some of our favorite memories:
Making a positive impact in our local communities is at the heart of Osborn’s mission. This year, we’ve been hard at work designing new stormwater and water quality systems; fish passage barrier removals; schools, parks, and playgrounds; habitat improvements; and ways to connect neighbors across the Pacific Northwest. Some highlights from 2023 include designing more than 75,000 LF of stormwater pipe conveyance, working on 40+ fish passage crossings, and developing the landscape architecture planning and/or design for 15 schools.
Many of our projects also completed construction this year, including the Seattle Public Utilities South Park Drainage and Roadway Partnership Project (seen at left), the WSF Colman Dock, the City of Kenmore NE 190th Culvert, the City of Bothell Fire Stations, the WSDOT SR 305/Murden Creek Remove Fish Barriers Project, the Snohomish County 60th Ave Culvert, and more.
Outside of the office, we had a blast volunteering with local organizations, including Food Lifeline, the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, and King County Parks. Our team volunteered with Gonzaga University to support their senior design program and speed mock interview event, and we joined in on the PNCWA Stormwater Committee’s efforts to pick up trash in Point Defiance Park. Through the end of 2023, Osborn will match donations to Food Lifeline and Second Harvest.
Our team, comprised of 100 people across Washington State and beyond, enjoyed opportunities to connect with one another, share recipes, meet new family members and pets, and have some fun! From our summer picnic at Vasa Park to our annual Chili Cook Off, taking time to be together created special new memories this year. We rounded out the year with our annual holiday party and awards ceremony, complete with a trivia competition benefiting local charities, as well as white elephant gifts galore.
Over in Wenatchee at the Fall APWA-WA Conference, we were joined by friends, clients, and teaming partners for a happy hour at Wenatchee Valley Brewing Company. We enjoyed beautiful weather, great beer, and excellent company. This marked the first APWA-WA Conference experience for several Osborn team members, who were welcomed with open arms by the community of public works professionals. Thank you to everyone who joined us!
Speaking of conferences, we were thrilled to have Osborn speakers at several industry events this year. Josh Van Wie presented with the City of Wenatchee at Municon. At PNCWA 2023, Tarelle Osborn and Ann Bryant led a presentation about stormwater funding. Also, at PNCWA, Josh and Ronnie Piechowski co-presented on addressing drainage issues through root cause analysis. At the APWA-WA Fall Conference, Peter Wurden-Foster, Mike Zarecor, and Anna Vandermeer led an engaging presentation on fish passage prioritization. Kas Kinkead brought her expertise to the A4LE National LearningSCAPES Conference to discuss designing for empathetic learning environments. Our team had a great time surfacing new ideas and new connections at these and other conferences this year.
In addition, we continued to fund the Osborn Consulting Scholarship and were honored to support two deserving students in their pursuits of engineering degrees. Keep an eye out for the 2024 scholarship application – it’s coming soon. The scholarship is hosted through our nonprofit partner, Renton Regional Community Foundation, and offers opportunities for BIPOC engineering and landscape architecture students. Thank you to our scholarship committee for their continued efforts to make this opportunity a possibility for exemplary students.
We hope your 2023 was filled with lasting memories and opportunities to make a difference in your own community. Cheers to a great year and more adventures to be had in 2024!
