GeoHeroes - Saiid Behboodi
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[00:00:00] Guy: Well, welcome back geo hero audience. I'm glad you could join us again. Today i'm very excited to talk to my friend, Saiid Behboodi. Saiid is truly one of the nicer people you're gonna meet in GBA, in my experience. And we go back many, many years to when we were just young pup centering the profession. So welcome Saiid.

[00:00:20] Saiid: Well, thank you guy. Good to be with you. Yes, I'm Saiid. I'm serving as a principal engineer with PBS, engineering and Environmental part of Apex group. I was born in Iran in a family of seven kids. I was the youngest kid. My father was a land use judge, even though there was no such a title back home. But as, as close as it can get. My mother was a COO of the family, making sure to take care of us, uh, with a philosophy. Parents had a philosophy, very strong [00:01:00] philosophy of education, education, education, caring, socialized, uh. Stay away from politics. And I even remember that, um, my father used to say, it's okay to be a B student in the school, but I want you guys to be definitely a, a student in society.

[00:01:22] It is gonna take you way farther up

[00:01:26] Guy: Hmm.

[00:01:26] Saiid: after my siblings got into the universities and colleges. Since I had a strong background in high school, especially in math and science, he decided to send me to us to attend United States Universities. So I was the first kid in the family, came to United States not knowing anybody.

[00:01:50] Guy: And when was that saiid. 

[00:01:52] Saiid: Uh, this was, about 77.

[00:01:55] Guy: Okay. Pre-revolution then.

[00:01:57] Saiid: Yes, it was pre revolution. It was a [00:02:00] great timing at that time. So I end up to be in Boston, Massachusetts. I attended, BU, Boston University and shortly after I went to, engineering college in end, up in UMass for my civil engineering degree. Since I had a strong background in science and math. It benefited me so much in the first year of engineering. I challenge, uh, calculus one, physics one, and chemistry one, and that, resulted to finishing my engineering degree at UMass in three and a half years.

[00:02:39] Guy: Wow. Hey, before you go too far into that, how was your language skills when you came over? Were you fluent in English at that time?

[00:02:45] Saiid: It's interesting, you know, the foreign students, they always have a language barrier and there are a lot of challenges ahead of them. Part of my Boston University was English as a second language, and then the rest of them [00:03:00] it's become on your own to learn. I remember my days for the first four years, was just going to school from. Eight to four, go to work about five to 10. Come home and open the dictionary and look at the vocabularies to, understand what are you studying. And I remember I used to start studying from, 12 to three in the morning. And then the next day, your day starts at eight.

[00:03:33] Guy: How did you feel then? Were you lonely and scared, or were you excited for that opportunity or a mix of all?

[00:03:39] Saiid: You know, it depends where you come from at that time. Growing up in Iran, Iran was just like another state of United States. We were so close allies, a lot of things were so westernized that it wasn't too strange for me. Coming here, the the language barrier was a problem. is, [00:04:00] and depends on what country you come from. So that's, those are the challenges. You have a lot of in front of yourself,

[00:04:08] Guy: That's interesting. 'cause at that time, Iran and the United States were strong allies. So you felt culturally comfortable 

[00:04:14] Saiid: very culturally comfortable. When I came in,

[00:04:18] Guy: Huh? What was it like growing up in Iran? What was your childhood like?

[00:04:23] Saiid: I was in the, family of seven kids and being the youngest, I was always spoiled by parents and the siblings.

[00:04:31] Overall I was a good student. I had no problem in the schooling and it was very hard to get to the universities. You know, they accepted about a hundred thousand students going to university.

[00:04:42] There were about, over a million candidates. Um, the university levels and even high school levels are very strong, very high. They give you a great background. I'm so blessed and thankful that my father decided to send me in. As a [00:05:00] result, the entire family moved into us about four or five years after I came here.

[00:05:05] Guy: Okay. That would've been after the revolution. Then they 

[00:05:07] Saiid: was after the revolution. Definitely. It's, it's extremely hard to today to leave back in Iran.

