October 10, 2023 • 36 mins
A seasoned architect known for his creative leadership and dedication to his craft, Steve Alspaugh, FAIA, LEED AP, B+C shares his journey from a childhood fascination with The Brady Bunch to his current role as a Design Architect|Associate. Listen to his experience working on the Franklin Township Middle School project, where he used state code as a creative tool, and learn how a devastating tornado in his hometown led him to become the Indiana State Disaster Coordinator through the American Institute of Architects Indiana chapter. Prepare to be enlightened as Steve discusses how mentorship has influenced his career and the importance of building strong relationships.
Don't miss the chance to learn from Steve who has shaped landmarks and careers. Hear about his adventures navigating design challenges, the inspirations that feed his creativity, and the legacy he hopes to leave behind. This is a conversation that not only delves into the fascinating world of architecture but also offers valuable life lessons on finding your passion and building a lasting impact. Tune in for an episode filled with stories of creativity, resilience, mentorship, and passion, all while having fun along the way.
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Episode Transcript
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Sarah Hempstead (00:06):
Welcome to Luminate.
Navigating the Unknown ThroughCreative Leadership.
I'm Sarah Hempstead, CEO andPrincipal- in- Charge of Schmidt
Associates, and today I'mjoined by design architect and
associate at the firm, SteveAlspaugh, who's built his career
with Schmidt Associates With anoutstanding resume of service
to Indianapolis and to thenational architectural design
(00:28):
community.
Steve has impacted society atall levels through his work to
elevate the reach ofarchitecture in our daily lives,
through awards programs withthe AIA Honors and Awards Task
Force, and working to increaseresiliency to natural disasters,
serving as the AIA IndianaState Disaster Coordinator.
His achievements are built onthe foundation of his passion
(00:50):
for design excellence and toprograms promoting it to build
community and providingleadership to many organizations
where he has shaped a level ofimpact, while successfully
serving K-12, higher educationand community owners, Delivering
almost 100 projects over his 40years with the firm.
Steve's work to transform theMidwest's built environment is a
(01:11):
positive reflection ofarchitecture's past, present and
future.
In this episode we'll dive intoSteve's work over time, his
most memorable experiences andwe'll explore his thoughts on
creative leadership.
Thanks for joining us.
Steve Alspaugh (01:25):
Thank you for having me.
Sarah Hempstead (01:27):
So, Steve, we've talked about this.
You knew from an early age thatyou wanted to design
imaginative, innovative spaces.
I'm curious about what piquedthat interest.
Do you have a family member, afriend, a teacher?
Steve Alspaugh (01:41):
Well, the time it started was around sixth
grade and I don't know if youremember, but the Brady Bunch
was a big TV show and Mike Bradywas an architect, right?
Sarah Hempstead (01:50):
He was.
We never saw him designanything, but he was an
architect.
Steve Alspaugh (01:53):
I had a couple of friends in elementary school,
Tim Burns and Randy Crutchfieldand I'm still in touch with
Randy today.
We started drawing houses onthose Manila graph paper things
and had quite a collection,turns out.
I threw those away when I wasin college.
I was like why did I do that?
Sarah Hempstead (02:10):
I don't know.
Steve Alspaugh (02:11):
But anyway, that was one of my early starts.
But, like many of us, ourparents are huge influences in
the way we look at the world.
Initially and, Mike, I was noexception to that my dad was a
plumber, HVAC guy and I learnedvery early on his work ethic and
the way he looked at the world.
(02:31):
I learned servant leadershipfrom him without realizing it
and before I even knew it was athing.
My mom as well.
She had a strong work ethic andthe way she treated people.
She was, and still is, verystrong in her faith, even to
this day.
A family friend, Ron Drake, wasan architectural designer who
(02:56):
did a remodel of our house andhe became a close friend and he
basically taught me how he didwork, how he thought about it,
showed me his architecturaldrawings and I went on to later
do that.
In high school I tookarchitectural drafting classes
all four years.
But I wanted to come back to mydad for a second.
(03:18):
He worked for my uncle for anHVAC and plumbing contracting
business, a trade he firstlearned in the Navy in the
Korean War.
He was born at the end of theDepression and he had a very
strong work ethic that he, Iwould say, taught me organically
, just in the things that we didtogether, but leadership in the
(03:40):
church and in the community heseemed to just know everyone in
town, as it is when you're froma small town, right.
But when I was growing up, Imean, it wasn't uncommon to see
him go out for a service call inthe middle of a winter night
because somebody's heat failed,and so I learned that he had
(04:01):
friends and clients that he tookcare of whatever it took, so he
just did what needed to be done.
So my college summers werespent working union construction
and I made very good money.
But it also built a reallyfoundational knowledge for me
about construction and howbuildings go together, how
(04:22):
things get done basically.
Sarah Hempstead (04:24):
So now your card, don't you Chair Ball State
.
Steve Alspaugh (04:26):
I am.
Sarah Hempstead (04:27):
How did you?
Steve Alspaugh (04:29):
end up at Ball State In what little research
that I did at the time.
You've got to remember this islike the mid-70s.
I do remember my guidancecounselor talking to me about
that.
In fact, his son was in a classjust ahead of me at Ball State
in architecture, so I becamefamiliar that way.
I really didn't look wellbeyond.
(04:51):
We were a family that wasn'tgoing to forward out of state
tuition.
Sarah Hempstead (04:57):
Well, it was early days for the Ball State
architecture program it was itwas.
So you benefited from mentorswho taught you the value of hard
work and service.
How does that manifest itselfin how you look at your role as
an architect in the community?
Steve Alspaugh (05:17):
Well, I would say my mentors and the
construction work that I did inthe summers helped me craft my
own work ethic and developcertainly a healthy respect for
the contracting side of ourindustry.
My construction experiencesgreatly shape my understandings
how buildings go together, as Imentioned, and I think my
(05:38):
creativity comes from adifferent place.
I have an understanding ofbuildings and that construction
informs how I can interject mycreative influences into both
the big picture design andconstruction details of a given
project.
My mentors have probably helpedshape, without knowing it as
(06:02):
much, the way I approach aproblem.
More than anything, I've seenhow they've dealt with some
issues that have come up and Ijust tried to.
You lean into that stuff, right, you don't shirk from it and
you just try to solve theproblem.
Sarah Hempstead (06:22):
So you've had the opportunity when trying to
solve the problem working with Isaid at the top of the show 100
different clients, 100different projects, more or less
.
There may even be more thanthat.
We learn as we solve problemswith those clients, we tell
their stories, we learn how theytransform their organizations.
(06:46):
Can you tell me a story aboutone or two clients you've worked
with while solving a problemthat really changed the way you
thought about creativity andleadership?
Steve Alspaugh (06:56):
I think one of the early ones was I still
remember to this day going tomeet with state code officials
to talk about an issue we weredealing with at Franklin
Township, middle Tool,specifically the design of their
cafeteria.
I remember coming away fromthat meeting feeling like I had
(07:16):
really done something good forthat client.
