We said “see ya later!” to our Bill Klock in September with a celebration commemorating his time spent with EEA.
It’s always bittersweet to say goodbye to our longtime EEAers as they venture into retirement. We pride ourselves on being a fun place to work and we believe those who have been with EEA for over 25, 35, and 40 years are a testament to that. Bill Klock is one of those.
We claimed this midwesterner as one of our own at the start of 1993 and never looked back. He has seen EEA grow from a 30-person firm to 130 person firm, all the while growing with it. He started as a Mechanical Engineer and evolved into a Project Manager, Principal and ultimately, Chief Technical Officer. He has been a dutiful ASHRAE member for most of his time in the industry and has used much of that continued education to help EEA advance in technical knowledge and mastery.
Since being with EEA, Bill has been involved with projects in just about every market sector. In the last half of his career and as EEA continued to grow and diversify, he spent time overseeing a multitude of light commercial and commercial projects while guiding his team through pivotal economical turns in the A/E/C industry. He was heavily involved in the training of young designers and engineers to properly prepare them for successful project delivery. A keyword mentioned often is “mentor” when speaking of Bill.
“Bill has been a coworker, mentor, and friend of mine for the last 26 years. He has helped me problem solve numerous engineering puzzles over my career and has always had EEA’s best interests at heart.”
Todd Schmitt, President/CEO
He credits the ability to start his retirement with the establishment of EEA’s ESOP and his long tenure here. Earlier this year, as his decision to retire approached, EEA named Jeremy Smith as his successor as Chief Technical Officer. Jeremy also credits Bill with the technical knowledge and mentorship he gained over the years of working alongside him.
“Bill has an innate ability to quickly hone in on the crucial factors to a problem. I knew I could count on him to help find the solution to any engineering problem as I was coming up in this industry. As a mentor and friend for 20+ years, I’m thankful for his constant encouragement to keep learning, there is always more to know!”
Jeremy Smith, CTO
We couldn’t let him leave without a celebration. And celebrate we did!
While it’s tough to say goodbye (it’s not goodbye but see you later), he now has a little more time to spend with his family and being a grandfather, traveling, cycling, or on the golf course or simply upping his Coca-Cola consumption.
For more pictures from his celebration, check them out here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Mp5QUItoUFKvl4dyRqrkF1zFs839YIJQ?usp=sharing