[00:05:15] Guy: What were you thinking at that time? Do you mind sharing that with us? That must have been a difficult experience for you being here and your family was home. All that was happening.

[00:05:23] Saiid: It was very, very difficult. Uh, it wasn't that bad before the revolution happened. After I. the revolution happened, I was even worried about my father having a very, uh, important government job. But thank God there was nothing, happened to him, and they all were able to come here. It was, uh, interesting moments.

[00:05:46] The first three years was, was perfectly fine under the SHA regime, and then after the revolution, he was scared.

[00:05:54] Guy: And then were you instrumental in helping your family come to the United States because you were already here?

[00:05:58] Saiid: Not really. [00:06:00] Since, uh, we had a strong relationship with us, they had to go to the embassy and apply for the visas and everything, and then they came here and we went through the process to get our green card and become a citizen. of course all of my siblings, they were educated and it makes it easier to get through that route.

[00:06:19] Guy: So everybody came over. Your whole family. All seven of your 

[00:06:21] Saiid: Yes, 

[00:06:23] Guy: Hmm. So back to you and school. How did you pick, civil engineering and then how did you get to geoprofessional?

[00:06:32] Saiid: It's interesting. I picked civil engineering because back in, in a lot of countries out of United States, civil engineering is just like a automatic heroes. They're God in the education and they make a lot of money. Didn't know much about civil engineering. I just knew it's very popular. It's, very demanding and everything.

[00:06:56] That was the reason I attended there. I had a [00:07:00] cousin in the US he told me that the Massachusetts schooling are the best. So that was one of the reason, not much knowing where I'm going. I came to Boston, I was blessed to come into Boston. It was great schooling and that was the reason I decided civil engineering.

[00:07:17] Guy: If I could just inter interrupt, interrupt you there. So this is the Geo Heroes Podcast, and it's interesting that you said, abroad, civil engineers are, , celebrated because they do important things, that advance culture. Could you just share that perspective in a little bit more granularity.

[00:07:37] Saiid: Well overall in Europe and Iran, civil engineering is all, attached to the infrastructure, the environment. And, these days climate changes and green infrastructures and we are the ones that we are building. All of those things, we are making the life easier [00:08:00] for globally, for all the people. And ~in that, ~in that regards, we should be proud of ourself that we are the ones that we are affecting ~the~ everybody's life around the world.

[00:08:14] Guy: Dare I say geo hero. So we'll come back to that when we talk about the geo profession. So continue your journey. So you moved to, Boston and went to school. Your family came over and then now I know you're on the West Coast, so how did that come to pass?

[00:08:29] Saiid: that's, that's interesting. First I wanted, I wanna give you, we were talking about the language barrier.

[00:08:34] I, my first, my first job. I was a waiter during going to school and, in a very high end restaurant. Um, I was kind of a socialized person. They put me as a waiter and I never forget. In the second day of my work, a gentleman, a businessman, came in and I give him a great service. At the end of it, he said, can I have my [00:09:00] tab? And know what tap means is a check or bill. There was a diet soda. It used to call Tab. So I went, I went to the bar and I for Tab. He said, We don't have Tab. We have Diet Pepsi. So I took a Diet Pepsi to the guy. I said, sorry, we don't have Tab.

[00:09:22] I got you Diet Pepsi. the guy laugh and laugh and laugh and I never forget. He was telling me that I hope one day I'm invited to Johnny Carson's show and I can share this, this, uh, story with him. And I never forget that he left me about $20 tip, which is equivalent to $100 tip right now. anyway, uh. 

[00:09:46] Guy: didn't make it to the Tonight Show, but you made it to the Geo Heroes Podcast and you're able to share it there. So get that viewer. So we have this story, treasure.

