As a full-time, full-service library consulting firm, Godfrey’s Associates,Inc. has completed public library planning projects in 47 of the 50 United States (plus the District of Columbia) over the firm’s 43 years of operation.
Originally founded as HBW Associates, Inc. in 1979, our firm harnessedthe combined energy and expertise of former Dallas Public Library (DPL) employees David Hennington, Lee Brawner, Richard “Dick” Waters as our original Principal Consultants. Had Melvil Dewey beenavailable, the firm might have been known as DHBW Associates, but alas, it was not to be.
In 1986, Dick’s oldest son, Architect, and former DPL employee Brad Waters joined forces with Willis C. Winters to form PROVIDENCE Architecture, Inc. In 1992, when Hennington and Brawner retired from full-timeconsulting and Winters went to work for the City of Dallas, Dick joined forces with Brad to create PROVIDENCE Associates, Inc. Laura Isenstein joined the firm in2002.
In 2006, Dick sold PROVIDENCE Associatesto Isenstein and formed Godfrey’s Associates, Inc., an ArizonaCorporation. Brad retained the firm PROVIDENCE Architecture as aTexas Corporation. Godfrey, the namesake of thecompany, was a friendly 25-pound Tabby cat that patrolled the Bed and Breakfast that Dick and his wife once owned in Denton, Texas. From 2006 through 2008, Dick workedfor both PROVIDENCE and Godfrey’s, while completing the ownership transition. Since 2008, Dick has workedexclusively as Godfrey’s sole owner and Principal Consultant, offering clients a full-range of library consulting services by enlisting experts from a stable of Associate Consultants.
