Photo: Cheryl Forde displays a juvenile redfish caught while kayak fishing.
For Cheryl Forde, TechFarms and Arnold Schwarzenegger have something in common.
Schwarzenegger, the former Mr. Universe, California governor and movie star, today has an “Arnold’s Pump Club” podcast and website that emphasize fitness for all, offer practical advice, debunk myths and enable people to pair workouts with their abilities and goals.
“He occupies a positive corner of the internet,” Cheryl said.
Three months into her experience as an intern at TechFarms, Cheryl said she likes its pleasant environment, the people who work there and the camaraderie that characterizes the place. TechFarms, she said, “has a genuine interest in helping people succeed.
“It’s a positive corner of Panama City Beach.”
Cheryl is a rucker. That is, she regularly engages in rucking — walking with a weighted backpack. The practice, Schwarzenegger says, helps build muscle, promotes fat loss and improves posture. In addition, for Cheryl and her husband, Corey, rucking relieves back pain.
At TechFarms, Cheryl is a modeler. She is involved in developing blueprints for the Atlantis Center, a TechFarms initiative. The 133,000-square-foot multipurpose building includes 80+ offices and large, open areas suited to events and light manufacturing operations.
“When I move the blueprints into Revit (software used by architects and other professionals),” Cheryl explained, “I can do 3D modeling and render the space in different ways to help clients visualize their events or business activities at Atlantis.”
Too, she can readily reconfigure the space to reflect changes at the facility and the emergence of use patterns. The world has come a long way, she recognizes, since the days when her father-in-law used tools such as compasses and triangles in his career as a draftsman.
A self-described “continuous learner,” Cheryl holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics (Troy University) and an MBA (Jack Welch Management Institute).
Today, she is a student in the Architectural Design and Construction Technology program at Gulf Coast State College, where she met TechFarms employee Kurt Morris, the instructor in her “Introduction to Computer-Aided Design” course. She would get around to asking him about a possible internship at TechFarms.
Cheryl confesses that she is “obsessed with architecture,” choosing to devote her free time to building cardboard models and reading books on the subject. She feels fortunate to have the opportunity to take classes at GCSC led by Professor Antonio Adessi, who grew up in Florence, Italy, and is well versed in both Western and European architectural traditions.
Hawaiian born, Cheryl has three daughters and is an Air Force veteran who oversaw missions in cyberspace operations. She met husband Corey at Camp H.M. Smith, a U.S. military installation on the island of Oahu. Corey, a retired Marine, was working at Camp Smith for a military contractor when Cheryl was assigned to the desk next to his.
The couple, who now live in Freeport in Walton County, Florida, headed for the mainland after coming to feel “island bound” and ready for a change that would bring them closer to family in Georgia and Alabama.
Cheryl is well-equipped to deal with the constancy of change. “After the blueprint and Revit work, we’ll see what’s next for me at TechFarms,” she said.
No matter that challenge, Cheryl is sure to “aim high” and apply herself well.