I don't even remember what itwas that we solved, but there
were some issues related to thedesign of the cafeteria in the
kitchen and how they connectedand all of that.
We weren't sure we were goingto get to where we were hoping
to go, but we did.
I just remember feeling reallygood that I just helped the
(07:37):
client in a way that I didn'tthink about before I went into
the meeting.
I was just trying to get donewhat I thought needed to be done
.
I guess.
Another one that I would mention.
I don't know if you rememberCharles Mayer.
He was director of spaceplanning facilities at Indiana
State.
Charles, when I first met himhe was serving as the person
(08:00):
that was communicating, in manycases, the needs of the users to
us.
That was a little new to me.
I was used to working directlywith the users.
I was always like what can Iget around you to them.
He was very picky.
He didn't seem to smile muchand he aborted me with
(08:22):
information from the users inthe university and what they
wanted.
I wasn't sure he even liked mevery much, but it turned out
that he did.
I realized that he was givingme what I needed to know, even
though I wasn't getting itdirectly from the users.
Once I understood he wasworking to make sure that his
(08:48):
institution's needs wereaccurately communicated, things
went much better.
I realized Charles was myfriend and he's trying to help
us.
We became much friends In fact.
Charles is long retired.
He lives in New York City.
I've been in touch with him byemail over the last couple of
(09:09):
years.
I'm hoping to see him whenLinda and I go to New York to
visit Ethan at the end of themonth.
It'd be a great thing if thatcould happen.
Sarah Hempstead (09:20):
Going to New York to see a friend and get
inspiration leads into my nextquestion, which is as designers,
we are charged with bringinginspiration to the table,
creating those strongfoundational partnerships and
relationships, and beingcreative.
How do you feed that foryourself?
How do you get your inspirationthat you can then turn around
(09:42):
and bring to projects andclients?
Steve Alspaugh (09:47):
For me, I certainly get it from travel,
going and seeing new places.
I've done a lot of trips withthe AA Committee on Design.
That's been a big part of atleast the formation of new
design ideas since probably, Istarted visiting with them in
2003,.
Certainly, my colleagues.
(10:08):
My inspiration comes fromplaces that you expect and
places you don't expect.
Sometimes I see things invignettes that I want to
recreate in a building orsomething like that.
It just comes from lots ofdifferent places.
I try to let my brain do a lotof cross-training in that regard
(10:30):
, whether it's artworktranslated to a plant or an
elevation and the way thingscompose themselves to try to
recreate that sometimes.
Sarah Hempstead (10:41):
What are you working on right now?
What's a specific project orissue that you're working on
right now that relies oncreativity to get through?
Steve Alspaugh (10:52):
I think about that question.
It's really about a recentproject it's finishing up.
It's the Fall Creek Pavilion.
It's really been that kind ofproject for me the opportunity
to develop a legacy project forthe Fairgrounds campus that's
forward-thinking in its layoutand systems, that the end users,
(11:13):
from everything I understand,fell in love with in the very
first fair that it serves.
I really think its flexibilityis going to serve it well in
offering a diversity of usersthe ability to create new
revenue streams and enhanceexisting ones going forward in
the future.
One aspect that I'm really proudof with regard to that project
(11:34):
is my role in help carrying thetheme of swine art from the
historic North Portal to theSouth Entry, the new South
Public Entry.
We created spaces for fourlarge six-foot by six-foot
limestone sculpture panels andthen worked with the owner and a
limestone artist that we foundto develop new building art that
(11:58):
the owner could not be morethrilled with.
It's an example of finding thewow in every project and then
delivering on it.
That's one of the mantrasyou'll hear later and if you ask
the right questions at theright time.
Sarah Hempstead (12:17):
I'll see what I can do.
I'll see what I can do.
Steve Alspaugh (12:19):
But not only that.
I think we captured the storyof how that art was developed in
a couple of videos that willlive on past us and we shared
those with the owner.
And we share them as part ofour marketing outreach to the
broader design community, orbroader client community, I
should say.
Sarah Hempstead (12:40):
I'm going to switch tracks for a minute and
talk about mentoring.
One of the things that you'vespent a ton of time with over
the course of your career hasbeen mentoring others.
So, whether that's clients,whether that's young architects,
young designers of all kinds,talk a little bit about what
(13:01):
mentoring means to you and howit's kind of changed your story.
What's your takeaway from yourmentoring experiences?
Steve Alspaugh (13:12):
Well, mentoring for me.
It has changed me.
It's one of the things that Ilook forward to now that there
was a time in each of ourcareers where we weren't relied
upon to do that, but it's partof what gives me energy to do
(13:33):
that.
Our younger staff is every bitas eager as we were to make
their mark right to design, butwhen you're starting off, there
is so much you don't know, andwhen you're starting off, you
don't know what you don't know.
(13:54):
I try to build off theireagerness to learn and to teach
them how to do it right, to dothings the right way, to how to
approach a design problem or adetail, rather than doing it for
them, if I can, because, again,right, it's just not a fish.
Another important thing that Itry to teach is to develop your
(14:17):
network of industry contacts,where that's vendors or
contractors, because you'regoing to rely on them on how to
put things together in thefuture for new projects, for
pricing of things, for advice ofhow to do things in a way that
will last.
I try to help them tie into mynetwork and learn the importance
(14:38):
of building their own, and alsotry to teach them why community
service is important, encouragethem to find a community cause
that they're passionate aboutand jump in.
I think there's a hesitancywhen you're new to a firm and
young like that, to put yourselfout there.
(15:00):
For some people that's noproblem.
It's they're outgoing anyway.
They're type A personalities.
They have no problem gettingthere.
They do, or maybe a little lesssure of themselves, need that
nudge and our community partnersare looking for help all the
time, even if those are just theglue people that help them do
(15:21):
things as opposed to being ontheir boards and stuff.
Sarah Hempstead (15:25):
And that goes to something that I have watched
you do successfully for the 20plus years that I've been at
Schmidt is build that network ofpeople and resources that you
then bring to the table.
Is that a quality of being asuccessful leader?
Is the network?
Steve Alspaugh (15:45):
I think it is.
I mean, for me it's certainlybeen that because they are
reliable for me.
They've been in the industrymaybe not as long as I have, but
in most cases at least as long.
But they've done it from adifferent perspective, in the
sense that they put togetherwhat we design, whether they're
(16:05):
the reps, but in most cases forme they're the contractors that
we've done work with, that I'vedeveloped a friendship with and
a trust that I can carry forwardas I do things.
Sarah Hempstead (16:21):
So that kind of rolls into what happens when
something goes wrong.
Right, with any complex projectthere's going to be complex
things.
As a leader, sometimes we haveto make decisions we don't want
to.
Sometimes we have to say thehard thing.
How do you share, particularlywith a young new designer, how
to work through those issues?
Steve Alspaugh (16:46):
Well, I have some thoughts on that that I'll
get to it started.
One of the first times I had todeal with that was at Indiana
State University.
They had some flooding oncampus and I had to go over when
they were dealing.
