Office Spotlight: Little Rock, Arkansas

Tune in to the latest office spotlight on Halff’s Little Rock, Arkansas office!

No two Halff offices are exactly the same, so learn more about what employees in Little Rock have been up to — plus what makes this office unique.

About Halff’s Little Rock Office

Halff’s two locations in Little Rock and North Little Rock, Arkansas, operate as one office under the leadership of Operations Manager Brian Vines.

Halff Little Rock provides client services from 12 practices and practice resources:

• Construction Engineering and Inspection (CEI)
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• Land Development
• MEP Engineering
• Planning and Landscape Architecture
• Local Infrastructure (Public Works)
• Structural Engineering
• Surveying
• Traffic
• Transportation
• Water/Wastewater
• Water Resources

From left: Jonathan Clemons, Brian Vazquez, Natalie Rogers and Joe Moore proudly accepted the Best Place to Work in Arkansas recognition in September 2024.

Halff has earned multiple workplace accolades over the past few years, and was recently awarded a Best Place to Work in Arkansas recognition by Arkansas Business. The Little Rock and other offices in Arkansas continue to champion a culture purposed for people and foster a positive workplace for everyone!

A few notable projects from the Little Rock office include the following:

1. 1. Majestic Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas

The Majestic Park project is a comprehensive initiative aimed at revitalizing the community through a state-of-the-art baseball and softball complex. Designed by Halff, the park features five fields and many amenities. Renovations to the historically rich Majestic Park feature red brick, steel trusses, metal roofing and other details, which showcase a facility like no other. The project has successfully restored a sense of community and brought significant economic benefits to the area.

2. Wastewater System Improvements in Bull Shoals, Arkansas

For this ACEC award-winning project, attention to detail was imperative. The existing wastewater treatment plant at Bull Shoals needed to be replaced and upgraded without compromising the safety of the adjacent White River. Halff developed a grading plan that conformed to the rugged terrain, helped the client secure $9 million in grants, and also assisted with construction and contract management after the groundbreaking. The construction of this successful project was completed in 2020.

3. On-Call Design for Springdale Bypass (Arkansas Department of Transportation)

Halff partnered with ARDOT to provide engineering services for the Springdale Bypass project, which will significantly improve regional mobility and connectivity in Northwest Arkansas. This project involves two work orders, including the analysis and design of three interchanges and a new alignment for Highway 612 east of Interstate 49 to Hwy. 265. The estimated construction cost is approximately $85 million.

4. Faulkner Lake Road in North Little Rock, Arkansas

Halff performed the design services to raise the road above the base flood elevation and widen Faulkner Lake Road to accommodate bike lanes. In addition, the design included providing culverts to allow the backwater surface elevation to remain the same on both sides of the roadway. This project included roadway design, construction engineering & inspection, utility coordination and permitting.

Fun, Service and Volunteerism

The employees at Little Rock stay actively involved in both office fun and local community service.

• Mike Watson served as Mayor of Maumelle, Arkansas, for 12 years from 2006 to 2018. He has also traveled annually to Honduras since 1998 to assist with building various structures.
• Sarah Waggoner has taught Database Design and Geostatistics since 2014 at the University of Central Arkansas.
• James Arbuckle has served as the Arkansas state representative for the Missouri Valley District of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (MOVITE) Board, and is a past board member for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Arkansas.
• ​​​​​​​​​​​James Barr served as president of the Arkansas National Society of Professional Engineers chapter in 2008 and Arkansas Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) in 2022.
• Brian Vines previously served as president of MOVITE in 2011 as well as a board member, and the Little Rock Engineers Club from 2023 to 2024.
• Natalie Rogers served as president of the Arkansas Floodplain Managers Association. She is also a member of the Arkansas State University College of Engineering and Computer Science Alumni Academy. Natalie made Arkansas Money & Politics’ list of prominent women in AEC in 2023.
• James Barr, James Arbuckle, Brian Vines and Mike Marlar have all been inducted into the Arkansas Academy of Civil Engineering.

Little Rock employees grabbed their kayaks for their fourth annual float on the Kayak the Buffalo River.

Throughout the years, employees have formed numerous traditions, such as kayaking the Buffalo River and attending a Travelers baseball game every year for the past four years.

“Don’t get me wrong, there’s a ton of hard work, but you’ll hear laughter throughout the day as people share memes, dog photos, discuss sports rivalries or just engage in general hijinks.” – Civil Engineer Katie Rutledge

One time earlier this year, someone teased a colleague about their spelling. That led the team planning a spelling bee to keep the fun going!

Liam Van Houtte took home the trophy (which was ironically a dictionary) for his winning word, “onomatopoeia.”

Everyone “gathered ‘round the campfire” for Halff’s Culture Camps in 2023, which reiterated and inspired Halff’s “people-first” values into everyone in a fun, interactive environment.

People didn’t leave culture camp empty handed – many prizes and games were sprinkled throughout each session to keep people active, laughing and having fun!

Ladies Lunch has been a consistent group in Little Rock since Galentine’s Day in 2020.

Little Rock ladies dressed in pink to go watch the new Barbie movie together in 2023.

North Little Rock volunteers presented HCI’s $1,000 donation to CareLink, which works to connect older people and their families with resources to help with the challenges of aging.

Sandra Ratchford (left middle), Jason Scheffer and Marcus Dupree donned their HCI t-shirts to deliver a donation check.

Employees channeled their inner Olympians as Little Rock held their first-ever Office Olympics in 2024, participating in putt-putt gold, cornhole, rubber band archery (watch out!) and more.

If you learn anything about the Little Rock office from this spotlight, it should be that they know how to have fun!

Read more stories about Halff’s people and culture on our Inside Halff page.
Click here to see all of Halff’s Arkansas locations.