Vol. 11 Issue 1 January 2011 Resources
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President's Report
Well it’s a new year: from a business standpoint - a new fiscal year, and from a political prospective - a changed distribution of influence on policy making on both the national and state levels. Your ACEC-CO Council is in good financial shape as of this mid-point of our fiscal year. I hope your business is in the black. Unfortunately the economy has resulted in some long-term, as well as relatively new, members needing to resign. We have also gained some new members off-setting the losses. Overall, membership and the associated revenue appear to be consistent. There are many other states that cannot share that same positive outlook. Read More..
In the News
Scholarship Applications Due
Deadline coming up soon! If you know any engineering students please pass on this information. ACEC/CO is granting over $28,000 in scholarship monies for 2011. To qualify, students must be entering their junior, senior or fifth year, in the fall of 2011 and be pursuing a Bachelor's degree in an ABET-approved engineering or surveying program in Colorado. Applications for the ACEC/CO scholarship are due Friday, January 28, by 5:00 p.m. Please don't wait. Apply now for this great opportunity!
2010 Wake-up Call Podcasts Now Available
Good news! If you missed a Wake-up Call Breakfast in 2010, not to worry, we have all of the presentations podcasts available for you. We've had some excellent presenters this past year so check them out here..
Free Energy Book Download
Check out this link to download Amazon's #1 best-selling energy book: Renewable Energy Facts and Fantasies - The Tough Realities as Revealed in Interviews with 25 Subject Matter Experts, by Craig Shields.
Membership Notices and
Engineers in the News
Membership Notices for new and prospective members and other membership changes.
Attention Members: This month you may be hearing from a member of the ACEC/CO Board of Directors and Membership Committee. In appreciation of your membership, the Board will be calling you to thank you for your loyalty and asking for your feedback on the Council.
Engineers in the News from our members and member firms.
From National
President's Report
From ACEC's President Dave Raymond on the latest developments of ACEC's government affairs on your behalf. Read more..
ACEC Annual Convention and Legislative Summit
The ACEC Annual Convention and Legislative Summit will be held March 30 - April 2, 2011 in Washington DC. Register for the Annual Convention by January 31 and be entered into a drawing for a complementary 3-night stay at the Grand Hyatt Hotel during the Convention! Read More..
Giving Back - Future of Engineering
"Future City Competition" Judges Needed Jan. 22
The 2011 National Engineers Week Future City Competition Colorado Regional will be held Saturday, January 22, 2011 and judges are needed to volunteer for this event. The program's mission is to inspire sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students to become future engineers by allowing them to run a city of the future via computer simulation, research and model building.
A key component of the competition is allowing the students to interact with community members as judges and volunteers on competition day. If you are interested in interacting with the students check out this website for more information and registration.
ACEC/CO Events and Professional Development
Register online, by calling 303-832-2200, or by e-mail for ACEC/CO programs.
- January General Meeting - Future Leaders Graduation
Tuesday, January 25, 11:30 a.m. Help us celebrate our Future Leaders Graduates and hear a keynote from Dr. Sandra Woods of CSU.
Read More..
- ACEC Webinar - "Responding to Requests for Discounts or Unilateral Fee Reductions"
Thursday, January 20, 11:30 a.m. Hosted at ACEC/CO and at Lamp Rynearson in Fort Collins for north area members.Read More..
- ACEC Webinar - "Engineering Opportunities in the Upcoming Urban Water Crises"
Wednesday, January 26, 11:30 a.m. Hosted at ACEC/CO, 1.5 PDH's and lunch included. Read More..
- Wake-up Call Breakfast Series
Wednesday, February 2, 7:30 a.m. at the Sunrise Sunset Restaurant. Topic: "Economic Outlook for 2011" Read More..
- Legislative Day at the Capitol
Thursday, February 10, 10:30 a.m. at the Old Supreme Court Chambers. Here from the new House and Senate leadership, personally meet with legislators over lunch, etc. Read More..
- Future Leaders Workshops
The Future Leaders Supervisory Skills I Certificate Program will begin March 1, 2011. Click here for more information. The Future Leaders Management Proficiency II Program also begins March 1, 2011. Click here for more information on this program.
- Project Management Seminars
A three seminar series on project management, March 9, April 13 and May 11. Earn up to 12 PDH's. Read More..
- 2011 Annual STS Call for Speakers
The 9th Annual Spring Transportation Symposium, hosted jointly by ACEC/CO, WTS, ITE and APA will be held Friday, April 8, 2011, at the Pepsi Center. Sponsorships and speakers are needed! Read More..