[00:09:54] Saiid: that's right. And you know, talking about moving from east coast to west coast, [00:10:00] somebody moved my cheese, and that after I finished my school from East Coast to West coast and I was visiting in the summer, my brother and my sister, they were getting their PhDs at Portland State University. Came to visit, them and one night at a dinner party. I didn't know anybody. All the other people in the house. I was in the balcony with my beer in my hand. Somebody approached me at the end of the night, he said, I just heard inside that you got your bachelor's degree in civil engineering from UMass. I said, yes. He gave me a card.

[00:10:40] He said, could you come and see me tomorrow morning at 10? I went home and I looked at his card. He was a dean of civil engineering at Portland State. So I went and I visit him and he said, Saiid, I've got only couple minutes, so I make it very fast. [00:11:00] If you like to come to our university for your master program, we are gonna pay all the tuitions. We are gonna pay you $485 a month. That's the max we would pay to our ra. Uh, you would be my research assistant. I got a $2 million, grant and I can use somebody like you and this is gonna be your office and you have 24 hours to respond back to me. So it was huge. I decided to stay in Portland and attend there. I have an interesting story. After about one month doing the research assistant with this dean, the geotechnical professor left and he asked me if I can help him to teach soil mechanic and foundation engineering courses. [00:12:00] I had no know, not enough knowledge, and I said, sure, I would help you. And I just did something creative. I pick up the phone with the help of the dean. I called the leaders, local leaders in our industry, geotechnical firms, and I ask them if they can teach one chapter of. Soil mechanic, one chapter of foundation engineers. And since they're the best people on earth, eight out of 10 said yes to me and they came and did that.

[00:12:38] Everybody thought that was very creative. It was great. And, we didn't have, a problem with the students that we don't have any instructors and they all loved it. And especially the instructors, after they find out what I did, some of them, they give me a great letter of recommendations and they said, when you finish [00:13:00] school, knock on our door.

[00:13:02] We had people from Dames and Moore, from Squier Associates, from Shannon Wilson, from GRI, a lot of great leaders, and after I finished the school. I called Dr. Squier at the Squier Associates. It was a very high technical company and I really wanna work for him. So I went and, met with him. The first thing he said, give me three reasons I should hire you. I said, beside my educational background, I do have some great, letter of recommendation from the local leaders. In our industry. He said, like who? I pulled his own letter and I gave it to him. He is smart. He said, this is very smart, and when can you start? That was my start of geotechnical and how I got involved in geotechnical in the [00:14:00] school. Also how I got the job with Squier Associate, which I was there for 20 years and then we merged with the National International Company.

[00:14:11] Guy: And then did that company become PBS?

[00:14:13] Saiid: No, we merged with Kleinfelder. And then from Kleinfelder, I came to work at PBS and then I've been here for 12 years.

[00:14:22] Guy: Hmm. What was it like going from, the firm you started and then the first merger that you had with Kleinfelter for your role during that period?

[00:14:30] Saiid: it was very good for me and the reason for myself, it was great. They did a great, job in the integration first. Later on it didn't go that well, but I'm talking about three, four years later.

[00:14:50] Okay. It worked out great for me because, GBA helped me in that regard. I was a principal engineer there and, I didn't want to be a [00:15:00] local office manager or anything, and I got involved in the corporate and. This is interesting to share it with you that, since I learned tremendously at GBA conferences in regards to loss prevention, risk management and agreement, they, asked me to be the risk management and loss prevention director of the company.

[00:15:25] And at that time we were about 2,500 employees with about three, four attorneys. I was working extremely close with the attorneys, regarding, the claims or the agreements or the contracts. And plus I used to travel, almost all of the offices and provide lectures in the risk management and loss prevention. And it's important to say that I did not learn those things in school. I did not learn it as much. In [00:16:00] my experience time, it was nothing but GBA that I gained and I got that position because of that.

[00:16:12] Guy: Interesting. So your last 12 years at PBS, what have they been like?

[00:16:17] Saiid: I decided not too long ago, that I'm gonna go as a part-time because I've got a lot of other involvement in my life with the other businesses I have. And, now I'm a very comfortable position. I'm serving as a QA/QC reviewer.

