Radiance ‘Breakout Room’ brings the past to the present to plan for the future

HUNTSVILLE — Radiance Technologies is not forgetting its roots.

The Huntsville-based defense contractor has developed a culture that prides itself on its connections with the U.S. military and space exploration.

To that end, employees and those with connections to the defense industry have now begun assembling what they call the “Space and Missile Defense Breakout Room.”

The room in the company’s headquarters features military-centered memorabilia including a general’s dress hat, an expansive map showcasing the military presence around Kwajalein, documents featuring several images from World War II, rocket models, action reports, and antique furniture from the North Alabama area.

Chip Drewry, son of the late Brig. Gen. Ivey Drewry, a former officer at Redstone Arsenal and World War II veteran, donated some of his father’s possessions and documentation from conflicts.

“I thought, okay, I got that and bought all new furniture for this building,” he said. “Leadership is like, ‘we need a room for this. We should recognize and understand our history.’

“Going through my father’s stuff after he passed on, I had stacks of this stuff. I gave his uniforms and the big missiles to the missile defense. They have an archives department. So I gave them all that stuff. “

Drewry said a map showing Kwajalein and furniture in the room are historical.

“This is the most significant piece though when they put this because I just found it in a drawer, I was going to throw it away,” he said. “I was going through stacks of stuff at that point. And when, when I brought it in, I’m not sure who it was that received it. But they framed it and it’s from the ’50s, it’s 70 years old.

“These chairs I found. They’re hard to find. Used to be in the old courthouse – Madison County Courthouse chairs.”

Drewry, who worked the the Defense Department, said he was compelled to serve his country after seeing his father’s dedication.

“I still love the country. I still feel like I’m a patriot. I just didn’t do it in the military,” he said. “I did it in the Department of Defense. So my part was different.

“I was trying to keep boys alive instead of trying to kill them.”

Jerry Skievaski, executive chief of staff for the company’s CEO, said the room also has a practical use.

“A lot of our people from the Arsenal come off-site and meet in this room because it’s easy to get,” said Skievaski. “Close the door and you got a nice one-on-one. It’s across from our biggest conference center. A lot of times people have to step out and take a call. So they jump in here.”

In a sense, the past meets the future.