Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern’s (HSMM) ties to Virginia Tech date to the firm’s founding in 1947. One of the four original founders wore maroon and orange, and  currently five of the 12 board of directors members graduated from Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering and one from the College of Architecture. More than one-fifth of the 500-member, 18-office architectural, engineering and planning firm are Virginia Tech alumni.



So when Cecil Doyle, HSMM president and chief executive officer and class of ’68 alumnus, singled out one person to nominate to the Virginia Tech Academy of Distinguished Alumni for civil and environmental engineering, the suggestion was well-received. Glynn Barranger was “a true pioneer in the early establishing of HSMM after World War II,” Mr. Doyle wrote. “His engineering prowess, business development acumen, and managerial skills gave significantly and substantially to the solid start and subsequent success of our firm. HSMM and Glynn Barranger have made many signature contributions to Virginia’s built environment, and in the process, brought many positive and foundational changes to the lives of citizens here in the Commonwealth and well beyond our borders.”



After high school, Depression-Era child Glynn wanted so much to be an engineer that he worked a year for a small grocer, saving every penny toward tuition for his first year at Tech. A member of the Corps of Cadets, he earned his degree in 1943 and began serving in World War II in the China-Burma-India theatre. After the war, Mr. Barranger took a position in Marion, in southwest Virginia. As town engineer, he became a de facto town manager, directing official town affairs as well as utilities and services such as water, storm and wastewater, streets and highways.



From Marion, he was recruited by Guilford Mattern of Roanoke’s fledgling civil engineering firm, Mattern & Mattern. Upgrading facilities at a Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach to accommodate the coming jet age was among Mr. Barranger’s first consulting commissions for the firm. As HSMM grew during the ensuing 30 years, he was a major force in developing the original, small group of professionals into one of the larger, leading consulting firms in the eastern United States. Upon the retirement of founding partner, E.K. Mattern, Mr. Barranger became the firm’s first managing partner. As an expert witness, he also participated in 35 annexation cases for Virginia towns and cities.



Mr. Barranger devoted many hours to help advance the engineering profession, especially through his active participation in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). He is a past president of the Virginia section and a past chairman of several of ASCE national committees. He continued his service well after his formal retirement from the firm and was on the ASCE National Board of Directors from 1983 until 1985.



His support of education is evident in his contributions to Virginia Tech, as well as to his wife Helen’s alma mater, Roanoke College. For more than 20 years he volunteered at Lewis-Gale Hospital. Years of service on boards of directors include Colonial American Bank, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Junior Achievement, Salvation Army, Presbyterian Homes and Family Services, Roanoke City Board of Zoning  Appeals, the city’s Commission on Energy Conservation and its Comprehensive Planning Commission.  At Raleigh Court Presbyterian Church, where he is an elder, his jobs have ranged from Sunday School superintendent to building committee chairman, and from teaching young boys to a men’s Bible class. Social activities include annual meetings of World War II 1891st Engineer Aviation Battalion, the Shenandoah Club and Roanoke Round Table.



The Barrangers, who recently celebrated their 63rd anniversary, have homes in Roanoke and Naples, Florida. They have two daughters, Glenna Keller and Margaret Reid, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, with a fourth expected as a lovely gift for Christmas 2004.