Ryan Taylor

Some might say Ryan Taylor’s project management career came naturally because construction runs in the family. Others might suggest the Legos he played with as a child introduced him to an empowering world of imagination where he could use his hands to create. Either way, Taylor has built his own road to success as the president of Pickering Associates in Parkersburg.

“I would show my creations off to everyone that would listen to me about my contraptions,” he remembers fondly of building with Legos. “To this day, my 9-year-old son does the same to me that I did to my parents. The best part about it is that I am usually right there with him, helping him dream up his inventions.”

Taylor grew up surrounded by aspects of the construction trade. His father and brother both took that same career route, and even as Taylor’s father warned him not to follow in his footsteps as a sheet metal worker, it seemed that the stars—or Legos—had already aligned for a bright future in the construction industry.

The path to Pickering has been accented with mentors who provided the guidance Taylor needed to get to where he is today, like his mother and father and his fifth grade teacher, Mr. Simonton. When Taylor received his master’s degree from West Virginia Universtiy (WVU), he went to work at Pickering, where he met Chip Pickering, a leader who took Taylor under his wing and made a memorable impression. “For the last 15 years I have had the privilege of working for Chip and watching him skillfully navigate through good and bad times while always keeping a positive outlook. He has taken so much time nurturing my strengths and helping me identify my weaknesses, and I cannot thank him enough for what he has done for my career and my family.”

At Pickering, Taylor has been fortunate to be surrounded by mentors like Chip and a knowledgeable, reliable staff. “As a project manager, you are only as good as the team that supports you,” he says. “I am surrounded by such competent and hardworking engineers, architects and support staff in the business. They consistently amaze me with their creativity, talent and work ethic.”

That support staff was especially important when Taylor worked on the project he identifies as his biggest challenge to date: managing the design and construction of a $48 million manufacturing plant. “I started working on the project in 2009, and now the plant is in full production and progressing to meet its goals. To think I had the opportunity to be involved in such a huge undertaking during a decade when most plant construction is demolition is amazing.”

While Taylor claims to lack a gift for rhythm, he certainly doesn’t lack a gift for giving back to his community. This shy, reserved individual claims more success with taking his cub scouts camping, hiking and fishing than with ballroom dancing lessons with his wife. A den leader and the treasurer of Pack 12 in Parkersburg, Taylor also participates in the local school improvement council at Madison Elementary School, coaches baseball and T-ball for the Vienna Recreation League, serves on the boards of the YMCA, Polymer Alliance Zone and Ohio Valley University and is active in his church.

When it comes to living and working in West Virginia, it is pride that keeps Taylor rooted in Parkersburg. “I am so proud of this little state. We have the friendliest, hardest working people in the nation. I believe I got the best public education from Wood County Schools and it prepared me for college at West Virginia University. After college, I interviewed in different states, but I just could not leave this state because of family. I knew I would eventually want to raise a family and I knew it had to be in West Virginia.”

Photography by Tracy Toler on location at Adventures On the Gorge