It was the student computingcomplex and I don't remember now
(17:07):
I think it was natural floodingwhere it was actually the
rivers coming up and all of that.
They had some flooding in thebuilding and we had an
underfloor distribution systemlike a Tate access floor and
that just complicated thingsfurther.
But for me at that time it wasjust showing up.
(17:27):
I had to not go to Terre Hautethat day, the way I always went,
because things were theflooding was causing issues just
in getting there.
So I remember it took a littlelonger, but I felt that they
felt I showed up, I came tolisten, I helped solve the
(17:49):
problems that they were dealingwith and I think that's
sometimes what you have to do,but you don't know how it's
going to turn out when you'remaybe going into that situation.
But showing up, trying tounderstand what the issues are
and how you can help impact thesolutions, it's where it starts,
and there's an old saying isthat people don't care what you
(18:14):
know until they know that youcare, and I think sometimes it's
just about caring.
It really is Some otherthoughts I have in terms of
younger staff.
I would just say be curious, askquestions, ask lots of them, if
that's what's necessary for youto understand things, but I
think sometimes we get hung upon the how and why is just as
(18:39):
important, if not more importantin some cases.
So, as I mentioned earlier,find the wow opportunities and
deliver on them.
Rain taught me that fullyunderstanding old buildings is
hard.
It's one of the hardest thingswe have to do Now.
Certainly, point clouds makethat a bit easier, but take time
(19:00):
to look at things that arehiding in plain sight and for
clues to things that you can'tsee, that aren't quite so
readily available.
I think, reviewing a set ofexisting building drawings, you
have to remember that your goalis to understand this building
(19:22):
in three dimensions, even thougheverything you look at is in
two, and that can be hard to do.
But my construction experiencevery early on helped me
understand that I'm alwayslooking at a building in three
dimensions because you're goingto miss something if you don't.
Thank you.
Sarah Hempstead (19:43):
Communication is a lot of what we do
Communicating in two-dimension.
What is a three-dimensionalthing?
Communicating a solution to acomplicated problem?
You've seen methods ofcommunication change a lot in
the last almost 50 years ofpractice.
What have you learned aboutcommunication?
(20:04):
When does that come in handy?
Steve Alspaugh (20:07):
So I try to remember Stephen Covey's quote
when it comes to firstunderstanding and then to be
understood.
Our process requires that wefully understand our client's
needs to be able to deliver theproper response and it solves
their issues and meets theirgoals.
But to do that, we have tolisten before we can advise
(20:30):
correctly.
So it's not in my nature to bequiet and listen easily
sometimes, but I try to forcemyself to do that because my
mind is almost jumping ahead totry to solve a problem, as
they're saying it, and I have tonot do that.
But I've learned to try not todo that.
(20:52):
I guess another mantra thatI've learned is, like I said
before, people don't care whatyou know until they know that
you care.
And it's spot on, because trulylistening and understanding
before responding is soimportant to providing the right
response.
Sarah Hempstead (21:11):
One of the things we mentioned at the very
beginning is in your volunteercapacity.
You've worked with a ton ofcommittees, task force boards.
Can you talk a little bit aboutthe Indiana State Disaster
Coordinator role?
I think many people don't evenknow that that exists and it's
(21:31):
so important to the future ofthe state.
Steve Alspaugh (21:34):
So my role there was born a long time ago.
It was born on April 3, 1974.
On that date our hometown washit by a supercell of three
tornadoes.
So that day changed our townforever and it changed me as
(21:59):
well.
Without even realizing it somuch later in my life, as I
watched the Army Corps ofEngineers, the Red Cross, all of
these different serviceorganizations come to help our
town, I guess it was just sortof set in my brain that someday
(22:23):
it'll be your turn to do this.
Sarah Hempstead (22:25):
You were just a young man.
Steve Alspaugh (22:27):
I was a sophomore in high school, but I
still remember the events of theday.
This is April, so we have thisdevastating storm.
The next day it snowed, andthen the sun came out right
after that.
So it was like all thesedifferent weird weather events
rolled into probably a 48 to 72hour period that you just never
(22:51):
expected to see together.
But the idea that you don'treally have a choice you just
got to pick up and get to work.
So that turned out to be a bigbenefit for me.
I mean, I guess, when lifegives you lemons, right, because
(23:13):
what happened is the rebuildingof the town gave me
opportunities to find jobs inthat rebuilding.
I had my first unionconstruction job.
Putting sidewalks and roads,curb and gutter back together
made great money, but I was inmy, I think I just yeah.
I mean, I had already startedthinking about architecture as a
(23:35):
profession, and so constructionwas a curious thing for me.
I was interested in it.
I did projects at home with mydad, I worked for my uncle at
times, so building constructioncame very organically to me and
I was comfortable on it.
So the thing I didn't thinkabout was what will that be and
(23:56):
when will later be and when.
When I had the opportunity to dosome training for emergency
response, I took advantage of itand Jason Shelley came to me
and said you know, I really needsomeone to be the coordinator
at the state level because we'dhad some trainings in the past
(24:19):
and that I wasn't even a part of.
I mean, a whole group of peoplehad been trained and their
trainings had expired and allthat.
So I got busy trying toorganize who all these people
were and get some semblance oforganization to a roster, to
where their training stood andto organizing new trainings that
they could get updated in.
(24:40):
And currently we have like 37people who are on the roster
officially at various levels oftraining.
At least half of them are,about half of them are trained,
and we're working on moretraining later this year through
the AIA and then with the goalof having a mock exercise.
I mean, reality is you'replanning for something you hope
(25:01):
never happens, but you know itwill and as you you know, read
articles in the paper and hearthe news.
Those disastrous weather eventsare becoming more and more
common, more and more frequent,unfortunately.
But yeah, it's personal for meobviously to be there for
someone else when you're in.
(25:24):
You know they're basically theyfeel paralyzed for a while
because, just at the level ofdestruction it is, it's hard to
wrap your head around whenyou're looking at it and going,
wow, I went to school there, butit's gone.
It's gone, totally gone.
Sarah Hempstead (25:39):
So that that is an amazing story of taking what
was a horrible situation andturning it into a benefit to
society through through yourskills.
As you think about bringingother people to that level of
(26:02):
volunteerism you've got 37already in that group.
What's the way that we canencourage that sort of passion
for community involvement forpeople who've never, never even
thought about it before, maybe?
Steve Alspaugh (26:15):
Well, I think everybody has causes, maybe not
be the complete right term, butthey have things that have
shaped their life that they arepassionate about and maybe they
didn't know there was anorganization that revolves
around that.
You know, maybe someone has asibling that is a special needs
child, whatever it is.
(26:37):
Find something that you'repassionate about and go, go lean
into that with an organizationthat is trying to make a
difference in that part of oursociety.
I think if you, if you can findthat you will, you will never
get lost in it because you, youknow your passion comes from
(26:59):
deep within you.
It's your, your brother, yoursister, your parent, your uncle,
whatever, for those kinds ofthings you know.
For me it was personal becauseit happened to me and my
community and I could clearlysee the benefits that all of
these people who didn't know uscoming into our town to help put
(27:21):
Humpty back together again.
