To no ones surprise, Taylor Engineering Inc. President Mike Taylor wanted to be an engineer early in life.


Then, however, the son of a career military man headed toward a military career himself. That was followed by a brief stint as a farmer and an even briefer period in a software startup, before few people really knew much about software. In his early 30s, he returned to the original plan of working as an engineer.


This, however, isnt a story about a man who dabbled in careers while trying to decide what he wanted to do with his life. The dictionary says engineering is the act of putting scientific knowledge to practical uses. Consistent with someone who would excel in such a field, Taylor had sound reasons behind each move he made along the way.


Those who know him say the coupling of Taylors analytical mind and his willingness to try new things is a reason Taylor Engineering has become one of the largest engineering companies in the Inland Northwest over the past 20 years.


Mark Aronson, a partner in Taylor Engineering, says that through the years, the company has gone after work in sectors that it wouldnt have pursued if not for Taylors urging. Some of those sectors, airport and wind-energy work among them, now account for large portions of the companys workload.


Mike is the optimist of the partners in Taylor Engineering, Aronson says. Hes always looking at new opportunities. A large part of the reason for Taylor Engineerings success is Mikes optimism.


Taylor also has had a hand in returning stability to a couple of long-time Spokane institutions. He serves on the boards of AmericanWest Bank and Empire Health Services, which operates Deaconess Medical Center and Valley Hospital & Medical Center. Until the middle of last year, he was chairman of Empire Healths board.


About two years ago, Taylor was chairman of committees that chose the new CEOs for the two organizations. The situations were similar: Both had a strong presence in the Spokane market, but both had suffered financial setbacks that ledat least in partto the search for new leadership, Taylor says.


In each institution, it was time to bring in someone from outside the organization, he says. There was a culture change needed.


Under new leadership, both Empire Health and AmericanWest have reported much improved financial results and appear to have brighter futures.


Chris Marr, current chairman of Empire Healths board, says Taylor was the chief change agent at Empire Health during the turnaround process. During Empires toughest times, Taylor devoted much more time to the unpaid chairmanship than he let on, Marr says.


The thing about Mike is that hes pretty selfless, Marr says. He still puts in 95 percent of the effort he used to. I get more articles on health care from Mike Taylor than anybody else.


Yet, many Inland Northwest construction professionals might cite another Taylor endeavor as an important contribution: the Taylor Engineering Christmas party. Started as a way to say thanks to the companys staff, the party has grown to where about 800 people show up each year to indulge in the free booze and catered food, look at the ice sculptures, view the reindeer on the companys front lawn, and in some cases, take home with them one of the many poinsettia plants decorating the office.


45 homes in 62 years


Taylor was born in 1943 in Merced, Calif., where his father worked as a hospital administrator at a U.S. Army base. His family moved frequentlyhes lived in 45 homes in his 62 yearsgoing everywhere from California to Munich, Germany, where as a young child he watched construction crews scoop up Post-World War II rubble.


After graduating from high school in Walla Walla, Wash., Taylor moved to Southern California and attended El Camino Junior College, then San Diego State University. He was at San Diego State long enough to meet his first wife, Diane, in a math class, but not too long after he arrived there, he left to join the military. The Vietnam War had started, and his draft number was sure to come up. He decided to enroll so that he had some say in what job he would perform in the military. He ended up working in engineering for the Army.


At 26 years old, he commanded a company of 121 men that built roads, bridges, airfields, and bunkers in Vietnam. He says one person in the company he commanded was killed, and four were wounded.


When Taylor returned to the states, the Army allowed him to return to San Diego State, and he finished his degree in 1972.


College was the best 11 years of my life, Taylor jokes.


He returned to active duty and in two years time was promoted from second lieutenant to captain. He planned to remain in the military for the rest of his career, but while he was living in Germany for the third time in his life, the younger of his two sons was diagnosed with autism.


Realizing the Army had no resources to help a child with special needs, he left the service and searched for a place that could help his son. He found the Spokane Guild School. Taylors two brothers were operating a farm north of Spokane, and he joined the family farm corporation, though he says the Guild School was the primary reason for coming here.


On the side, the brothers developed software for a game to be played on a computer that Timex madein the mid-1970s, well before personal computers were commonplace. Their product received some write-ups in technology magazines, but a few weeks before they were to launch their product, Timex announced that it was going to cease production of computers.


At about the same time, Taylor and his brothers realized that the farm wasnt large enough to support three families, and in 1976, he went to work for Inland Pacific Engineering Co. here.


In 1978, he and Larry Leinweber formed Leinweber & Taylor Consulting, in Spokane. One year later, they opened an office in Colville. The firm employed about 20 people. About 70 percent of the companys work involved providing engineering services for residential development, and when the housing market suffered a downturn in 1979, that firm closed its doors.


Taylor then joined Bovay Northwest Inc. and became better acquainted with public-works engineering. In 1985, a colleague at Bovay, Dennis Scott, suggested to Taylor that the two of them start their own firm. Reluctantly, Taylor agreed, though he promised himself that he would diversify the workload more than he had in his first venture.


About a year after Scott Taylor Co. started, Scott took a job as public works director at Spokane County, and the firm became Taylor Engineering.


The business ran as a sole proprietorship for its first few years, and Taylor ran everything.


I was wearing all the hats, and that wasnt comfortable, he says.


In 1989, he incorporated and some of his employees became part owners. All of them are still with the company.


Id be dead without them, says Taylor, adding that hes speaking literally. He says he has had two heart attacks, and his partners have taken a lot of the stress off his shoulders over the years.


Taylor is three years from retirement and says hell step down by the time hes 65. Years ago, the engineering companys principals put together a succession plan through which each, at age 55, starts selling their shares in the company to others coming up through the ranks. By 65, each principal is expected to be fully divested of their ownership in the company.


Taylor remains president of the company, but currently owns only a 5 percent interest in it.


This is Dangerfield engineering. I get no respect, says Taylor with a smile, referring to the woebegone perennial lament of late comedian Rodney Dangerfield.


In retirement, Taylor hopes to help young businesses survive and prosper, possibly as a volunteer with SCORE, Counselors to Americas Small Business. Also, he wants to continue traveling with his wife, Linda, and spending time with his five grandchildren.


Contact Linn Parish at (509) 344-1266 or via e-mail at linnp@spokanejournal.com.