You know the saying, “You can take the boy out of Wyoming, but you can’t take Wyoming out of the boy”? When it comes to Bill Goodman, however, don’t even BOTHER trying to take the man out of Wyoming. With the exception of his college years, Wyoming has always been his home, and it’s where he plans to stay after retirement.
“I like the mountains, and I like the climate,” Bill explains. “It’s laidback, and it’s not so big. The pace isn’t as furious as I’ve seen it when I’ve been other places.”
Bill, who will be honored at a retirement party today (May 8) and officially retires May 11, plans to check a few items off his bucket list in the upcoming months. That includes venturing outside Wyoming to see Banff, Canada, Glacier National Park, and the national parks located in southwestern Colorado and in Utah. He might venture to the Grand Canyon, too. Bill also plans to expand the time he spend fishing.
His career has been marked by “sweat and hard work,” says Bill, who describes himself “not a rock-star designer type … but steady.” Bill, who was raised at Big Horn, southwest of Sheridan, attended school with the children of the local architect. He picked up an interest in the profession “by osmosis,” Bill says. “I saw what he did, I liked what I saw, and thought, OK, I can do that.”
After graduating from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1974, Bill did design work and construction for his first employer before joining another firm . After six years there, it was time to move on, he decided, and he joined what became TSP, Inc. in October 1984.
Cindy Haught met Bill when she worked in the Sheridan office in administrative services prior to her move to Rapid City.
“My husband and I have known Bill since David first began with TSP Construction Services, then called Delpro. It was the Wheatland Middle School project I believe. They worked well together and ‘Davey,’ as Bill sometimes called him, truly respected his work,” Cindy says.
“Bill is a Sheridan fellow through and through, and though he worked on many projects throughout the TSP footprint, I believe Wyoming is truly where his heart is and his projects reflect his love for the Cowboy State and the Sheridan community in particular. There is much to be proud of in Bill’s work and I hope he knows that it is very appreciated by all of us at TSP and the communities he has touched.”
Cindy learned early to trust Bill’s skills, and not just with blueprints.
“Working on his specs and meeting minutes had me looking up words in the dictionary or online – I was just sure it wasn’t a word, but was proven wrong – definitely a word and used correctly in the sentence. He has a phenomenal vocabulary,” she says.
Bill spent much of his career working on schools, primarily at the elementary and middle school levels. Asked to give an estimate of how many schools, he snorted at the question. “Many,” he said. “Many.” When the oil, coal, and gas industries were thriving in Wyoming, school districts had unlimited money to spend on infrastructure. That changed about three years ago.
One of his last major projects was the domed school for Johnson Creek School District in Wisconsin. He describes it as “a decent experience,” with the biggest challenges ensuring the acoustics were good and running traditional mechanical structures in a nontraditional building.
You’ll never get Bill to brag on himself, and that’s evident when he’s asked to talk about his legacy.
“I think ‘technically competent, producing a quality product, and understanding construction,’ “ he says.
However, Cindy gets the last word: “You’re a good man, Bill Goodman. Congratulations on your retirement. We wish you well!”