Additional Professional Development
Opportunities and Events
- SMPS Upcoming Events:
Check out the upcoming events for the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Read More..
- APWA 2011 Construction Inspection Conference
February 3 - 4, 2011. Register by January 28 for this American Public Works Association Colorado Chapter Conference. For more information click here..
- Green Roofs Seminar: Design, Implementation and Maintenance:
A two day continuing education seminar at UCD. Read More..
- Retro Chen Cup 2011
Calling all skiers and snow boarders! Break out your 80's ski suits and come join the fun.The Chen Cup is a winter sports event held annually for company teams in the geotechnical/environmental consulting business.Read More..
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On the political front, nationally it appears we have some challenges with Congress. We may be headed down the same path where Congress continues to be dysfunctional. As much as the Democrats liked to spend our way to recovery, the Republican controlled House appears to want to cut out everything they can to reduce the national deficit. While tempered cuts may be good, failing to invest in America’s infrastructure is “penny wise and pound foolish.” We need to keep pounding our representatives with that message and get long-term funding for transportation, aviation and water back on track. I urge you to contact your representatives and explain the importance of properly funding our nation’s infrastructure. I'll be attending the ACEC Convention and Legislative Summit in March to deliver the message in person. Please join me. Our state leaders have a whole other problem with a one-billion-dollar short fall. I don’t think it’s going to get better as real estate values fell and continue to fall. The Governor looks to be doing the right things and has assembled good people for various positions. He appears to be engaging and asking for input from the bottom up. We’ll see if I am as optimistic in April at our ACEC/CO annual meeting. Plan to attend our Legislative Day at the State Capitol, February 10th, and make your voice heard. On a personal note, one of the great things about being your ACEC-CO. President is the opportunity to participate with various organizations. I, along with several other members, attended a working breakfast at Aurora Community College to discuss how the community college system can develop programs that benefit the engineering community in December. I think they received some good input including the differing needs for technicians as well as degreed engineers. I helped judge senior design projects at UCD along with two members from ACEC and three members representing the college. Let me tell you there are some sharp, and very professional students coming out of that school. Some of the projects were every bit as well thought out and presented as any engineering firm. ACEC selects winners which will receive awards at our January 25th General Meeting. We will also be recognizing our Future Leaders graduates. Join us to see who we selected and to get a glimpse into the future of our profession. - Bill Hoffmann, ACEC-CO President |
General
- ACEC/ASCE/APWA launched the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) which will house an “infrastructure sustainability rating system” that can be used for public and private works. (see Last Word, December 16).
- Minuteman Fund grants were awarded to ACEC/California for the defense of P3s against public employee union attack, and to ACEC/Nevada to protect design professional services from contractor liability.
- Last Word earned a “Silver Award” in Association Trends 2010 All-Media Contest, the seventh year that it won first or second place as the best association newsletter in the country.
- ACEC took a lead role in U.S. Chamber of Commerce strategic meeting on how to pass infrastructure legislation in the new Congress.
Government Affairs
- Secured final passage of legislation that limits the liability of structural firms that assisted in the recovery effort at Ground Zero following 9/11.
- Secured final passage of major tax legislation that extends the Bush tax cuts and includes generous expensing provisions to spur equipment purchases.
- Submitted comments to the Financial Accounting Standards Board on how firms that must comply with the FAR would be negatively impacted by its proposed changes to accounting standards for leases.
- Objected to proposed changes to House rules that would eliminate protections for multi-year transportation funding guarantees.
- Endorsed infrastructure elements of the President’s bipartisan deficit commission recommendations, including 15 cent increase in the federal gas tax to support transportation investments.
- Removed in-sourcing provisions from the National Defense Authorization Act before final passage.
- Contributed to a FEMA-sponsored workshop on reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program; a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) strategic workshop on resilience planning; and a USAID Post-Disaster Infrastructure Reconstruction workshop.
Institute for Business Management
- Issued the 2011 Fall Conference Call for Presentations, soliciting proposals from industry experts for conference sessions; proposals due January 28, 2011. The Fall Conference will be held at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas October 19-22, 2011.
- RCEP.net now holds PDH records for over 11,000 people; and state licensing boards now have access to both Power and Basic subscriber records on RCEP.net, offering licensed professionals and state boards an efficient way to review PDH's earned. (ACEC/CO is an approved RCEP provider).