It's just a, it's a huge.
It's a huge benefit that youyou can't imagine until you're
in that situation.
Sarah Hempstead (27:29):
So you've been doing architecture for 40 plus
years.
At this point, 40.
40, straight 40.
Just start 40.
What's, as you start to lookback, what's, what's the legacy?
Or you hope you're leaving.
What do you hope people willsay?
Steve Alspaugh (27:46):
I think I I'd hope that they would say that I
worked hard to make a differencefor our clients and for our,
for our firm and the teams thatI work on, to significantly
impact the projects that wecrafted together, that our staff
learned good practices for methat they would continue to use
(28:07):
to help guide them on their owncareer paths.
And I guess I also hope peoplehad fun working with me and
learning from me.
Sarah Hempstead (28:17):
What if you could?
If you could advise young SteveAllspaugh 40 years ago about
his career?
What, what, what do you wishyou knew?
Steve Alspaugh (28:25):
Well, some of the things that I mentioned
earlier about you know beingcurious, asking some questions,
all this stuff, which which Iprobably did, probably ask too
many questions in some cases.
But I think you know you haveto just be open to what comes
your way and, and you know, youcan ask for work on certain
projects or however that works.
But but you know, control thethings that you can control
(28:47):
these.
My involvement with AIA was veryorganic.
His name was Dean Ilingworthand Wainch met too.
But because Dean reallyencouraged my first, you know,
involvement in those kinds ofthings and it just took, you
know, putting yourself out thereand leaning into it, wain I I
(29:07):
brought him the idea of gettinginvolved with the committee on
design and he said I thinkthat's a great idea and you know
me well enough to know how thathas sort of changed the world
for me in terms of being exposedto design ideas and people that
are leaders in our industry,not only national leaders but
(29:27):
even international in some cases.
So, yeah, you just you have tounderstand, or or at least have
some idea of where you want togo, what your passions are, and
let them lead you places.
You'll be surprised where theycan go.
Sarah Hempstead (29:45):
Well, and I know you well enough to know
that you have a lovely familyand a kiddo who is passionate
about architecture too.
How do you do that in this job?
How do you maintain a balancebetween the passion you have for
the work and for volunteerism,and for family and for church
and all the all?
How do you bring all the piecestogether and stay healthy and
whole?
Steve Alspaugh (30:05):
Well, the healthy and whole part is
probably, if I'm honest about it, I need to do better on that
front.
I've had a handful of healthissues that maybe started five
or six years ago that I mean, Iused to play tennis to
regenerate my batteries and, andI don't do that anymore, but
I'm thinking about pickleballnow.
It's like a.
The smaller court might workfor me, but I really need to
(30:28):
spend more time doing the thingsthat I I can do, like hiking
and biking, but clearly thehilly hundred days are behind me
.
But in terms of balancing allof that, you know I've I've
actually mixed things like likewe're doing work for my church
right now.
You know something Wayne toldme be really careful about that.
(30:48):
I don't care.
Clearly I didn't listen, butbut it is.
It is a balance of where you putyour time, because there's a
lot of extracurricular thingswith these community
organizations that we getinvolved with that there's only
one place for them to come from,because we we got to get our
work done and so they usuallycome from your time at home in
(31:12):
many cases.
So, but they also have a clinic, co generative kind of cemetery
, right, because you know, Ispend time at my church.
I'm involved there in a habitatbuild that's being actually a
panel build that's being plannedin our earth parking lot for
(31:32):
September 23rd and I've beenpart of the playing team putting
that together.
But I've been involved withHabitat for years, you know,
mostly through my church.
But these things for me havefound a way to, like you know,
fit together like pieces of apuzzle that help me interconnect
with these different groups andyou find a way to make it work
(31:57):
if it's important to you.
Sarah Hempstead (31:58):
Well, two final questions, One that I ask
everybody and one that I'm goingto ask you, just you.
So, for the first one, as youlook back and I know this is
like picking a favorite childbut you have one project that is
just really memorable to youand you're really proud of as
part of your career.
Steve Alspaugh (32:19):
Well, I had a list of six of them here, so you
basically blown that up too.
Sarah Hempstead (32:26):
I'll take six.
You can give me six if youcan't pick.
Steve Alspaugh (32:28):
Okay, All right.
Well, some of the highlightsfor me.
I think you know I've had theopportunity to develop and bring
to life a number of memorableprojects, and none of this we do
on our own right.
We it's a village, but the onesthat stand out for me are the
higher education buildings andthe performing arts facilities.
Some of them are uniquelyspecial are the the Fall Creek
(32:52):
Pavilion we talked about it atthe State Fairgrounds the Ivy
Tech, Illinois Fall Creek CenterWow, you know, kind of bringing
the Phoenix back from the firefor that one.
Plainfield High School, just mybiggest first time ever.
All new facility, you know,building a cornfield Gosling
(33:16):
College Music Center and I wouldsay the Michael Evans Center
for Health at Marion University.
But and the major healthpartners, Wellness and YMCA.
Those are all some of thehighlights that I've had really
great opportunities to do, buttheir memorable because of the
owners we worked with whoallowed us to do great work, the
(33:39):
design teams that work togetherto take advantage of that
opportunity and to craft alegacy project for those
communities that are.
Now.
They're better for it, you knowthey because of the services
those buildings offer and theopportunities they create for
the people in those communities.
That's why they're, that's whythey're great projects.
Sarah Hempstead (33:57):
Those are great projects.
Stay on the test of time, allright.
So my question I ask everybodywhat's a book that you recommend
to everybody?
It could be something you'recurrently reading, something
that you read that wastransformative.
Steve Alspaugh (34:10):
I don't read a whole lot on a regular basis,
but one of my favorites I youknow I will take a book on
vacation or something like that,and but one of the that has
stuck with me for a very longtime was called Lost Moon.
It's the story, the perilousvoyage of the Apollo 13, by
(34:30):
Jeffrey Krueger and Jim Lovell.
Jim Lovell was an astronaut onthat, on that flight, but the
struggle of getting back toEarth after what happened to
them in space was shared byLovell on a very personal level,
but but in a very pragmatic way, because that's how they had to
get back to Earth.
They had to solve one problemat a time and just get to the
(34:53):
next thing, and it was.
You know they've made a movieabout it, starring a pretty good
actor too, but but I read thebook long before the movie came
out, and it was.
It was.
It's very inspiring, but it'salso about dealing with hardship
and understanding, you know,just eating that elephant one
(35:13):
bite at a time until all of asudden you're back.
Sarah Hempstead (35:18):
Well, Steve.
Thank you for spending sometime with me this afternoon.
Thank you for being a part ofour firm, our success, and the
community.
It's been really nice to hearsome stories I haven't heard
before about the influence thatyou've had on some of our work.
To learn more about Steve,please visit our website at
schmitt-archcom.
You can learn more about hisaccomplishments projects he's
(35:42):
been a part of.
He didn't even mention hisrecent elevation to FAA and some
of the transformative work thathe's been involved with.
