Chapter 1 - Personal History
This is a story about a guy who was once very shy and somewhat introverted. His parents met in Wichita Kansas - she an Ozarks native and he in the United States from Iran pursuing a college degree. Born in Chicago, his family soon moved to Wichita KS where he attended K-2nd grade but was then whisked to Teheran Iran where he spent seven formative years in an international school. Before turning 16 – and coincidentally just before the revolution in Iran – they moved back to the US and settled in Broken Arrow Oklahoma for his high school years. He spent summers and holidays in the Ozarks with family. When he decided on architecture as a career, he chose Louisiana State University and spent 9 years getting a degree, working a variety of restaurant jobs, got married and had a son. During the ‘oil bust’ in 1988 and 1989 he worked for a couple of architecture firms but was laid off each time and in 1990, the Ozarks called him back.
He spent his first few years at BRP Architects (formerly Butler, Rosenbury & Partners) satisfying his internship requirements, and met Springfield Native Joyce Eiken in 1993 and married in 1996. More on that in Chapter 3. In the 23 years at BRP architects he worked his way from an intern architect to a partner and served a variety of Springfield based clients that took him nationwide for projects. During that time, he began to come out of his shell through serving on a variety of boards, organizations and leadership opportunities including Ozark Greenways, Downtown Springfield Association, Downtown Springfield CID, American Institute of Architects, Springbike Bicycle Club among others. He also participated in Leadership Springfield Class 11 and was selected as one of the Springfield Business Journal 40 under 40.
In 2013, after manifesting a second career, he went on to work in the real estate development industry for The Vecino Group, developing supportive service and affordable housing projects in a variety of cities across the country. In 2023 it was time to turn his attention back home and ran a close race for City Council General Seat D. He engaged in his neighborhood and is now President of Seminole Holland neighborhood association. He is also a founding board member of the SW Missouri Chapter of the Urban Land Institute. With strong renewed support, he’s back for a second run for a city council seat. His focus is on both being an advocate for strong neighborhoods, neighborhood services and economic growth directed at underutilized commercial properties along arterial corridors. It’s not strong neighborhoods OR commercial growth, its AND. Bruce has over 30 years of experience working with developers, neighbors, and other municipalities
