2006 Distinguished alumni awards
Waite
Dalrymple
Tumwater, Washington
College graduate 1965
Professional achievement award
Mr. Waite Dalrymple almost never made it to Saint Martin’s. But one
summer, as a psychology student at the University of Washington, he
found work at the Department of Transportation. He discovered his love
of engineering. He immediately enrolled at SMC and graduated with a B.S.
in Civil Engineering in 1965. Dalrymple attributes much of his successes
to the discipline, guidance and quality of education he received from
Fr. Richard Cebula and other Saint Martin’s monks and faculty.
The
1969 co-founder of Parametrix Inc., a Sumner-based consulting firm
specializing in water/wastewater engineering, waste management,
transportation engineering, environmental sciences and architecture,
Dalrymple continued his education at Washington State University and
earned a M.S. in Environmental Engineering in 1966.
Under Dalrymple’s leadership, Parametrix made several major
contributions to better living in the Pacific Northwest. One of the
company’s largest tasks was the writing of the environmental impact
statement for Sound Transit, the light rail system for three counties in
the Puget Sound area. And in 1999, Parametrix joined only a handful of
U.S. companies that were 100 percent employee owned. “Selling the
company to the employees,” said Dalrymple, “was one of my most
satisfying personal achievements.” Participation in the ESOP program not
only allowed Parametrix to insure that the strong, corporate culture
would remain intact, but also to guarantee a secure future for all of
its employees.
While today he considers himself ‘semi-retired’, his boundless
generosity and energy are felt around the world. In addition to
remaining an active member on the Board of Directors for Parametrix Inc,
Dalrymple is also a Saint Martin’s University Board Trustee, a member of
the Advisory Board for the College of Engineering at Washington State
University, and a member of the Board of Directors of ESOP Association
in Washington D.C. He dedicates countless hours to SMU as a member of
the President’s Campus Development Committee as well as a member of the
University’s Facilities Committee. In 2002 Dalrymple’s joy in
participating in creative problem solving led he and his wife, Patty, to
‘adopt’ Shipanuka, a small aids-ravaged village in Zambia, Africa.
Through their work with World Vision the Dalrymples have watched as this
small community grew healthy. Together they have helped this village
develop clean water sources, improve agriculture practices, and affect
healthy medical services. They have actively introduced several
micro-enterprises to the community and are constantly touched by how big
something so small as a mosquito net can be.
Dalrymple and his wife Patty live in Tumwater. They have two
children, Cherry and Koni, and one grandchild, Austin.