Tom Street: This firm started about eight years ago. Dave and I worked for (Hood-Rich Inc.) many years ago, and I kept pestering him every so often, asking "Do you want to start a firm?" Finally, he said, "All right." Right now, there's Dave and me, and an architectural intern and a part-time secretary.
What kind of projects do you design?
TS: We've done the Arby's on Glenstone and on Republic Road. We've done Quick Lube in Ozark, which is near James River Assembly. We did Promoter Advertising on Republic Road. We've done several homes.
Dave Erdmann: We've done a bunch of condos at Lake of the Ozarks. We did a hotel up in Wildwood. We did Village Park, an office building on Republic Road. We did a dormitory in Moberly for Central Christian College of the Bible.
Tom, tell us about the mission work you and your wife, Mary, are doing.
TS: We're self-funded, nonsponsored missionaries. The man we stayed with ... teaches language and theology, and sponsors local pastor education. We relieved him of some of his duties.
Have you been able to use your architecture skills in the mission field?
TS: I did some house design (in exchange) for Spanish lessons. I did a sketch of how to solve storm-water problems at a school. I've got several churches that want me to tell them how to expand or build a new church, but they don't want to pay.
How did you communicate about work while Tom was abroad?
TS: Well, there's always the challenge of finding a (technological) connection. We used e-mail, Skype and LogMeIn Pro (to communicate). Skype is for voice and videoconferencing, and we tried to talk at least once a day. With LogMeIn Pro, I have access to any file on our server. ... We went to several towns in Guatemala that didn't have power, but they had cell phone service. It's odd to see somebody cooking over an open fire in their house and talking on their cell phone.
What have been the key challenges to being in different countries?
TS: Often, I'm the guy for (dealing with) code analysis and code questions, and I didn't happen to take a copy of the (building) code with me, because I thought it would be more useful here. Also, while I was there, I was going to (language) school part of the day and doing some missionary work and cultural adaptation, so some days I'd be completely out of pocket.
DE: Any projects that he was point person on, I've become point person on and become more familiar with those until they are complete.
Has Tom's absence made dealing with the economy more difficult?
DE: Yes - about the time he left, the market fell flat on its face.
TS: But I'm terrible at sales, so it probably wouldn't have made a whole lot of difference.
DE: It probably wouldn't have. ... I know it's not just us.
TS: Dave is really good at selling projects, and he likes to do the up-front, pretty sales stuff ... and I'm one of the people who likes to do the nuts and bolts.
Not all partners would support a colleague's decision to work abroad. Dave, why have you chosen to do so?
DE: My wife Krista's parents were missionaries. My parents pioneered churches and started a couple of Teen Challenge centers in the U.S. I know what missions are all about, and I know where the heart is. I've been on my own mission trips, so I don't get on Tom's case about leaving.
Interview by Features Editor Maria Hoover.[[In-content Ad]]
