Author: Ashley Butler

Jim Justice announced that he has chosen Woody Thrasher, president of The Thrasher Group, as Commerce Secretary.

“For months and months, I always felt that if I were humbled by the people of West Virginia and elected governor, without any question, the number one guy I wanted to recruit was Woody Thrasher,” Justice said in a news release. “He’s been on my mind for commerce secretary for a while because he understands what it takes to diversify West Virginia’s economy. Woody totally shares my vision that what we need is a better marketing and economic opportunity surrounded by jobs, jobs, jobs for the people of West Virginia.”

The Thrasher Group is an engineering and architectural firm that Thrasher began with his father in 1983. It has nearly 400 employees, according to Tuesday’s announcement. Thrasher is also the managing partner of the White Oaks Business Park in Bridgeport. He’s also chair of the WVU Alumni Association.

By Jeff Jenkins, WV MetroNews

Read Full Article…

It Started With Storage.

Engineering demands a lot from a network. Surveys, base mapping, CAD files, Building Information Management (BIM) solutions, Geographic Information System (GIS) data, renderings, and video files all require a sturdy storage environment. When Brad Fortney, the IT Manager at The Thrasher Group, arrived in 2010, he quickly recognized that the storage environment wasn’t keeping pace with demand.

2“Just as Thrasher aims to deliver a seamless experience for its clients, it wants to provide that seamlessness to its engineers, consultants, staff, and specialty teams,” said Fortney. “We wanted to deliver fast, easy access to the data and applications they need.”

He initially chose storage from Scale Computing for the production environment and purchased more systems in 2012 for a disaster recovery site. When he saw that he could run his virtual machines and hypervisors on a hyperconverged storage platform, he was hooked. Thrasher’s philosophy is to give clients a great project at a reasonable rate, and Fortney extended that same philosophy to the IT infrastructure.

“We could consolidate functions and avoid multiple additional licenses and costs,” he said. “We migrated everything to the Scale Computing HC3 hyperconverged platform for both the production and DR environments.”

Fast-forward to 2016, and Thrasher has new storage demands. Aerial and drone mapping are used in data survey projects, and they generate huge video files for use in marketing presentations, mapping, and project design and implementation. When video is added to already-large CAD files, it places even more demand on the infrastructure. Thrasher began building a new data center to support growth into the future, which meant that Fortney needed more storage and a new switching network.

Read Full Article…

The Thrasher Group Inc. (Thrasher) is pleased to announce that David Hafley will lead their new Lexington, Kentucky office. According to Clay Riley, PE and Principal at Thrasher “David is exactly the right person to lead our new office. Having lived and worked in Kentucky most of his adult life, along with his stellar reputation, David is well known throughout the region. He knows the Thrasher culture and our approach to providing clients’ solutions, as he has worked with Thrasher on a variety of projects for over ten years.” Mr. Hafley brings years of experience to the Thrasher team. He is an established professional in the disciplines of urban planning, landscape architecture and community development and will serve as a mentor for many young professionals in the organization.

David received his undergraduate degree in urban planning from Northern Michigan, his masters degree from the University of Oklahoma and he is a certified planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). Early in his career, he volunteered with AmeriCorps in the National & Community Service (VISTA) program. This led to multiple opportunities for David’s career to develop in the area of urban planning. He learned to have a positive impact at the local level, you have to get in the trenches and you can’t just silently observe from the sidelines. This philosophy is very similar to the way Thrasher undertakes projects and develops client relationships. David intends to utilize his understanding of the business and commitment to the region to build a client base in Kentucky.

David said “having worked with Thrasher over the past decade as a sub-consultant and prime, I trust our capabilities and our reputation of hard work paired with successful projects makes us a good match.” Prior to his employment with Thrasher, David worked for Parsons Brinkerhoff, where he served as Vice President and managed offices in Lexington and Louisville. Thrasher will officially opened its Kentucky doors on January 9, 2017 at 2333 Alexandria Drive, Lexington, Kentucky, Suite 205 and the office phone number is 859-514-6763.

Young Life has selected The Thrasher Group, Inc. to coordinate the civil engineering and infrastructure and site development for its new West Virginia Camp that is located along the Gauley River Canyon near Summersville Lake.  Each summer, over 4,000 high school students will visit this facility and be able to hear and respond to the Gospel as they experience what is justifiably advertised as the “best week of their lives”.

Young Life is proud to be working with The Thrasher Group and view them as dedicated partners in this legacy project.  The Young Life team has been highly impressed with the efficiency and precision that Thrasher has already delivered in the development of our Phase I Adventure Camp.    Unquestionably, their expertise will provide an invaluable resource to Young Life as we collectively continue work to make the full West Virginia Camp a spectacular reality.

By Jim Workman, The State Journal

Most architects must toil away for many years before they secure an opportunity to work on a project of great significance.

At 28, Josh Lyons already has a couple in his portfolio.

The Springfield, Ohio native worked on the J.W. and Hazel Ruby West Virginia Welcome Center located along U.S. Rt. 19 in Fayette County for the Boy Scouts of America and the Greenbrier Chapel at The Greenbrier.

