ABINGDON, MD – This year, Morris & Ritchie Associates, Inc.’s (MRA) celebrates its 40th year in business. The local professional services firm, founded by Richard Morris and M. Kirk Ritchie and began in Bel Air as a two-man civil engineering and surveying business, has grown into one of the largest Architectural, Engineering, and Planning companies in the mid-Atlantic region. Headquartered in Abingdon, the firm now has a staff of more than 190, with eight offices located within Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and North Carolina, managed by 21 principals. MRA’s services include architecture; urban and land planning; civil/site, water/wastewater, pipeline, coastal, and structural engineering; landscape architecture; homebuilder; and surveying services. According to MRA president Frank Hertsch, PE, several factors have contributed to the firm’s long-term success. “First and foremost, it’s the people - our clients and staff. Without the best of both a business cannot succeed.”