And thank you for listening toLuminate: Navigating the Unknown
Through Creative Leadership.
We hope this episode hasinspired you and supplied
valuable insight into the worldof creative leadership.
Don't forget to subscribe toour podcast wherever you get
(36:02):
your podcasts so you never missan episode.
We'd love to hear your thoughtsand feedback, so feel free to
reach out to us on Facebook,Instagram and LinkedIn at
Schmidt Associates.
Until the next time, keepnavigating the unknown with
creativity and confidence.
Welcome to Luminate.
Navigating the Unknown ThroughCreative Leadership.
I'm Sarah Hempstead, CEO andPrincipal- in- Charge of Schmidt
Associates, and today I'mjoined by design architect and
associate at the firm, SteveAlspaugh, who's built his career
with Schmidt Associates With anoutstanding resume of service
to Indianapolis and to thenational architectural design
(00:28):
community.
Steve has impacted society atall levels through his work to
elevate the reach ofarchitecture in our daily lives,
through awards programs withthe AIA Honors and Awards Task
Force, and working to increaseresiliency to natural disasters,
serving as the AIA IndianaState Disaster Coordinator.
His achievements are built onthe foundation of his passion
(00:50):
for design excellence and toprograms promoting it to build
community and providingleadership to many organizations
where he has shaped a level ofimpact, while successfully
serving K-12, higher educationand community owners, Delivering
almost 100 projects over his 40years with the firm.
Steve's work to transform theMidwest's built environment is a
(01:11):
positive reflection ofarchitecture's past, present and
future.
In this episode we'll dive intoSteve's work over time, his
most memorable experiences andwe'll explore his thoughts on
creative leadership.
Thanks for joining us.
Steve Alspaugh (01:25):
Thank you for having me.
Sarah Hempstead (01:27):
So, Steve, we've talked about this.
You knew from an early age thatyou wanted to design
imaginative, innovative spaces.
I'm curious about what piquedthat interest.
Do you have a family member, afriend, a teacher?
Steve Alspaugh (01:41):
Well, the time it started was around sixth
grade and I don't know if youremember, but the Brady Bunch
was a big TV show and Mike Bradywas an architect, right?
Sarah Hempstead (01:50):
He was.
We never saw him designanything, but he was an
architect.
Steve Alspaugh (01:53):
I had a couple of friends in elementary school,
Tim Burns and Randy Crutchfieldand I'm still in touch with
Randy today.
We started drawing houses onthose Manila graph paper things
and had quite a collection,turns out.
I threw those away when I wasin college.
I was like why did I do that?
Sarah Hempstead (02:10):
I don't know.
Steve Alspaugh (02:11):
But anyway, that was one of my early starts.
But, like many of us, ourparents are huge influences in
the way we look at the world.
Initially and, Mike, I was noexception to that my dad was a
plumber, HVAC guy and I learnedvery early on his work ethic and
the way he looked at the world.
(02:31):
I learned servant leadershipfrom him without realizing it
and before I even knew it was athing.
My mom as well.
She had a strong work ethic andthe way she treated people.
She was, and still is, verystrong in her faith, even to
this day.
A family friend, Ron Drake, wasan architectural designer who
(02:56):
did a remodel of our house andhe became a close friend and he
basically taught me how he didwork, how he thought about it,
showed me his architecturaldrawings and I went on to later
do that.
In high school I tookarchitectural drafting classes
all four years.
But I wanted to come back to mydad for a second.
(03:18):
He worked for my uncle for anHVAC and plumbing contracting
business, a trade he firstlearned in the Navy in the
Korean War.
He was born at the end of theDepression and he had a very
strong work ethic that he, Iwould say, taught me organically
, just in the things that we didtogether, but leadership in the
(03:40):
church and in the community heseemed to just know everyone in
town, as it is when you're froma small town, right.
But when I was growing up, Imean, it wasn't uncommon to see
him go out for a service call inthe middle of a winter night
because somebody's heat failed,and so I learned that he had
(04:01):
friends and clients that he tookcare of whatever it took, so he
just did what needed to be done.
So my college summers werespent working union construction
and I made very good money.
But it also built a reallyfoundational knowledge for me
about construction and howbuildings go together, how
(04:22):
things get done basically.
Sarah Hempstead (04:24):
So now your card, don't you Chair Ball State
.
Steve Alspaugh (04:26):
I am.
Sarah Hempstead (04:27):
How did you?
Steve Alspaugh (04:29):
end up at Ball State In what little research
that I did at the time.
You've got to remember this islike the mid-70s.
I do remember my guidancecounselor talking to me about
that.
In fact, his son was in a classjust ahead of me at Ball State
in architecture, so I becamefamiliar that way.
I really didn't look wellbeyond.
(04:51):
We were a family that wasn'tgoing to forward out of state
tuition.
Sarah Hempstead (04:57):
Well, it was early days for the Ball State
architecture program it was itwas.
So you benefited from mentorswho taught you the value of hard
work and service.
How does that manifest itselfin how you look at your role as
an architect in the community?
Steve Alspaugh (05:17):
Well, I would say my mentors and the
construction work that I did inthe summers helped me craft my
own work ethic and developcertainly a healthy respect for
the contracting side of ourindustry.
My construction experiencesgreatly shape my understandings
how buildings go together, as Imentioned, and I think my
(05:38):
creativity comes from adifferent place.
I have an understanding ofbuildings and that construction
informs how I can interject mycreative influences into both
the big picture design andconstruction details of a given
project.
My mentors have probably helpedshape, without knowing it as
(06:02):
much, the way I approach aproblem.
More than anything, I've seenhow they've dealt with some
issues that have come up and Ijust tried to.
You lean into that stuff, right, you don't shirk from it and
you just try to solve theproblem.
Sarah Hempstead (06:22):
So you've had the opportunity when trying to
solve the problem working with Isaid at the top of the show 100
different clients, 100different projects, more or less
.
There may even be more thanthat.
We learn as we solve problemswith those clients, we tell
their stories, we learn how theytransform their organizations.
(06:46):
Can you tell me a story aboutone or two clients you've worked
with while solving a problemthat really changed the way you
thought about creativity andleadership?
Steve Alspaugh (06:56):
I think one of the early ones was I still
remember to this day going tomeet with state code officials
to talk about an issue we weredealing with at Franklin
Township, middle Tool,specifically the design of their
cafeteria.
I remember coming away fromthat meeting feeling like I had
(07:16):
really done something good forthat client.
I don't even remember what itwas that we solved, but there
were some issues related to thedesign of the cafeteria in the
kitchen and how they connectedand all of that.
We weren't sure we were goingto get to where we were hoping
to go, but we did.
I just remember feeling reallygood that I just helped the
(07:37):
client in a way that I didn'tthink about before I went into
the meeting.
I was just trying to get donewhat I thought needed to be done
.
I guess.
Another one that I would mention.
I don't know if you rememberCharles Mayer.
He was director of spaceplanning facilities at Indiana
State.
