Raymond J. Buettner III
Senior Designer – Prescott
Where did you attend college, and what did you study?
I attended Northern Arizona University and earned a B.S. Education, Extended English, Secondary.
What drew you to working for Civiltec? What do you like best about working at Civiltec?
I celebrated my 23rd Anniversary with Civiltec this past June. Reflecting on the question of what drew me to Civiltec sort of took me down memory lane. Before coming to Civiltec, I was a 7th and 8th grade English and History Teacher at a local charter school in Chino Valley, Mingus Springs. Being a teacher, Chris Dusza asked me if I wanted a summertime job. I came to Civiltec in 1998 as a rodman on the survey crew. When I wasn’t out with the surveyor, I began doing some redline drafting in the office for Chris and Rick Shroads using AutoCAD14.
At the end of my 4th year of teaching and long chats with Rick, my wife Amy, and lots of prayer, I made the decision to make a total career and life change and came on as a full-time employee with Civiltec as a draftsman. From there I started dabbling in design, going out in the field to do observation on projects and after several years, started managing some projects.
What I like best about this company is the people and our culture. We all work extremely hard, but we also know when to have a little fun too. Civiltec is also very good about family and being flexible when things arise or if there’s the occasion we need to work from home.
What are some exciting developments going on in the Prescott office?
The most exciting development in Prescott was nearly 4 years ago when Richard Aldridge came to work in our office as our Project Engineer and Branch Manager. It never ceases to amaze me who he knows in Northern Arizona. We continue to work very closely with all the government agencies in the area. Currently, we are working with the Towns of Prescott Valley and Chino Valley on infrastructure projects, wells, reservoirs, roadway improvements, and the construction of a new police station. We’re also working with the City of Prescott on several improvements to their water and wastewater infrastructure. Mark and I recently finished up the third phase of our Williamson Valley Corridor Safety Improvements we’ve been involved in over the past three years. Our office staff in Prescott works seamlessly with each other as well as with our other offices given our internet and video conferencing capabilities. Civiltec was ahead of the curve before the pandemic because we were already set up with our internal systems to work on each other’s projects without any hiccups.
What are some of your favorite types of projects to work on?
I really enjoy the variety of projects I work on and been able to design, for example: Bob Edwards Park in the Prescott Valley, Williamson Valley Road Widening Projects, 3 new large scale domestic wells with buildings and controls for the Town of Prescott Valley, including, a 2MG Steel Reservoir and my first 3MG Prestressed Concrete Reservoir. We are also working on a 640 acre, 10 phase subdivision in the Town of Chino Valley. I’ve also been in the field on the construction management and observation side for all of our projects constructed in the Prescott Area. It’s nice being able to see firsthand where we can improve in our engineering plans and design, working with the various agencies on their capital improvements, and seeing the finished product.
Is there a particular hobby, interest or skill you have that other employees might not know about?
Over the last couple years, I found an interest in woodworking and refurbishing furniture. My wife, Amy, and I have 4 sons who are all very active in school and sports, so my interests usually involve spending time with them. I joined a CrossFit gym back in March of this year so I can continue to keep up with all the activity. I also enjoy barbequing with my electric smoker. My favorite so far is pork shoulders, but I need to try another brisket one of these days.