One year after graduating from Miami (Ohio) University, Lyons went to work at Bridgeport-based Thrasher in 2014.

Lyons said working with Thrasher has its benefits, especially to a young architect, allowing him to “have a voice” early in his career.

Thrasher has five offices in three states and employ over 300 people company wide.

“The architecture department is a smaller part of a larger firm,” Lyons explained. We have the advantages and resources that a large firm can offer, but with our division being relatively small, my voice does not go unheard.”

To say he hit the ground running at Thrasher could be a vast understatement.

“In school, you joke about working for one of the larger international firms,” Lyons said. “You might get stuck detailing bathroom partitions for the first three years of your career. It’s definitely not been that way here at Thrasher.”

Lyons and his wife Ashley Lyons, a Preston County native and also a Miami University graduate, moved to West Virginia in 2014…

Read full article…

The Thrasher Group, Inc. was recently named to Zweig White’s 2016 Hot Firm List. This is the fourth consecutive year that Thrasher has been named to the list. The 2016 Hot Firm List represents a look at the firms in the architecture, engineering, planning and environmental industries that posted the highest growth over a three-year period compared to the other entrants. In an industry comprised of over 100,000 firms, those who have made the list have demonstrated their ability to grow, prosper and be recognized among the elite 100 fastest-growing firms. “Getting on The Zweig Group Hot Firm list is a tremendous achievement,” said Mark Zweig, firm founder and CEO. Thrasher’s Clay Riley, PE and Principal said “being ranked among the industry leaders four consecutive years is truly an honor. We have been fortunate to offer 35 years of exceptional engineering and architectural services to the Mid-Atlantic region and that is a testament to our employees. Ultimately, we believe customer service and commitment to excellence are key components to our success. ” Founded in 1983, Thrasher is a leading multidisciplinary engineering and architectural firm serving public and private clientele throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. With more than 350 employees in five states, Thrasher is committed to providing innovative solutions to our clients’ challenges.

For more information contact:
Devanna Corley
Office: (304) 624.4108
E-mail: dcorley@thrashereng.com

The Thrasher Group, Inc. was recently named as one of the Top Design Firms by Engineering News Record (ENR) in the Mid-Atlantic region, which includes the states of Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Thrasher was the only West Virginia based firm named to the list, ranking #26. The company, which was built on public utility projects, continues to thrive in the industry by ranking #9 on the Mid-Atlantic Top 10 Water Supply firms list.

Thrasher’s Clay Riley, PE and Principal said “Being ranked among the Mid-Atlantic top design firms is truly an honor. We have been fortunate to offer 35 years of exceptional engineering and architectural services and it’s a great to know that we are still working for our very first utility client. Our success and reputation with clients is a reflection of our employees, who are committed to excellence and deliver outstanding customer service.”

Thrasher has been providing professional engineering, architectural, and surveying services to individuals, businesses, municipalities, and governmental clients in West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia since 1983. With more than 300 employees in five states, Thrasher is committed to providing innovative solutions to our clients’ challenges.

The Thrasher Group, Inc. recently obtained their Federal Certificate of Authorization (COA) and FAA Section 333 Exemption to actively operate unmanned aerial vehicles for the purposes of delivering the newest and best technologies available to their clients. Dan Wheeler, FAA licensed pilot and Senior Project Manager said “Thrasher is part of a new era in aviation, the company is tapping into the potential for unmanned aircraft to make it safer and easier to do certain jobs, gain information and deliver to our clients.”

This technology, which has many applications in the engineering and architectural industry, allows Thrasher to continue to be a leader in this industry. The Thrasher team has the ability to provide a variety of services including building inspections, real time construction, project progress and unoccupied hazardous area surveys. Thrasher’s capability to obtain aerial footage and photographs from a birds eye view is an invaluable service to our clients. Thrasher has and will continue to invest in technologies that will revolutionize how we deliver successful projects.

Thrasher has been providing professional engineering, architectural, and surveying services to individuals, businesses, municipalities, and governmental clients in West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia since 1983. With more than 300 employees in five states, Thrasher is committed to providing innovative solutions to our clients’ challenges.

The Thrasher Group, Inc. recently obtained their Federal Certificate of Authorization (COA)   and FAA Section 333 Exemption to actively operate unmanned aerial vehicles for the purposes of delivering the newest and best technologies available to their clients.  Dan Wheeler, FAA licensed pilot and Senior Project Manager said “Thrasher is part of a new era in aviation, the company is tapping into the potential for unmanned aircraft to make it safer and easier to do certain jobs, gain information and deliver to our clients.”

This technology, which has many applications in the engineering and architectural industry, allows Thrasher to continue to be a leader in this industry.  The Thrasher team has the ability to provide a variety of services including building inspections, real time construction, project progress and unoccupied hazardous area surveys.  Thrasher’s capability to obtain aerial footage and photographs from a birds eye view is an invaluable service to our clients.   Thrasher has and will continue to invest in technologies that will revolutionize how we deliver successful projects.

Thrasher has been providing professional engineering, architectural, and surveying services to individuals, businesses, municipalities, and governmental clients in West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia since 1983. With more than 300 employees in five states, Thrasher is committed to providing innovative solutions to our clients’ challenges.