Charles, when I first met himhe was serving as the person
(08:00):
that was communicating, in manycases, the needs of the users to
us.
That was a little new to me.
I was used to working directlywith the users.
I was always like what can Iget around you to them.
He was very picky.
He didn't seem to smile muchand he aborted me with
(08:22):
information from the users inthe university and what they
wanted.
I wasn't sure he even liked mevery much, but it turned out
that he did.
I realized that he was givingme what I needed to know, even
though I wasn't getting itdirectly from the users.
Once I understood he wasworking to make sure that his
(08:48):
institution's needs wereaccurately communicated, things
went much better.
I realized Charles was myfriend and he's trying to help
us.
We became much friends In fact.
Charles is long retired.
He lives in New York City.
I've been in touch with him byemail over the last couple of
(09:09):
years.
I'm hoping to see him whenLinda and I go to New York to
visit Ethan at the end of themonth.
It'd be a great thing if thatcould happen.
Sarah Hempstead (09:20):
Going to New York to see a friend and get
inspiration leads into my nextquestion, which is as designers,
we are charged with bringinginspiration to the table,
creating those strongfoundational partnerships and
relationships, and beingcreative.
How do you feed that foryourself?
How do you get your inspirationthat you can then turn around
(09:42):
and bring to projects andclients?
Steve Alspaugh (09:47):
For me, I certainly get it from travel,
going and seeing new places.
I've done a lot of trips withthe AA Committee on Design.
That's been a big part of atleast the formation of new
design ideas since probably, Istarted visiting with them in
2003,.
Certainly, my colleagues.
(10:08):
My inspiration comes fromplaces that you expect and
places you don't expect.
Sometimes I see things invignettes that I want to
recreate in a building orsomething like that.
It just comes from lots ofdifferent places.
I try to let my brain do a lotof cross-training in that regard
(10:30):
, whether it's artworktranslated to a plant or an
elevation and the way thingscompose themselves to try to
recreate that sometimes.
Sarah Hempstead (10:41):
What are you working on right now?
What's a specific project orissue that you're working on
right now that relies oncreativity to get through?
Steve Alspaugh (10:52):
I think about that question.
It's really about a recentproject it's finishing up.
It's the Fall Creek Pavilion.
It's really been that kind ofproject for me the opportunity
to develop a legacy project forthe Fairgrounds campus that's
forward-thinking in its layoutand systems, that the end users,
(11:13):
from everything I understand,fell in love with in the very
first fair that it serves.
I really think its flexibilityis going to serve it well in
offering a diversity of usersthe ability to create new
revenue streams and enhanceexisting ones going forward in
the future.
One aspect that I'm really proudof with regard to that project
(11:34):
is my role in help carrying thetheme of swine art from the
historic North Portal to theSouth Entry, the new South
Public Entry.
We created spaces for fourlarge six-foot by six-foot
limestone sculpture panels andthen worked with the owner and a
limestone artist that we foundto develop new building art that
(11:58):
the owner could not be morethrilled with.
It's an example of finding thewow in every project and then
delivering on it.
That's one of the mantrasyou'll hear later and if you ask
the right questions at theright time.
Sarah Hempstead (12:17):
I'll see what I can do.
I'll see what I can do.
Steve Alspaugh (12:19):
But not only that.
I think we captured the storyof how that art was developed in
a couple of videos that willlive on past us and we shared
those with the owner.
And we share them as part ofour marketing outreach to the
broader design community, orbroader client community, I
should say.
Sarah Hempstead (12:40):
I'm going to switch tracks for a minute and
talk about mentoring.
One of the things that you'vespent a ton of time with over
the course of your career hasbeen mentoring others.
So, whether that's clients,whether that's young architects,
young designers of all kinds,talk a little bit about what
(13:01):
mentoring means to you and howit's kind of changed your story.
What's your takeaway from yourmentoring experiences?
Steve Alspaugh (13:12):
Well, mentoring for me.
It has changed me.
It's one of the things that Ilook forward to now that there
was a time in each of ourcareers where we weren't relied
upon to do that, but it's partof what gives me energy to do
(13:33):
that.
Our younger staff is every bitas eager as we were to make
their mark right to design, butwhen you're starting off, there
is so much you don't know, andwhen you're starting off, you
don't know what you don't know.
(13:54):
I try to build off theireagerness to learn and to teach
them how to do it right, to dothings the right way, to how to
approach a design problem or adetail, rather than doing it for
them, if I can, because, again,right, it's just not a fish.
Another important thing that Itry to teach is to develop your
(14:17):
network of industry contacts,where that's vendors or
contractors, because you'regoing to rely on them on how to
put things together in thefuture for new projects, for
pricing of things, for advice ofhow to do things in a way that
will last.
I try to help them tie into mynetwork and learn the importance
(14:38):
of building their own, and alsotry to teach them why community
service is important, encouragethem to find a community cause
that they're passionate aboutand jump in.
I think there's a hesitancywhen you're new to a firm and
young like that, to put yourselfout there.
(15:00):
For some people that's noproblem.
It's they're outgoing anyway.
They're type A personalities.
They have no problem gettingthere.
They do, or maybe a little lesssure of themselves, need that
nudge and our community partnersare looking for help all the
time, even if those are just theglue people that help them do
(15:21):
things as opposed to being ontheir boards and stuff.
Sarah Hempstead (15:25):
And that goes to something that I have watched
you do successfully for the 20plus years that I've been at
Schmidt is build that network ofpeople and resources that you
then bring to the table.
Is that a quality of being asuccessful leader?
Is the network?
Steve Alspaugh (15:45):
I think it is.
I mean, for me it's certainlybeen that because they are
reliable for me.
They've been in the industrymaybe not as long as I have, but
in most cases at least as long.
But they've done it from adifferent perspective, in the
sense that they put togetherwhat we design, whether they're
(16:05):
the reps, but in most cases forme they're the contractors that
we've done work with, that I'vedeveloped a friendship with and
a trust that I can carry forwardas I do things.
Sarah Hempstead (16:21):
So that kind of rolls into what happens when
something goes wrong.
Right, with any complex projectthere's going to be complex
things.
As a leader, sometimes we haveto make decisions we don't want
to.
Sometimes we have to say thehard thing.
How do you share, particularlywith a young new designer, how
to work through those issues?
Steve Alspaugh (16:46):
Well, I have some thoughts on that that I'll
get to it started.
One of the first times I had todeal with that was at Indiana
State University.
They had some flooding oncampus and I had to go over when
they were dealing.
It was the student computingcomplex and I don't remember now
(17:07):
I think it was natural floodingwhere it was actually the
rivers coming up and all of that.
They had some flooding in thebuilding and we had an
underfloor distribution systemlike a Tate access floor and
that just complicated thingsfurther.
But for me at that time it wasjust showing up.
(17:27):
I had to not go to Terre Hautethat day, the way I always went,
because things were theflooding was causing issues just
in getting there.
So I remember it took a littlelonger, but I felt that they
felt I showed up, I came tolisten, I helped solve the
(17:49):
problems that they were dealingwith and I think that's
sometimes what you have to do,but you don't know how it's
going to turn out when you'remaybe going into that situation.
