On a crisp, clear night with a gorgeous view of the Empire State Building as a backdrop, RAND Engineering & Architecture, PC celebrated its 25th anniversary at the Rare Rooftop Bar in the Hilton Fashion District Hotel in Chelsea last Thursday. It was a wonderful evening spent with staff, clients, and friends looking back at how far RAND has come and gazing ahead at how far we still hope to go.
To mark the looking back part, we displayed posters of our 25th anniversary ad campaign, which featured the original RAND class of 1987; photos of the current RAND staff as they looked in 1987 (or later for those employees who just didn't get around to being born until after RAND's founding); fun charts showing how much we've grown over the past quarter of a century; and a poster of RAND's early years, including photos of our then bare bones office and our first company cat, Randy. We also handed out a playful RAND Pop Quiz to test how much our employees know about their favorite firm. (Here are some photos from the event.)
From five employees in 1987 to 80 today, RAND’s staff has kept it together for a quarter of a century. (Photo by Young Suh, one of the 80.)
The festive event brought back plenty of memories of the long road RAND has travelled over the years and an appreciation for what a special place it is to work at. "I had high hopes starting out, but I couldn't have imagined we'd someday reach a milestone like this," said RAND founder and President Stephen Varone. "It's the people here who have made RAND what it is, and the reason these 25 years have been so meaningful to me."
"I've been fortunate enough to spend my entire career at a place where people care deeply about the work they do and about each other," said RAND Principal and Vice President Peter Varsalona, who joined the firm as a college intern in 1992. "RAND has always been a different kind of company, and that's why we've made it to where we are today."
To borrow a few notes from the 1987 tunes playing on the Rare rooftop Thursday night, RAND was "Livin' on a Prayer" in those lean, early years, but we're proud to say we've made it to the "Big Time." Thank you to all the colleagues, clients, friends, and supporters who helped make RAND's journey a successful one. Here's to another 25 years!
