Dylan Motley was a 13-year-old seventh grader in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, when domestic terrorists bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City in 1995, killing 168. Motley remembered seeing the site soon after.
“I remember thinking since the bomb went off the ground floor why did the nine stories above it collapse?” Motley recalled. “What could they have done differently to design that building? That really made a huge impact on me. My dad and I built a lot of stuff in the backyard when I was young – a lot of oddball projects. I always had that engineering mindset and wanted to become a structural engineer after that. It had a huge impact on my career decision.”
Now a Senior Design Manager in Government Design with Benham, a Haskell Company, Motley had the opportunity to act as the design lead as Benham provided design and engineering for a renovation of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum in 2015. The Memorial was first dedicated in 2001, and Benham acted as the Oklahoma-based architecture and engineering member on the original design team, too.
The bombing and memorial are indelible parts of Oklahoma City’s history and Motley’s life. In addition to participating in community events with the United Way, Habitat for Humanity and local food bank, he serves as the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon hydration station chairman each spring.
“I just want to be a part of giving back there,” Motley said. “That’s a big part of who I am.”
For reasons including that spirit of service, Motley recently received Haskell’s Living the Values Award, which recognizes team members who exemplify the company’s core values of Team, Excellence, Service and Trust.
“As a valued member of the Design Management team in Oklahoma City, Dylan is always contributing to various projects, providing guidance and direction to teams to ensure projects are delivered on time and profitably,” wrote Lynnisa Dunn, his nominator and an Administrative Assistant in the Government Design area. “He consistently initiates solutions and values perspectives from everyone in the organization, regardless of role. Additionally, Dylan always takes the time to offer advice, provide support and mentor junior staff members.”
Motley experienced an unusual feeling the day the honor was announced. With a busy morning schedule, he entered a meeting thinking there was an agenda for new procedures. He was surprised to be the center of attention.
“I was so honored to be recognized,” he said. “I don’t usually like all the recognition. I enjoy making everything better for my co-workers.”
A University of Oklahoma graduate, Motley has developed and designed a wide range of projects that include healthcare (OU’s Stephenson Center, a cancer treatment and research facility), the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, the Paycom Center (expanding the home of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder), military facilities and large commercial projects.
“My days are never the same,” he said. “That’s part of the reason I transitioned from structural to design manager. I now touch up to 14 projects a week. I thrive on that. For an engineer, who is usually portrayed as not so outgoing, I like to talk with people. I attribute that to COVID, when I learned I needed to get out of the house more. I became more extroverted as a result.”
Motley noted the OKC office focuses on federally oriented design. He said the number of military projects he works on have an everlasting impact. He realized early he was designing buildings for young soldiers or trainees who might be on their own for the first time as they started their careers.
“These soldiers and their families are sacrificing their time for us,” Motley said. “To be a small part of that and to make their training environment better gives me a great feeling, a great reward, in my mind.”
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