But showing up, trying tounderstand what the issues are
and how you can help impact thesolutions, it's where it starts,
and there's an old saying isthat people don't care what you
(18:14):
know until they know that youcare, and I think sometimes it's
just about caring.
It really is Some otherthoughts I have in terms of
younger staff.
I would just say be curious, askquestions, ask lots of them, if
that's what's necessary for youto understand things, but I
think sometimes we get hung upon the how and why is just as
(18:39):
important, if not more importantin some cases.
So, as I mentioned earlier,find the wow opportunities and
deliver on them.
Rain taught me that fullyunderstanding old buildings is
hard.
It's one of the hardest thingswe have to do Now.
Certainly, point clouds makethat a bit easier, but take time
(19:00):
to look at things that arehiding in plain sight and for
clues to things that you can'tsee, that aren't quite so
readily available.
I think, reviewing a set ofexisting building drawings, you
have to remember that your goalis to understand this building
(19:22):
in three dimensions, even thougheverything you look at is in
two, and that can be hard to do.
But my construction experiencevery early on helped me
understand that I'm alwayslooking at a building in three
dimensions because you're goingto miss something if you don't.
Thank you.
Sarah Hempstead (19:43):
Communication is a lot of what we do
Communicating in two-dimension.
What is a three-dimensionalthing?
Communicating a solution to acomplicated problem?
You've seen methods ofcommunication change a lot in
the last almost 50 years ofpractice.
What have you learned aboutcommunication?
(20:04):
When does that come in handy?
Steve Alspaugh (20:07):
So I try to remember Stephen Covey's quote
when it comes to firstunderstanding and then to be
understood.
Our process requires that wefully understand our client's
needs to be able to deliver theproper response and it solves
their issues and meets theirgoals.
But to do that, we have tolisten before we can advise
(20:30):
correctly.
So it's not in my nature to bequiet and listen easily
sometimes, but I try to forcemyself to do that because my
mind is almost jumping ahead totry to solve a problem, as
they're saying it, and I have tonot do that.
But I've learned to try not todo that.
(20:52):
I guess another mantra thatI've learned is, like I said
before, people don't care whatyou know until they know that
you care.
And it's spot on, because trulylistening and understanding
before responding is soimportant to providing the right
response.
Sarah Hempstead (21:11):
One of the things we mentioned at the very
beginning is in your volunteercapacity.
You've worked with a ton ofcommittees, task force boards.
Can you talk a little bit aboutthe Indiana State Disaster
Coordinator role?
I think many people don't evenknow that that exists and it's
(21:31):
so important to the future ofthe state.
Steve Alspaugh (21:34):
So my role there was born a long time ago.
It was born on April 3, 1974.
On that date our hometown washit by a supercell of three
tornadoes.
So that day changed our townforever and it changed me as
(21:59):
well.
Without even realizing it somuch later in my life, as I
watched the Army Corps ofEngineers, the Red Cross, all of
these different serviceorganizations come to help our
town, I guess it was just sortof set in my brain that someday
(22:23):
it'll be your turn to do this.
Sarah Hempstead (22:25):
You were just a young man.
Steve Alspaugh (22:27):
I was a sophomore in high school, but I
still remember the events of theday.
This is April, so we have thisdevastating storm.
The next day it snowed, andthen the sun came out right
after that.
So it was like all thesedifferent weird weather events
rolled into probably a 48 to 72hour period that you just never
(22:51):
expected to see together.
But the idea that you don'treally have a choice you just
got to pick up and get to work.
So that turned out to be a bigbenefit for me.
I mean, I guess, when lifegives you lemons, right, because
(23:13):
what happened is the rebuildingof the town gave me
opportunities to find jobs inthat rebuilding.
I had my first unionconstruction job.
Putting sidewalks and roads,curb and gutter back together
made great money, but I was inmy, I think I just yeah.
I mean, I had already startedthinking about architecture as a
(23:35):
profession, and so constructionwas a curious thing for me.
I was interested in it.
I did projects at home with mydad, I worked for my uncle at
times, so building constructioncame very organically to me and
I was comfortable on it.
So the thing I didn't thinkabout was what will that be and
(23:56):
when will later be and when.
When I had the opportunity to dosome training for emergency
response, I took advantage of itand Jason Shelley came to me
and said you know, I really needsomeone to be the coordinator
at the state level because we'dhad some trainings in the past
(24:19):
and that I wasn't even a part of.
I mean, a whole group of peoplehad been trained and their
trainings had expired and allthat.
So I got busy trying toorganize who all these people
were and get some semblance oforganization to a roster, to
where their training stood andto organizing new trainings that
they could get updated in.
(24:40):
And currently we have like 37people who are on the roster
officially at various levels oftraining.
At least half of them are,about half of them are trained,
and we're working on moretraining later this year through
the AIA and then with the goalof having a mock exercise.
I mean, reality is you'replanning for something you hope
(25:01):
never happens, but you know itwill and as you you know, read
articles in the paper and hearthe news.
Those disastrous weather eventsare becoming more and more
common, more and more frequent,unfortunately.
But yeah, it's personal for meobviously to be there for
someone else when you're in.
(25:24):
You know they're basically theyfeel paralyzed for a while
because, just at the level ofdestruction it is, it's hard to
wrap your head around whenyou're looking at it and going,
wow, I went to school there, butit's gone.
It's gone, totally gone.
Sarah Hempstead (25:39):
So that that is an amazing story of taking what
was a horrible situation andturning it into a benefit to
society through through yourskills.
As you think about bringingother people to that level of
(26:02):
volunteerism you've got 37already in that group.
What's the way that we canencourage that sort of passion
for community involvement forpeople who've never, never even
thought about it before, maybe?
Steve Alspaugh (26:15):
Well, I think everybody has causes, maybe not
be the complete right term, butthey have things that have
shaped their life that they arepassionate about and maybe they
didn't know there was anorganization that revolves
around that.
You know, maybe someone has asibling that is a special needs
child, whatever it is.
(26:37):
Find something that you'repassionate about and go, go lean
into that with an organizationthat is trying to make a
difference in that part of oursociety.
I think if you, if you can findthat you will, you will never
get lost in it because you, youknow your passion comes from
(26:59):
deep within you.
It's your, your brother, yoursister, your parent, your uncle,
whatever, for those kinds ofthings you know.
For me it was personal becauseit happened to me and my
community and I could clearlysee the benefits that all of
these people who didn't know uscoming into our town to help put
(27:21):
Humpty back together again.
It's just a, it's a huge.
It's a huge benefit that youyou can't imagine until you're
in that situation.
Sarah Hempstead (27:29):
So you've been doing architecture for 40 plus
years.
At this point, 40.
40, straight 40.
Just start 40.
What's, as you start to lookback, what's, what's the legacy?
Or you hope you're leaving.
What do you hope people willsay?
