Parker first met Joe Miller while he was still an undergrad at Iowa State. Joe sat down with him for a full hour and just talked timber framing and structural engineering—an early conversation that stuck. Two summers later, bachelor’s degree in hand, Parker joined Fire Tower as an intern. He split that summer between joint busting in the basement and structural design work, getting a real look at how Fire Tower does heavy timber. 

From there he headed to Virginia Tech for master’s degrees in Forest Products and Structural Engineering. After that he took a job in Anchorage designing bridges and marine structures. After almost a year of 60+ hour weeks, Parker was burned out. He realized there was more to life than work, and missed the Keweenaw. He reached back out to Joe, and when an opening came up, he packed up, drove 3,400-mile trip back to the Keweenaw. 

He is glad to be back in a small team and working alongside people who’ve spent decades pushing timber framing forward. When he is not at the desk, Parker is usually writing screenplays, reading, or just taking in the views of Lake Superior.