[00:16:39] I've got some clients that I'm doing my continuing marketing, but, has been great. No complaint.

[00:16:46] Guy: PBS is more a, whole service provider, right? You provide civil engineering as well as geo professional, consulting. Is that correct? 

[00:16:53] Saiid: Yes, very much. We provide even beyond that, structural engineering, all the [00:17:00] natural resources type, landscape architect planning, surveying, and, very heavy civil engineering, especially in the related to horizontal type projects like road and highways and bridges.

[00:17:15] Guy: So, a couple things. I know one of your side hustles right now is especially interesting to me. Would you like to share some of your other, entrepreneurial endeavors with our audience Saiid?

[00:17:29] Saiid: Sure. We all need good friend around us and good friends. As long as you are a generous person, an honest person, and entrepreneur and open-minded, a lot of friends would knock on your door to go and do other businesses with them. As a result of that, long time ago, I got involved in the mini storage business, which I had. I have not [00:18:00] done any work there. It is just self-managed by a very, very little management team, has been incredibly good business. Same thing with some, convenient stores that the employees write. Employees, good employees. If you take care of it, you don't have to do anything. They take care of that. As you all know, not too long ago, actually about 7, 8, 10 years actually now becoming eight years, I bought a winery and and the reason I did that wasn't I know much about wines. I wanna have a house. be a hot outdoor type. I wanted like a garden type. I didn't wanna go to the coast or go on the mountain.

[00:18:49] It's cold. I just wanna have something that keep me busy and I got to the winery and, has been a great, great experience [00:19:00] and I tell you why it was being great. I don't look at it as a business. I look at it as pleasure. That I'm hungry for it. I wanted to fulfill my retirement time to enjoy it and be involved. The only bad thing is I engineer even the winery, I always provide minimum factor of safety of two on the quality of the wine. When it comes to spraying that I want the highest quality spray, I want the highest quality bottles and the labels and the look and the service, the quality of the wine. The reason I say is satisfaction if when people like it, when your members enjoy it, that's what it's worth it to have. If you don't look at it as a business and you look at it as part of your retirement [00:20:00] to enjoy, I call it enjoyment business.

[00:20:05] Guy: Hmm. Well, you are my hero, Saiid. I can't think of a better thing to do with your retirement than own a winery and, and not go outta business paying for it. Well, Saiid, you're a really interesting guy, and we first met probably early in our careers through GBA. So I've known you a long time. We were the young kids that didn't know what we were doing and trying to find things to do outside the conference, I recall.

[00:20:31] But tell me your story of how you got involved in GBA. How did you wind up attending and what brought you back?

[00:20:38] Saiid: That, that's, that's a very interesting question you ask. I remember after three, four years in my career, I was a junior engineer. I went one day. I went to a job site and, I have a reason to share this story. I went to the job site and the [00:21:00] client happened to come and visit while I was there. From nowhere.

[00:21:06] I asked the guy, do you have any other jobs? he said, as a matter of fact, we coming from a meeting, we are completing a design on two other mid-rise, high-rise building. I said, can I propose on doing the geotechnical environmental work on this? He said, sure. I went back to Dr. Squier, was my boss, and my mentor.

[00:21:36] I went to him, I said, I wanna write my first proposal. He said, wow, what happened? I said, this is what happened. He said, sure, I will help you in a very short time. I got the approval on both jobs and I never forget. He came to me about 10 days later. He said, Saiid. As part of your [00:22:00] bonus, I want to take you and your wife to this incredible trip and I'm going to attend this organization that I belong to and I really like it and I wanna take you there, but just come and have fun. And it took me to, I really believe it was Cancun in Mexico. It used to call. A SFE, as we all know, is GBA today. I went there and I attended education committee. It was wonderful. I was very happy to attend in there. And then at the end of the, meeting, I told myself that, Saiid, this is the place you really wanna hang out.