Steve Alspaugh (27:46):
I think I I'd hope that they would say that I
worked hard to make a differencefor our clients and for our,
for our firm and the teams thatI work on, to significantly
impact the projects that wecrafted together, that our staff
learned good practices for methat they would continue to use
(28:07):
to help guide them on their owncareer paths.
And I guess I also hope peoplehad fun working with me and
learning from me.
Sarah Hempstead (28:17):
What if you could?
If you could advise young SteveAllspaugh 40 years ago about
his career?
What, what, what do you wishyou knew?
Steve Alspaugh (28:25):
Well, some of the things that I mentioned
earlier about you know beingcurious, asking some questions,
all this stuff, which which Iprobably did, probably ask too
many questions in some cases.
But I think you know you haveto just be open to what comes
your way and, and you know, youcan ask for work on certain
projects or however that works.
But but you know, control thethings that you can control
(28:47):
these.
My involvement with AIA was veryorganic.
His name was Dean Ilingworthand Wainch met too.
But because Dean reallyencouraged my first, you know,
involvement in those kinds ofthings and it just took, you
know, putting yourself out thereand leaning into it, wain I I
(29:07):
brought him the idea of gettinginvolved with the committee on
design and he said I thinkthat's a great idea and you know
me well enough to know how thathas sort of changed the world
for me in terms of being exposedto design ideas and people that
are leaders in our industry,not only national leaders but
(29:27):
even international in some cases.
So, yeah, you just you have tounderstand, or or at least have
some idea of where you want togo, what your passions are, and
let them lead you places.
You'll be surprised where theycan go.
Sarah Hempstead (29:45):
Well, and I know you well enough to know
that you have a lovely familyand a kiddo who is passionate
about architecture too.
How do you do that in this job?
How do you maintain a balancebetween the passion you have for
the work and for volunteerism,and for family and for church
and all the all?
How do you bring all the piecestogether and stay healthy and
whole?
Steve Alspaugh (30:05):
Well, the healthy and whole part is
probably, if I'm honest about it, I need to do better on that
front.
I've had a handful of healthissues that maybe started five
or six years ago that I mean, Iused to play tennis to
regenerate my batteries and, andI don't do that anymore, but
I'm thinking about pickleballnow.
It's like a.
The smaller court might workfor me, but I really need to
(30:28):
spend more time doing the thingsthat I I can do, like hiking
and biking, but clearly thehilly hundred days are behind me
.
But in terms of balancing allof that, you know I've I've
actually mixed things like likewe're doing work for my church
right now.
You know something Wayne toldme be really careful about that.
(30:48):
I don't care.
Clearly I didn't listen, butbut it is.
It is a balance of where you putyour time, because there's a
lot of extracurricular thingswith these community
organizations that we getinvolved with that there's only
one place for them to come from,because we we got to get our
work done and so they usuallycome from your time at home in
(31:12):
many cases.
So, but they also have a clinic, co generative kind of cemetery
, right, because you know, Ispend time at my church.
I'm involved there in a habitatbuild that's being actually a
panel build that's being plannedin our earth parking lot for
(31:32):
September 23rd and I've beenpart of the playing team putting
that together.
But I've been involved withHabitat for years, you know,
mostly through my church.
But these things for me havefound a way to, like you know,
fit together like pieces of apuzzle that help me interconnect
with these different groups andyou find a way to make it work
(31:57):
if it's important to you.
Sarah Hempstead (31:58):
Well, two final questions, One that I ask
everybody and one that I'm goingto ask you, just you.
So, for the first one, as youlook back and I know this is
like picking a favorite childbut you have one project that is
just really memorable to youand you're really proud of as
part of your career.
Steve Alspaugh (32:19):
Well, I had a list of six of them here, so you
basically blown that up too.
Sarah Hempstead (32:26):
I'll take six.
You can give me six if youcan't pick.
Steve Alspaugh (32:28):
Okay, All right.
Well, some of the highlightsfor me.
I think you know I've had theopportunity to develop and bring
to life a number of memorableprojects, and none of this we do
on our own right.
We it's a village, but the onesthat stand out for me are the
higher education buildings andthe performing arts facilities.
Some of them are uniquelyspecial are the the Fall Creek
(32:52):
Pavilion we talked about it atthe State Fairgrounds the Ivy
Tech, Illinois Fall Creek CenterWow, you know, kind of bringing
the Phoenix back from the firefor that one.
Plainfield High School, just mybiggest first time ever.
All new facility, you know,building a cornfield Gosling
(33:16):
College Music Center and I wouldsay the Michael Evans Center
for Health at Marion University.
But and the major healthpartners, Wellness and YMCA.
Those are all some of thehighlights that I've had really
great opportunities to do, buttheir memorable because of the
owners we worked with whoallowed us to do great work, the
(33:39):
design teams that work togetherto take advantage of that
opportunity and to craft alegacy project for those
communities that are.
Now.
They're better for it, you knowthey because of the services
those buildings offer and theopportunities they create for
the people in those communities.
That's why they're, that's whythey're great projects.
Sarah Hempstead (33:57):
Those are great projects.
Stay on the test of time, allright.
So my question I ask everybodywhat's a book that you recommend
to everybody?
It could be something you'recurrently reading, something
that you read that wastransformative.
Steve Alspaugh (34:10):
I don't read a whole lot on a regular basis,
but one of my favorites I youknow I will take a book on
vacation or something like that,and but one of the that has
stuck with me for a very longtime was called Lost Moon.
It's the story, the perilousvoyage of the Apollo 13, by
(34:30):
Jeffrey Krueger and Jim Lovell.
Jim Lovell was an astronaut onthat, on that flight, but the
struggle of getting back toEarth after what happened to
them in space was shared byLovell on a very personal level,
but but in a very pragmatic way, because that's how they had to
get back to Earth.
They had to solve one problemat a time and just get to the
(34:53):
next thing, and it was.
You know they've made a movieabout it, starring a pretty good
actor too, but but I read thebook long before the movie came
out, and it was.
It was.
It's very inspiring, but it'salso about dealing with hardship
and understanding, you know,just eating that elephant one
(35:13):
bite at a time until all of asudden you're back.
Sarah Hempstead (35:18):
Well, Steve.
Thank you for spending sometime with me this afternoon.
Thank you for being a part ofour firm, our success, and the
community.
It's been really nice to hearsome stories I haven't heard
before about the influence thatyou've had on some of our work.
To learn more about Steve,please visit our website at
schmitt-archcom.
You can learn more about hisaccomplishments projects he's
(35:42):
been a part of.
He didn't even mention hisrecent elevation to FAA and some
of the transformative work thathe's been involved with.
And thank you for listening toLuminate: Navigating the Unknown
Through Creative Leadership.
We hope this episode hasinspired you and supplied
valuable insight into the worldof creative leadership.
Don't forget to subscribe toour podcast wherever you get
(36:02):
your podcasts so you never missan episode.
We'd love to hear your thoughtsand feedback, so feel free to
reach out to us on Facebook,Instagram and LinkedIn at
Schmidt Associates.
Until the next time, keepnavigating the unknown with
creativity and confidence.
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