Founding Principal Merlin Hampton, PE, has retired from Baird, Hampton & Brown.
Merlin is an electrical engineer with over 50 years of experience in consulting engineering. He is a founding principal of BHB and has been instrumental in the success and longevity of the firm.
Merlin, along with Bill Baird and Les Brown, founded BHB in 1992 and worked tirelessly to build the firm from humble beginnings of “no money, no clients, and no work,” as Merlin says. As the most meticulous of the three, Merlin managed the bookkeeping on top of his engineering work in those early days, calculating if they had enough money to give themselves paychecks each week, which during the first few years, they often did not.
From the beginning, BHB was built on relationships, a priority that has remained for all 32 years. BHB’s very first paying job in 1992 was an electrical project completed by Merlin—$1,500 for an exterior lighting project at a local ranch, referred to them by a former colleague. From there, Merlin’s relationship with the owners of the Spaghetti Warehouse brought in several more projects, making them BHB’s first recurring client. Today, BHB has many clients that date back to the early 1990s, which is a testament to the quality of designs and long-term commitment to clients, two things that were very important to Merlin.
Merlin has always truly cared about the success and happiness of his clients and employees. His emphasis on fostering relationships laid the framework for BHB’s mission to prioritize people above all else. “By the time BHB got to be 20 or 25 people we were a well-oiled machine, but marketing to feed that machine became much more important,” he said. “We had to work harder to keep clients happy and build relationships because people depended on us for their livelihood. The most amazing thing we have is our people.” He is a perfect example of BHB’s commitment to do the right thing.
Today, BHB is a robust team of 135 professionals across four offices, offering services in electrical, mechanical, civil, and structural engineering, land surveying, and landscape architecture. Our business model has been directly impacted by Merlin’s vision for the firm from 32 years ago. He felt strongly that the longevity of the firm would be based on a diverse client base, and therefore BHB now regularly works on governmental, industrial, commercial, private development, health care, educational, and faith-based projects. It was also Merlin’s vision to keep Principals directly involved with the design and construction of the projects, a commitment we still abide by today.
We thank Merlin for his hard work, leadership, relentless pursuit of excellence in design, mentoring of young engineers, and steadfast dedication to the success of BHB. We extend our heartfelt appreciation to you, Merlin, and best wishes to you and Margaret in your retirement!