By Dave Raymond, ACEC President
ACEC 2011 Annual Convention and Legislative Summit
This is an exciting opportunity for ACEC/CO members to strengthen our message at Capitol Hill at the 2011 convention to be held March 30 - April 2, 2011 at the Grand Hyatt in Washington DC. Register before January 31 and be entered into a drawing for a complementary 3-night stay at the Grand Hyatt during the convention.
"Opportunities and Challenges - The New Congress and the Future of the Industry." Capitol Hill visits will take place during the beginning of the convention with educational programs at the end of the week. Hear from Speaker of the House John Boehner, Incoming Transportation and Infrastructure Chair John Mica and former U.S. Representative Tom Davis on the political dynamics of the New Congress and what it means for our industry. Click here for more information and registration.
Membership NoticesAttention Members: This month you may be hearing from a member of the ACEC/CO Board of Directors and Membership Committee. In appreciation of your membership, the Board will be calling you to thank you for your loyalty and asking for your feedback on the Council. Please join us Tuesday, January 25, for our New Member Orientation. We will be recognizing Steve Holt with a life membership for his contributions to the Council and the profession. The Orientation will be at 10:30 a.m. at the Lakewood Country Club, right before our General Meeting. Prospective Affiliate Members: Welcome Individual Members: Welcome Affiliate Members: |
The RMH Group, Inc. was recently selected by the Jeffco Action Center as the organization's 2010 Business of the Year. The Action Center delivers a continuum of services to the poor and homeless in Jefferson County to help them become self-sufficient. RMH joined the Action Center’s Self-Sufficiency Society, a group of committed donors who pledge at least $1,000 a year for five years, in 2009.
The Structural Engineers Association of Colorado named Andrew Kelsey (Ascent Group) president,
David Poe (Anchor Engineering) vice-president, Jim Ness (Monroe-Newell) secretary, Ron Hedrick
(Jirsa Hedrick) past-president, and Alex Abel (City and County of Denver), Rob Leberer (Anderson &
Hastings) and Stan Welton (Martin Martin) directors for the 2011 term.
Hatch Mott MacDonald announced that Richard P Arber Associates has joined the Hatch Mott MacDonald organization. Arber Associates will strengthen Hatch Mott MacDonald’s water, wastewater, and water reuse practice in the western U.S.
Beaudin Ganze Consulting Engineers, Inc. (BGCE) announces that Bryan Fingland, P.E., LEEP AP, recently passed the Electrical and Computer: Power Exam to become a Colorado licensed Professional Engineer..
HDR appointed Mike Grant as CAD manager for the transportation business group.
Merrick & Company named Peter Binney national director of sustainable architecture.
MWH announced that the Tekeze Hydropower Project in Ethiopia was named the Best Renewable/Sustainable Project of the Year by Power Engineering magazine.
In Memory:
Lyman H. "Buz" Frasier died January 4, 2011 at the age of 81. He received his degree in civil engineering from Maryland in 1956. He was a principal of Frasier & Halbe Engineering Company and a former member of ACEC/CO.
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Additional Professional Development Opportunities and Events
Green Roofs Seminar: Design, Implementation and Maintenance
A continuing education seminar, March 4 - 5, 2011 at the University of Denver, downtown campus.
Green roofs have many benefits that are increasingly being identified, measured, and acknowledged by policy makers and the general public. This intensive one-and-a-half day seminar will give participants the ability gain a general understanding of: the basic elements of a green roofs and green infrastructure – especially for semi-arid and arid climates, the benefits associated with green roofs and green infrastructure, how to select the type of green roof for your project, technical issues necessary to address during design, implementation and maintenance, maintenance issues which ensure longevity of the green roof and green infrastructure, and detailed cost variables for green roofs and green infrastructure. For more information visit the website here.
Retro Chen Cup 2011
Calling all skiers and snow boarders! Break out your 80's ski suits and come join the fun Saturday, March 19 at Eldora Mountain Resort. The Chen Cup is a winter sports event held annually for company teams in the geotechnical/environmental consulting business. Events include a morning race in three divisions; alpine, telemark and snowboard; an afternoon Nordic race in two divisions; classic and skate. Points are accumulated in an individual and team format.
Entry fee is $20.00 for each participant. Specially discounted lift tickets will be available for $30.00. The event is open to friends and family and discount lift tickets are available for friends and family members not competing as well. Lunch will be provide and an après ski party includes snacks and of course free beer!
For more information contact Trisha Fanning at 303-503-7539 or tfanning@trihydro.com. Also, check out the events facebook page.