[00:22:49] They talk about things that you, you know, we don't talk about it. At work and they are the one, they are teaching operational side of the business [00:23:00] and I decided to hang in there and Guy, I'm talking about exactly 35 years ago, I have been attending GBA for 35 years. The month of the respect I have for this organization and what I have learned, totally priceless. A different person.

[00:23:27] Guy: That's a incredible story. It's interesting that you were, introduced to it as a reward and I have a similar story on that, that I can share another day. But, here's the staying power .

[00:23:37] You, you've been there a little bit longer than me. So let's talk about the geo profession. If, if you don't mind, we'll just switch gears into the second phase of this interview where we're talk more, more broadly about geo professionals.

[00:23:49] And we mentioned earlier how maybe geo professionals are viewed differently in other parts of the world because infrastructure is so important and the direct link there. How do you view, do your professionals viewed in [00:24:00] this country, in the US today? Especially when you contrast it versus when you started your career till now.

[00:24:07] Saiid: You know, we have, we have done, better job from the old days. Today to elevating our geoprofessional level and, introducing it more to the other service areas. But I really believe we have not done that to the capacity that we need to. Do. We still need to step up and share it with others. What are all the important stuff we do? That's how I see the geo professional here. There is need for the geo professional in every aspects of engineering, as far as infrastructure and, climate changes would go.

[00:24:57] Guy: It's interesting, when you look at perspective, and you had mentioned [00:25:00] earlier after the merger, you took on, you know, companywide loss prevention role. So I'm guessing that was, 15 years ago or so,

[00:25:08] I think that's one of Gbas big successes. You know, when the organization was formed as A SFE, you couldn't get insurance.

[00:25:15] There was no really way to quantify the risks associated with this. And the organization was a leader in developing the best practices. How do you view that's changed even in the last 15 years from what you were worrying about when you were loss prevention manager to what you worry about now as a senior principal in your firm?

[00:25:35] Saiid: I really believe that's a line that things doesn't change as much. . It's the most important thing is that how every company they have to step up and set that program and train and mentor all of their engineers in the risk management and loss prevention. When it gets into the attorney's [00:26:00] hand, it's totally different stories.

[00:26:02] There is nothing you can do. It's something we have to be proactive by providing mentoring and, teaching our engineers and scientists and geologists that what does risk management and loss prevention means, and how to read the agreements and contracts and, how to prepare the standard of the care scopes that it would. Eliminate problem in the future. But as far as the change, not much has changed from 10 years ago or 15 years ago, or even four years ago. It's just matter of mentoring and training our young engineers.

[00:26:43] Guy: So you can't give up on it. You have to do the steps.

[00:26:46] Saiid: Definitely .

[00:26:47] Guy: How about all the other changes that are going on right now? We've had, a lot of discussion about, changes in technology and how it could affect our business, data, things of that nature. Do you have any views on these disruptive [00:27:00] changes, potentially disruptive changes for our industry?

[00:27:02] Saiid: Sure. As far as the technology, AI is just started. We really do not know where it's gonna take us. In future, we might not even have to do subsurface condition in the method we used to do like drilling or, CPTs. It might be a box like traxler, or a nuke type gauges that we would put it on the ground is gonna tell you what the subsurface layers are. The groundwater, the upper aquifer, lower aquifer, the depth to the rock, the strength of the material. Even it could come up in 10, 24 years that, uh, it, that gauge would tell you what the particle sizes are, what is the plasticity index, and, you know, could do all of these things. But does that, do I fear from that?

[00:27:57] No. We just would have a [00:28:00] better, easier, solutions to the problems. The method of deliveries and reporting is gonna change. Okay. I remember from when the PC came out, when, pagers came out when, this large phone came out that we used to carry to the job site. Then it moved to the dot coms. Believe me, a lot of people have fear that our business is gonna change. And now we have this, cell phones with the, giant, storages. And now AI is starting. Nothing is gonna change in future. It just get to the better side of it to work smarter and not work even harder. I really am optimistic that technology is gonna help us for, to the better solution.

