Darrell McMillian holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology and is a Registered Professional Engineer in Missouri. He currently works part-time as the Technical Director for the Masonry Institute of St. Louis, in St. Louis, MO, while transitioning into retirement.
He has been extremely active serving TMS on the Executive Committee, culminating with his successful term as President. With his leadership, TMS was able to double its cash reserves, ensuring the ability of the Society to survive and prosper, and he built upon the Society’s Strategic Plan to implement a process of evaluating and tying yearly goals and objectives to guide the Society’s budgeting and activity planning. He has also served on the Society’s Board of Directors, for two terms, as well as on the Technical Activities Committee for 6 years. He also co-hosted the 10th North American Masonry Conference in St. Louis and has served for many years on the TMS 402/602 Committee and sub-committees leading to improvements in TMS’s Code and Specification for masonry structures.
Working as the Technical Director for the Masonry Institute of St. Louis, Darrell has educated and assisted local architects, engineers, code officials and mason contractors for over 20 years. His numerous masonry presentations include Masonry Material Standard Update, Structural Masonry Detailing: Masonry Openings, and many others. He has also educated many students in masonry design at Missouri S&T as an Adjunct Faculty member teaching their ‘Structural Masonry Design Course’ while assisting other instructors and professors seeking to teach masonry design courses. He has supported Masonry Educators Workshops and local research into masonry, and has helped provide subsidized copies of TMS 402/602 to students for many years.
The nominator noted that “Darrell McMillian has made outstanding contributions to The Masonry Society and the masonry industry at large, particularly in the areas of education and development of the Society.” Endorsement letters frequently noted his exceptional ability, effort, and results at the forefront and behind the scenes advancing the Society as well as the masonry industry and masonry knowledge. Beyond his technical and leadership skills, endorsers frequently noted his personal qualities of being a good listener, engaging all parties in discussions, a good communicator, organizational skills, collaboration with other organizations, supporting TMS staff, and many others.
