The 2023 Integrity and Client Service Award Goes to… IT BIM Specialist, Casey Huffman!
Each October, when it comes time to nominate the next Integrity and Client Service (ICS) Award-winner, one name regularly comes to people’s minds across our firm, and that is “Casey Huffman.”
Casey is a member of Cushing Terrell’s Information Technology team. He specializes in web development and computer support with advanced proficiency in CAD and BIM software. What does this mean for all the non-technical folks? It means Casey is fundamental to how our teams can visualize, create, and share designs with each other, our clients, and our project partners. While Casey’s direct clients are Cushing Terrell team members, his work products are what the world sees. And if there are technical issues with the programs that create those work products, it’s Casey to the rescue so projects are accurately and efficiently designed.
The ICS Award is the highest annual honor bestowed upon a Cushing Terrell team member. Nicknamed “The Geno” after 58-year-tenured Gene Kolstad, the award is presented in December with a cash prize. Colleagues are nominated from across the firm, and the winner is judged on their excellence in three categories: honesty, compassion, and responsiveness.
The trophy was inspired by one of Gene’s passions: masonry. Hence, the large, traveling trophy features Montana-sourced travertine with an embedded trowel.
A Little About Casey
Casey was born and raised in Great Falls, Montana. He joined the Great Falls Cushing Terrell team in 2008. According to Casey, he has been interested in computers ever since he can remember, and this evolved into related interests in graphics, printing, and design technology with Autodesk products. He also noted that he has always been the “go-to” person for technology questions from friends and family, thus it was natural to fill this role at Cushing Terrell, too!
Casey began his career with Cushing Terrell’s refrigeration design group, and this progressed to drafting work for the firm’s electrical and mechanical groups. He helped develop AutoCAD refrigeration content for many clients, much of which is still in use today. Casey learned Revit as the sole person working with that software on Cushing Terrell’s first Target projects. Following his time with the refrigeration group, Casey joined the IT department where he now focuses on the Cushing Terrell MEP Revit library, helps to develop CAD and BIM standards for all disciplines, and supports technology research, implementation, and training.
Casey spends as much of his free time as he can with his wife, two kids, and family pets. He also spends time working on home improvement projects and playing video games.
A Note From Cushing Terrell President Greg Matthews
Casey is one of those people who are behind the scenes of many of the important initiatives and projects that are continually moving our firm forward. Casey does so much more than his job of IT support — he actively researches the best tools and best practices, helps leadership understand and manage complex technology issues, keeps our project teams fluent in digital design, and even manages our firm’s intranet. He does all these things while making each person he encounters and interacts with feel supported and confident. We are so lucky to have Casey on our team!
What People Say About Casey
“Casey certainly has his hand in nearly every project we do, either directly or indirectly. From creating and coordinating BIM/CAD standards to taming Revit gremlins, he is the go-to person for all things software. He constantly strives to make us better, faster, and stronger in our designs and technologies, thereby benefiting our clients, employees, and bottom line.”
Allyn Jorgensen
Associate | Mechanical Engineer
Cushing Terrell
“Casey is an incredible co-worker and contributor to the firm’s success, and he has done this for years, steadily and consistently. I love collaborating with him across all facets of our business. He has a serious bead on what is good for the firm, which ultimately is good for our clients as well. We all know of him as the go-to person for the management of one of our most critical production resources and its content, Revit. But beyond that, Casey is a critical IT team member and overall technology leader. We are incredibly fortunate to have him.”
Jim Armer
Principal | Chief Knowledge Officer
Cushing Terrell
“He looks to provide solutions that greatly improve modeling efficiency and overall productivity of the team, which trickle down to what the client receives from us as a design team. Not only does he offer timely responses, but also logically and creatively outlines how to better our skillsets for the sake of Cushing Terrell and the client. I feel lucky to be able to learn from Casey, and I’m grateful for his willingness to help so many people in the firm. He is an invaluable asset to Cushing Terrell, and his knowledge and mentorship are a gift to others!
Claire Hunt
Interior Designer
Cushing Terrell (former)
“He brings an uplifting attitude to every group effort and shows so much passion and knowledge for his field. We are all very lucky to have such a talented and caring individual on our team.”
Eric Wilson
Mechanical Engineer
Cushing Terrell
“Casey is an indispensable asset to Cushing Terrell. Throughout the past 15 years of working with him, I have never seen him avoid a question or challenge. Furthermore, his responsiveness and dependability are rare qualities. He consistently goes above and beyond to not only solve problems, but also to develop better solutions. Over the years, I have valued Casey not only as a resource for my own work, but also for his unassuming approach to helping others.”