[00:28:58] Just look at what [00:29:00] this, 3D modeling software came out. All these engineering modeling has came out, has made the life easier for us . I really believe technology is not something we would have a fear.

[00:29:13] Guy: So what do you think the core competencies that we have to maintain through that other change that are really gonna be differential in servicing clients in the future?

[00:29:23] Saiid: Providing , the type of projects we are involved in, the type of the work we do, I really believe is not gonna have effect to our clients. The only way it will have effect to have a better way of communications. Better way of reporting and documentations. I really believe it is not gonna have much impact on how we work with the clients or deliver to the clients.

[00:29:54] Guy: Is that another way of saying that we're relationship based and focus on those types of things.

[00:29:59] Saiid: Oh, [00:30:00] definitely. The relationship is the key to everything. You know, even 50 years ago, 30 years ago, that I've been in business 30, 35 years, and even today, yes.

[00:30:12] Guy: What do you think, for someone starting their career now, how should they be preparing to, go through the progression that you did, starting as a junior engineer and working your way, effectively being the, principal of your firm. What do you think, what advice would you have for somebody, entering their career now in terms of what they should be paying attention to?

[00:30:34] Saiid: You know, it would, it's gonna be the same thing. Um, I would have advice to the, to the younger people. Um, I do have, uh, 10, um, rules to be a successful. Um, engineer, scientists, geologists, or whatever you do in our industry, it's the same thing. [00:31:00] It's, uh, it's, uh, advice I have to all the young people

[00:31:03] Guy: Can you share it?

[00:31:04] Saiid: If you don't mind, I would share that, those includes, stay on the top of the technology, don't be behind, learn collaboration and teamwork. Never stop learning. Always challenge yourself, like do the things others don't do. Adopt and rebuild what you like. I would continue with Ask for Mentor. Always have a mentor around you, no matter how long experience you have. Have a yes personality. Be royal to your firm. It will pay back. Get involved in the [00:32:00] operational side of your business if you trust your firm buying into it. The younger generation these days do not step up to buy in to their companies. Just being an engineer, geologist, scientist, might not cut it enough for you.

[00:32:20] In future, be honest with yourself. I would say get involved with the sales and marketing, become friend with your client, and continuously build some plan for life. Set future planning as ongoing basis, like what is next for me? And the final, I always talk to my staff regarding this, get involved with the related organization [00:33:00] in our case, like GBA, and not just attend, get involve.

[00:33:08] Get tremendous help to either starting your business or you continue working as a teamwork in a firm. Those are my advice always to the younger generation.

[00:33:19] Guy: Well, it's good advice, Saiid and, knowing this I've had for these years, I can see you're following your own advice and it's served you really well. Congratulations on a great career.

[00:33:29] Saiid: Thank you and, and Guy. I also have some advice to our colleagues that there are , in our age and they're facing their retirement. My advice to them would be, plan for your retirement. Just saying, I'm gonna travel and read book. Might not be enough. Find good friends. The more people you have around you, the more fulfilled life you're gonna have, you can even do some [00:34:00] very small low risk to no risk type of business. But just do something, do some planning for your future. And more than anything, I would suggest all my colleagues, do volunteer work. Get involved. We need to give back even more than what we got. This is my philosophy that, you know, we're talking about, making everything better. I really don't think that the government makes the country great again. I really believed are the people are us? Are you. To step up, give it back and provide mentorship, teaching , what we know and share our experiences with the younger generation. That's what is gonna make the country great again.

[00:34:59] Guy: It's [00:35:00] interesting you bring that up. Advice for, senior, geo professionals. GBA shameless plug here has a second mountain peer group of folks that are confronting their next act, you know, post, traditional geo professional career and, volunteerism and some of the other things you brought up resonate through that group.

[00:35:17] So you're certainly tuned in there. Saiid great advice.

[00:35:20] Saiid: Right.

