Patrick Schroeder:  

way, after I graduated in May 1993, I was hired full-time. I started working on larger projects with more responsibility - my first full-blown project management role was in December 1993 on a small addition to a building in Ruther Glen, VA. I worked all over the country, something like 40 states. I learned alot about the differences in the various building codes, which has continued to help in my career. I also developed into the role of CAD manager / IT manager - making sure the system worked right. My IT role at Pilot was limited to CAD software (AutoCAD) and day-to-day troubleshooting for Construction / Design, as Pilot had an overall IT Department. I worked almost exclusively on Travel Center (a.k.a. truck stop) designs to the tune of 15-20 per year, but also got involved in the early stages of corporate headquarters expansion. The design we developed for a prototypical Travel Center is still the 'look' of Pilot (5+ years after I left), and all the CAD management setups I developed are still in day-to-day use. By 1999 I decided that maybe corporate architecture wasn't quite the path I wanted my career to follow, so I moved on. I joined Cope Associates, Inc. in May 1999 as project manager / CAD manager / IT manager. Basically same roles, different company. IT role expanded significantly, as there was no larger department resources to fall back to in case of trouble. I worked on a variety of projects - credit union, automotive dealerships, retirement community, schools, armory, hydrotherapy center, among others. We worked with AutoCAD until just before I left, when we were developing a joint AutoCAD / MicroStation CAD. In 2002 I decided the firm's direction didn't mesh with mine, so I left there. I joined Cockrill Johnson Associates, Inc. in May 2002. We moved the office from west Knoxville to downtown Knoxville in one week in Sept '02, and changed the name to Cockrill Design & Planning, Inc. in late 2002. My position was pretty much the same: project manager / CAD manager / IT manager. I've worked on even more varied projects: country club, planned vacation development, a jail, more schools, military work, residences, among others. We used MicroStation v8 for our CAD software. I left Cockrill Design & Planning in August 2004 to found a new firm. I started a new architectural firm called Smee Architecture Inc in early September 2004 as founding partner with Gregor Smee. The firm name was changed to Smee + Busby Architects Inc. in Oct. 2005 with Scott Busby's buy-in as partner, to make us three partners. We are now at 9 personnel, 6 employees and 3 partners. I am Vice President / Director of Technology, or so the job title states. My duties remain pretty much the same at the other places I've worked. Realistically, as any small business owner can attest I wear many hats and hold different responsibilities in the course of a day. We do just about anything that walks through our door, with some education & retail projects mixed in. (In my profile's "Now" photo; Scott is on the left, Gregor (and our office gnome & various libations) is center, and I'm on the right) We started a Development Company (Smee + Busby Development), in July 2006. My wife Cherie is a founding (junior) partner, along with Gregor, Scott, and Robert Marlino (another junior partner). The first of the houses is complete and for sale, with two other houses finishing construction over the next few months.