Ross Hamand
Visualization Design Manager
Cushing Terrell
“I’ve never heard a single person second guess Casey because we all know he speaks the truth and lays it out there like it is. He does this is the nicest possible way, but we know he has done his research, so we take his word as good as gold.”
Ali Vasarella
Architect
Cushing Terrell
“One of the main heartbeats of our company is Revit/BIM, and Casey is at the helm of it. In my daily working with Casey, I’m not sure if there is anything he can’t figure out. This is due to what I believe is a true passion for what he does and what he is responsible for here at Cushing Terrell. He is constantly upping his game with knowledge regarding the ‘inner workings’ of Revit and our systems as a whole.”
Jay Listoe
Associate | Plumbing Designer
Cushing Terrell
“The Dalai Lama once said, ‘If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.’ Casey understands this simple truth; happiness doesn’t depend solely on him, but with his relationships and interactions with his clients. Casey enjoys his work at Cushing Terrell and what he does — it’s on display daily and I hear from his clients often how thankful they are for Casey and his efforts. Teaching and guiding, Casey is not afraid to pass on what he has learned or knows.”
Jim Keller
Associate | Information Technology Director
Cushing Terrell
From Casey on Being Honored with the ICS Award
What does the ICS Award represent to you?
When Laura Dougherty was honored with the ICS Award a few years back, she said it is like the “good person” award. I really like thinking of it that way. It’s about being a good person in general. I try to be a good person and someone I would want to interact with — much like the Golden Rule. What makes you feel the most fulfilled at the end of a workday? I like to make sure our team members, the whole company, can do their jobs to the fullest. If I can keep everybody up and running with what they’re looking to me for help with, that’s a very satisfying day.
How do you feel about winning the award, and to what do you attribute it?
I feel very honored to be among the previous winners and humbled by the nominations and support from my coworkers. The IT team and the people I work with are awesome, and I feel that, in a way, this is an award for everybody in the IT group. We’re all working together as one, and my boss has given us a good environment in which to make things happen, so it’s easy to spend a happy and fulfilled day doing what I love to do with people I enjoy. Also, I attribute a lot of who I am to my family, how I grew up and my wife. In many ways, my family has shaped who I am and how I approach work and working with others. I always try to be the most honest I can be — the most real.
Overall, the company culture and the people at Cushing Terrell make it easy to be happy, and love what I do.
You’re on the selection committee now. What will you be looking for in next year’s ICS Award winner?
I know there are a lot of deserving candidates nominated each year, so I think it will be tough work. I interact with a lot of Cushing Terrell employees each day, helping them with issues and solving many types of problems for them. They are my “clients,” and I get a chance to know many of them well. It will be interesting and exciting to now have the unique perspective of seeing why each nominee stands out and has drawn the recognition and respect of their peers and clients. I think every person brings something unique to the table and upholds the qualities of the ICS Award in their own way, so I honestly can’t say what I’ll be looking for, but I’ll know it when I see it.
Back in 2008, Cushing Terrell constructed a vision statement to help govern firm goals over the following five years. The effort was driven — and much of the language was crafted — by then-principal and project manager/architect Gene Kolstad out of Cushing Terrell’s Billings office. The list of seven goals dealt largely with issues of integrity, character, and client service. With visions of the Academy Awards and Oscar statuettes dancing in their heads, the ratifying committee dreamed up an annual award to present to the Cushing Terrell employee who most exemplified these ideals.
The accompanying trophy, “The Geno” (after Kolstad, who is noted for his commitment to the principles the award celebrates), was inspired by one of Kolstad’s passions: masonry. Hence, the large, heavy, traveling trophy features Montana-sourced travertine (from the original installation at a long-time client, Billings Clinic) with one of Kolstad’s trowels partially embedded — an homage to the Arthurian legend of the sword in the stone. Staff in the Great Falls office built a “mini Fort Knox” (exceptionally secure) traveling case that safely moves the award from recipient-to-recipient each year.
“Half the fun of bestowing the award is discretely delivering the award case, early, to the respective office, and keeping it under wraps,” former committee member (now-retired) Ken Richardson once said.
The Geno is now presented each December to the winner of the Integrity and Client Service (ICS) Award, alongside a cash prize. A selection committee — dubbed “the Posse” — which includes the previous year’s recipient, convenes annually to select the winner. Nominees from across the firm are evaluated in three categories: honesty, compassion, and responsiveness.
Former Great Falls mechanical engineer Gary Morris was the initial recipient at the end of 2010, and the ICS Award has been presented each year since. Last year, Chris Goslin of Cushing Terrell in Boise was the winner.
Read more on the history of the concept of “integrity” on the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
