HEROES AMONG US


Have you ever met someone, or maybe known someone for years, or maybe it's even you, who has made a significant impact on their family or community, but in a way that was so quiet and humbly done that no one would ever realized their story unless someone would take the time to tell it to a publication that would print it? YourHub, once again, comes to the rescue.

I have met two people who have asked me to tell you their story, a request I consider an incredible honor and privilege. My job now is to tell their stories in a way that is compelling to read, detailed enough so you will fully understand the significance they have made on the circle of people in their life or on our community, but most of all, with words that will sing the song of an unsung hero, people who have been silently doing good deeds and making a positive impact on our world...but oh, so quietly.

The story I am going to tell you now is about a man named Christopher Sherry, P.E., Vice President of Merrick, Building Quality Solutions (Engineering, Architecture, Design Build) located in Aurora, Colorado.

Christopher Sherry grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado. One of four children, he attended Mitchell high school in District 11. Early on, he felt a passion for architecture and design.

"People behind me learn from what I've done, including my mistakes and failures," says Sherry. When he is not working, Sherry works hard to save time for a mentoring program. Sherry is proud of his talents that make him an extraordinary team leader and stresses how important it is for the project that he work as part of a cohesive team, but also this is the way to let other's strengths and gifts grow and become stronger, the only way that will let others spread their wings.

"The key to my success is to surround myself with the best and the brightest," said Sherry. "We live in a new kind of world and business model that demands the strength of a team. If people have a sense of ownership in what they do for a living, this is how new leaders of our society emerge. Younger generations have somehow learned to stay at a job for money and money only rather than the passion they feel for the industry or the work they are doing. Passion is infectious and that's what we are always on the lookout for new additions to our team," said Sherry.

I asked Chris about when he had been promoted to the management level of his company. "Oh, you mean 'Mahogany Row." Never hearing this expression before, I asked for some explanation. "Mahogany Row is the floor above where I work now, the floor where everything is covered in mahogany leather. This is where the "big boys" sit, and I was indeed promoted to this level. But I couldn't do it....you know...be separated from the guys on the floor below me. I didn't belong on Mahogany row. In order for me to be comfortable on Mahogany Row, I would need to feel comfortable with whoever replaced me downstairs, a guy who I could fully trust to keep the team spirit up and cohesiveness together," said Sherry. "I realized that I simply belonged back in my cubicle interacting with the people who actually sat and thought of the ideas, worked as teams, messed around with each other and had fun, and had a more relaxed and creative energy to work in. I just realized one day that I work too hard to not have fun, so I sort of "un-promoted" myself to get back to where I belong," said Sherry.

Christopher told me that as a manager, he is a strong believer in flex time, in treating people like adults, for this is how he sees the future of truly successful management. He also talked about his passion for staying connected to his mentoring projects and staying connected to the younger generations that come into this field of interest.

"I'm a horizontal guy, not vertical," he said. "I like to be the guy who can straddle many generations," Sherry said.

"The pipeline is drying up for interest in engineering, so I see it as my job to keep interest in engineering fresh by going to elementary schools and high schools and talking to these up and coming students about the level of creativity that is needed to be in this business, and that there is lots of money to be made in this field, too!" Christopher said he feels there is this misperception that engineering isn't glamorous or sexy or that it's a boring profession. This is why he spends so much of his time doing outreach programs with places like Colorado University - Boulder.

Some of the projects Chris has been a team leader on include the NORAD/U.S. Space Command Building which now houses the newest military command, U.S. Northern Command at Peterson Air Force Base; U.S. Army Space Command Headquarters, featuring a metallic green-colored metal panel skin that complements the existing the high tech image of Peterson Air Force Base.

Christopher Sherry (Merrick and Company) worked with the U.S. Department of Defense and Swinerton Builders, RNL Designs to complete the Space Command Headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base, which receive the Gold Hat Award for Outstanding Design -Build Project. Some of the features of this project include the curtain wall prows which provide informal gathering spaces on every level of the Army building, as well as he Army's grand staircase which mimics the curvature of an inverted conical skylight above it. Hard to believe we're still talking about U.S. Department of Defense buildings, but we are because of the visions of a couple of people, one of those people being Christopher Sherry.

"The key is not only follow your passion, but always keep your passion strong. Passion is infectious," Sherry said.

You may have recently heard about Peterson's Air Force gate's getting an upgrade, a $12.7 million project, but I am willing to bet you didn't know this project is associated with Christopher Sherry and Merrick and Company.

Here's a little more about Christopher, someone who grew up right here in Colorado Springs:

Born 4/6/62 at Tachikawa AFB, Japan (Tokyo).
Eagle Scout, BSA.
Graduated from Mitchell HS in Colorado Springs in 1980.
Graduated from CU-Boulder with a BS in Architectural Engineering in 1985.
Graduated from the University of Denver with a Master of Business Administration in 2005.
Earned Professional Engineers license in 1990.
Currently lives in Roxborough Park, Colorado.
Currently working at Merrick & Company; has worked here for 20 years.
•Vice President of Merrick & Company.
•Member of the Merrick & Company Board of Directors.
•Chairman of Merrick & Company's Human Resource Development Committee.
•President of Merrick International Services, Inc.
Served on the Joint Evaluation Committee for the University of Colorado (Boulder) College of Architectural Engineering to review ABET Accreditation.
Served as the Chairman of the Joint Education Committee for the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Colorado.
Member of the Society of American Military Engineers.
Strong proponent/supporter of Merrick & Company's student internship program.
Volunteer for exposing University of Colorado architectural engineering freshmen to the "real world" of architectural/engineering design.
Volunteer for speaking with local high school students about architecture and engineering.

I have always believed that everyone has a story to tell. I would like to be the story teller of people, for I also believe there are more unsung heroes in our world as there are stars in our universe.

While driving somewhere about a year ago, we actually drove by one of the buildings that was built under the leadership of Christopher Sherry. My daughter asked "How do buildings like that get designed and then built?" It led into a pretty in depth conversation, but unfortunately I didn't have the details then that I do now about the process and all the people it takes to make a beautiful building that like go from a concept on paper to an actual structural formation. But I have the information now for the next time I'm asked this kind of question.

How many times do we all say it is such a small world? Well, I will end this story by telling you that Christopher Sherry grew up in the house across the street from mine as a child. Yes, he was one of the kids across the street my brother, sisters and I played with, and his sister was my very best friend as a child. Life has twisted and turned in so many ways that two years ago I bought my parent's home, the same home I grew up in. So in order to meet Christopher to do my interview with him, I merely walked out my front door and walked across the street. He was visiting his parents for the weekend, and his parents still live in the house across the street from me.

We just never know where life will take us next, but for me, it's taken me full circle, back to the beginning, back to where I started, where everything appears to be the same, but in actuality all is new and different with just familiar surroundings and people. It was a surreal, yet incredible honor to sit in the Sherry's home and listen to Chris tell me about the road he's been down over the past 30 years and for him to trust me with the privilege of telling you his story. I hope you enjoyed reading about him as much as I enjoyed getting to know him for the second time around.