[00:35:22] Guy: Hey, let's go to the last chapter of this, interview and, we call it the speed round. I'm gonna ask you some questions that I've asked our other interviews, and we're gonna use these in some way to compile, some perspective.

[00:35:33] I'm not sure how that's gonna exactly work out, but it's called the speed round. You don't have to rush through it, but I'm just gonna ask you a number question here and. , What's your favorite book?

[00:35:46] Saiid: I have. Two suggested books to the upcoming leaders and the young staff. I'm sure many, many, many of us have read this. One of my most favorite book [00:36:00] was a little small book that it helped me personally and I highly recommend people. The younger people read this if they haven't it called Who Moved My Cheese.

[00:36:14] Guy: You referred to that earlier.

[00:36:15] Saiid: By Dr. Spencer Johnson. And Guy, I tell you, I taught at the university for eight years at night. Three nights, two nights, three nights, a week. And it affected me that much that I buy this work to every student I had and pass it on on the final day. You don't believe how many respond back I got from them later on in their career. That's Saiid. I remember you gave this to me. I went back and I read it and I can see myself how much I have gone through all those steps that this book is teaching me.[00:37:00] 

[00:37:00] Guy: The premise, if I recall, is that life throws, changes at you and you need to adapt to them and not trying to resist and go 

[00:37:07] Saiid: Ex. Exactly, exactly. You know, we are all have a tendency of being hard , to change. And that was tremendous book, helping me in my life. And then another one for the younger people is pushing up people by Art Williams.

[00:37:24] Guy: Hmm.

[00:37:25] Saiid: And that's the story of. How to look for your boss job and what you have to do if you like what he's doing, and to get there. And then my other books, I really love the history books. Those are like documentary movies. They're real. And I have a book in my hand right now. The Three Body Problems is a science fiction book by the Chinese writer Saxon Leo. Also Untethered Soul by [00:38:00] Michael Singer, and that's a life coaching type of things.

[00:38:04] I try to provide that service to some of friends also. So that's what I enjoy, those kind of books that it's about life. It's about

[00:38:13] you. 

[00:38:14] Guy: Pretty diverse group. Business books and history books 

[00:38:17] Saiid: Yeah. 

[00:38:17] Guy: self-help. Interesting. Thanks for sharing those Saiid. Next question is, ~you know,~ optimism ~is~ index, and you ~sort of~ alluded to this earlier, but I'm gonna ask the question again anyhow. When you look at, the world today, how do you feel about the future, on a scale of one to five, one being negative and pessimistic, and five being extremely optimistic.

[00:38:40] Saiid: I really would give, four to it, even though. Part of my mind says, say five. I'm a very generally optimistic person. I see the glass half full. I'm confident and optimistic that things will get better for our [00:39:00] services with the climate changes, the challenges we have a lot of in front of us. ~Approving the~ infrastructure fund needs to be approved. We are way overdue. It's gonna get us very much involved, you know, over 50, 60% of the infrastructure work, through the nation. It's the service area we provided. And if they do it, which they have to do it, it's gonna keep us very busy. I think we are overdue with that. Things will get better, and the workload would be good. And as we talked, the way of delivery is gonna be nicer and better. So I'm very optimistic that things gonna get better.

[00:39:47] Guy: I've expected that much from you. I think, for those of you don't know Saiid personally, he's a really positive, guy and I think that's what, is attractive about you, Saiid. You're just easy to get along with, easy to be around and uplifting. So, I think [00:40:00] just good to be around people like that.

[00:40:02] So you've had a very interesting career, some of which you, discussed here today and really whole life. When you reflect on your life, and not that you're ready to go to a pasture or anything, but what do you think your biggest impact has been in your adult life? Like where has your impact been felt the most?

