“There’s never been a better time to invest in Riverside than now,” Mayor Rusty Bailey stated during his State of the City Address last night. Over 1,100 guests gathered at the Riverside Convention Center to hear Mayor Bailey speak about the City of Riverside’s accomplishments in 2017 and how we can create value for future generations in 2018.
Ruhnau Clarke Architect's Office in Downtown Riverside.
Before Mayor Bailey began his speech, Keep Riverside Clean and Beautiful announced the Beautification Award Recipients for 2018. Ruhnau Clarke Architects was honored to receive first place in the category of Exterior Reconstruction with Landscaping for the reconstruction of our Downtown Riverside Office. Our President, Roger Clarke, accepted the award on behalf of the project team who was also in attendance.
Mayor Bailey dedicated his speech to his recently deceased mother, Rosemary Brock Bailey, and reminisced on his family’s presence in Riverside since the early 1900’s. Our firm connected with these sentiments of heritage as our founder, Herman Ruhanu, also planted his roots in Riverside shortly after the turn of the century.
"Hopefully you all have figured me out by now. I begin my speeches with gratitude to others, provide a little philosophy for you to chew on, and end with some mayoral challenges to keep us motivated for another year," Mayor Bailey began.
Throughout his message, he threw down several challenges related to the A/E/C industry. Specifically, as he applauded the opening of the Gordon and Jill Bourns College of Engineering at California Baptist University and challenged local businesses to hire the 160 additional engineers that will graduate this year.
Mayor Bailey concluded his speech by challenging the audience to “dig where they are.” A metaphor used to encourage the community to invest in Riverside by sponsoring schools, holding mentorship roles, and providing housing for our homeless population.
Our firm’s passion for design was reignited last night with Mayor Bailey’s theme of creating value for future generations. We are determined to provide this value in 2018 as we continue to foster creativity and collaboration bringing communities together, using the power of design.