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Mark Warnick to retire from GSA

Two people smiling in a selfie photo.
Region 6 Attorney Mark Warnick said he plans to spend his retirement with his long-time companion, Patti, on their farm in Kansas.

Region 6 Attorney Mark Warnick is scheduled to retire Dec. 31 with just under 22 years of service to GSA, all with the Office of General Counsel, and a career spanning 37 years. Prior to joining GSA he practiced law in the private sector — where he specialized in land use, planning, zoning and development law with an emphasis in solid waste siting and litigation.

What are you most proud of during your time at GSA?

During my public service career with GSA, I provided legal advice and counsel on a number of projects of national significance. Most notably:

  • The National Nuclear Security Administration National Security Campus in south Kansas City, Missouri. At the time, and perhaps still, it was the largest leasehold in terms of dollars in the entire nation.
  • The public-private partnership in which the Old Post Office and Custom House in St. Louis was conveyed to a private developer.
  • The IRS Consolidated Processing Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
  • The regional headquarters campus for the Environmental Protection Agency in Lenexa, Kansas.
  • The relocation of two components of the U.S. Department of Agriculture from Washington, D.C., to Kansas City, Missouri.
  • The opportunity to work on the Katrina relief effort.
  • Representing the agency on one of the few leasehold condemnations successfully undertaken in the nation.
  • Obtaining the first-ever exemption from the requirements of Executive Order 13717 and the Standards of Seismic Safety for Existing Federally Owned and Leased Buildings.
  • Numerous courthouse projects, special-purpose laboratories, and regional and national task forces.

How do you recharge your batteries outside of work? Any plans for retirement?

My long-time companion, Patti, and I have a 160-acre farm in Leavenworth County, Kansas, and are completing construction of our home. It’s a 1.5 story, timber-frame home overlooking a 12-acre lake that I engineered and constructed in the mid-1990s. We’re hoping to raise goats, chickens and alpacas during retirement, along with developing a specialty cut flower farm. If time permits, we want to create a small orchard and a number of berry patches to support a beekeeping operation (apiary). Perhaps we will even look into the growing of hops for the local brewing community.

What advice would you give to new employees just starting their GSA career?

Take advantage of every cross-training opportunity that becomes available. The broader the knowledge base you develop, the more valuable a team player you’ll become.