[00:40:19] Saiid: I would start with my family. My lovely wife and I, we really think we've done a good job with our kids. I have a daughter of 28, and a son of 33 years old. They're both in the finance business. They're very successful. I remember we applied, uh, my father's philosophy that being a B student is okay. But you gotta be a, a student in society. I really believe they are very socialized and that aspect is helping them to grow. First I would say the family and then for last 30 years [00:41:00] I've been involved in nothing but teaching, mentoring, and holding hands. That is something it gives you. The most satisfaction in my life that what I've done, and I'm giving it back because I'm so thankful what I gained, here being in us. And I really feel that I'm obligated to give it back. I taught at the university for eight years, believe me, guy. It was not for the money, it was just sharing what I know, and I'm continuously doing that. I love to be involved in volunteer work and help in holding people's hand. What I would've changed. There are a couple things that I can say. One, I would've stay on the top of technology a little bit better. [00:42:00] I always consider myself as a secondary learner that is not gonna cut it. I would've changed that to stay up with the technology and,

[00:42:13] Guy: Wait, could you clarify what secondary learner means?

[00:42:18] Saiid: I wasn't, I was always behind. But more than 50% people learn how to really work with the technology and then I step into learn it

[00:42:27] I always wait that, oh, I gotta get into this and learn. And my other thing was, um, even though I'm pleased to what I've done, as I mentioned before, we used to work harder and we didn't have that much option to work smarter., I was teaching two, three nights a week and I've been attending four local related organizations like ACEC and A [00:43:00] SCE and the Structural Engineer Association and the architects, and, I was about four nights a week. I used to come home at 10 o'clock. I would've focused where I wanna be and what I want to do at night, which organizations, and get more involved in it and not just attend. And I would've spent more time with kids at home. That's what I would've changed.

[00:43:31] Guy: Yeah, it's hard not to feel in our profession with how much we work to, not, acknowledge the gap with our families. I think that you are not alone there. Bringing this towards the end, you had already given us advice on, those entering the profession, but I have an alternative question I wanted to ask you.

[00:43:46] What was the most impactful thing a mentor did for you? You'd mentioned the importance of a mentor earlier, and you think back on mentorship you received through the years. What, what stands out the [00:44:00] most?

[00:44:00] Saiid: I would mentioned three, four people. Number one was my father. I never can forget that. What are the little steps he taught us and made me who I am? I use that in a everyday basis, so my hats off to my dad for what he has taught us. Number two, Dr. Rad Squier, my first boss, he was a funder of the Squier Associates with my friends Arlan Rippe. But I tell you one thing guy, that we all forget about it, the younger generation friends you have, you would learn tremendously from them. It doesn't have to be more experienced people to be your mentor. Of the, you know, I'm very close with Ryan White. He consider me as a [00:45:00] mentor and believe me, deep my heart, I consider him as my mentor too. That's a two

[00:45:07] way 

[00:45:07] Guy: a great point.

[00:45:09] Saiid: That's a two way street, is mentoring is not a title is what you gain and what kind of a relationship we have, and that's how my relationship is with Ryan .

[00:45:20] Guy: Wow, that's really insightful, Saiid. We're pretty much at the end of the interview. Saiid, I want to thank you for spending time with us today and sharing your wonderful story. Also, you didn't do it, but I will put in a plug for Rizzo Wines in Willamette Valley. Rizzo Wines. Is it rizzo wines.com?

[00:45:40] I've personally sampled Rizzo Wines and I can attest that they're wonderful.

[00:45:47] Any final words, before we wrap up?

[00:45:50] Saiid: I really from deep my heart, I want to thank you for what you're doing, as a president of GBA to capturing the [00:46:00] GBA histories. I really wanna take this opportunity to thanking GBA staff, especially Joel, with a great personality and what they do, the board. Um, also my hats off to all of my colleagues with GBA for the volunteer work, the hard work they've been doing year after year. And, my general slogan for GBA is work, get dones. And this organization, it's my number one choice. Everybody knows it and I like to. Thank you so much, guy. It was wonderful and fun being with you and talking to you.

[00:46:46] Guy: Thanks again. Saiid . That's gonna be a wrap for this podcast. Thanks for tuning in today, everybody.