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ACEC/CO 2011 Final Legislative Updates
The 2011 legislative session has ended. View our final legislative update of bills that passed or were defeated Here.

Hickenlooper Signs Public Works Job Creation Act

Governor Hickenlooper signed the HB11-1115 Public Works Job Creation Act on May 26, 2011. The bipartisan legislative effort, supported by the Building Jobs4Colorado Coalition which includes ACEC/CO and many others, lowers the amount of retainage that can be withheld in public projects from 10% to 5% and requires final release of retainage 60 days after a project’s final acceptance. Read More..

On the same day, Governor Hickenlooper signed HB11-1288 -- Unemployment Insurance Solvency Reform – into law.  This law reforms the premium tables for businesses paying into Colorado’s insolvent Unemployment Insurance trust fund. While the bill will likely result in higher UI premiums for businesses, it will lessen the rate shock scheduled to occur under the old formula as Colorado tries to rebuild its trust fund and repay federal loans that have keep our UI system afloat.

Summer Legislative Breakfasts

This summer ACEC/CO will be scheduling legislative breakfasts and lunches where you will have the opportunity to sit down and talk with your legislators. During the off-session season is a great time to get to know your legislators! Specific details will be available soon.

May General Meeting in Review:

We were happy to see so many of you at the May General Meeting. We had a great speaker - Frederick Bush, Director of Planning at DIA who gave us an update of the latest information on current development activities at Denver International Airport - and we also recognized engineering students for their excellent projects in the University of Colorado Senior Design Competition. Read More..

In the News

EEA Program on Horizon - Showcase your Innovations to the World

The kickoff for the 2012 Engineering Excellence Awards program will be with the annual Awards Workshop on Friday, June 17 at 7:30 a.m. at Merrick & Company in Aurora.  This workshop is essential to gaining all of the information that a firm needs to enter the awards competition, and provides insiders’ perspectives on how to successfully package your entry submittal, what the judges are looking for, and the short- and long-term benefits of entering the competition.This year, first-time entrants (and firms who have not entered the competition in the past seven years) will receive more than 50% off their entry fee.

So what are the benefits to entering the EEA competition?  For one, the opportunity to showcase your engineering innovations your firm has been working hard on. Also, huge exposure within the industry including:
Read More..

Catch up on the 2010-11 Wake-Up Call Breakfast Series

Our Wake-up Call Breakfast Series is over for the summer. But if you missed out on any of the programs, we got you covered! You can now catch up on all of the 2010 and 2011 Wake-up Call presentations by purchasing the podcast recordings through ACEC/CO. Read More..

Membership Notices and Engineers in the News

Membership Notices for new and prospective members and other membership changes.

Engineers in the News from our members and member firms.

News from National

ACEC Retirement Trust Newsletter
Check out the Spring 2011 Newsletter here..

ACEC - EJCDC Contracts on Sale through July
Save 10% off the regular price of all Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee (EJCDC) documents until July 31, 2011. The discount has already been applied through the ACEC national website. Click here for more information.

President's Report
From ACEC's President Dave Raymond on the latest developments of ACEC's government affairs on your behalf. Read more..

ACEC/CO Events Calendar

Register online, by calling 303-832-2200, or by e-mail for ACEC/CO programs.

• Engineering Excellence Awards Workshop
  Friday, June 17, 7:30 a.m. at Merrick & Company in Aurora. This workshop is essential for gaining all of the information your firm needs to enter the Engineering Excellence Awards. Read More..
  
  
• ACEC/CO Annual Golf Tournament
  What's better than joining your colleagues on a Monday morning at a beautiful golf course for a little friendly competition and fun? Doing it for a good cause! The Annual Golf Tournament is set for Monday, August 8, 2011 at the Golf Club at Bear Dance in Larkspur, Colorado and proceeds from the tournament go toward the ACEC/CO scholarship fund. Read More..
  
  
• SAVE THE DATE - ACEC Regional Conference
  Save the date for the ACEC/CO, NM, UT, NV and AZ Regional Conference on September 22 - 24, 2011, to be held at La Fonda on the Plaza in Santa Fe, NM.

ACEC/CO Career Training Center

• Risk Management Training
  National speaker Tim Corbett will be presenting two educational sessions on Thursday, June 16. Attend one or both of these programs and come away with strategies to reduce your firm's risk. Many of our members have requested this kind of training.
  Read More..
  

Additional Professional Development Opportunities and Events

• Rocky Mountain Energy Epicenter
  The 23rd Annual Natural Gas Strategy and Investment Forum will be held August 1-4, 2011 at the Colorado Convention Center. Sessions explore the most interesting and difficult elements of the highly interconnected and quickly evolving Rocky Mountain energy conversation. Read More..
  

May General Meeting in Review:

We were happy to see so many of you at the May General Meeting. We had a great speaker - Frederick Bush, Director of Planning at DIA who gave us an update of the latest information on current development activities at Denver International Airport - and we also recognized engineering students for their excellent projects in the University of Colorado Senior Design Competition.

Every year the education committee is asked to judge the UCD College of Engineering's senior design competition where teams of students work all semester long building their projects. At the May General Meeting, ACEC/CO awarded two UCD teams plaques of excellence for their exceptional projects.

The "Ready O2" project took first place in the mechanical engineering category and consisted of an electrically actuated robotic arm designed to assist wheelchair users with limited upper body strength in lifting and securing an oxygen cylinder to their electric wheelchair. Congratulations to the team: Lillian Chatham, Damon Fleming, Jacob Gelfand,  Nili Krausz,  and Paul Sukow.

The "Snow Bike" project took second place in the mechanical engineering category. This team designed a Snow Bike conversion kit that will transform a two-wheeled street motorcycle into a track driven, ski steered motorcycle capable of being ridden on snow covered roads for the winter season. Congratulations David Baptiste, Jr.; Nikolas Lenski; Ovidio Perez, II;  Nicholas Williams and Aaron Yi.

In The News

EEA Program on Horizon - Showcase your Innovations to the World

The kickoff for the 2012 Engineering Excellence Awards program will be with the annual Awards Workshop on Friday, June 17 at 7:30 a.m. at Merrick & Company in Aurora.  This workshop is essential to gaining all of the information that a firm needs to enter the awards competition, and provides insiders’ perspectives on how to successfully package your entry submittal, what the judges are looking for, and the short- and long-term benefits of entering the competition. This year, first-time entrants (and firms who have not entered the competition in the past seven years) will receive more than 50% off their entry fee.

So what are the benefits to entering the EEA competition?  For one, the opportunity to showcase your engineering innovations that your firm has been working on. Also, huge exposure within the industry including:

• Recognition is given to your firm for its accomplishments and shared with your clients
• EEA winners are featured on Colorado Engineers, an annual television program aired by Comcast and municipal access channels
•  Entry boards are displayed at the State Capitol Building during Engineers Week
• Press releases are distributed announcing winners to all Colorado media
• National exposure is given for “Excellence” category winners

The EEA program offers an annual opportunity for its members to share their innovations in engineering.  Firms of any size may participate by submitting projects of any size or scope.  These projects are evaluated by an unbiased panel of judges within and outside of the A-E industry.  Every firm has something to gain from participating in this program.

Now is the time, more than ever, to get your firm’s name out there.  Now is the time to sign up for the awards workshop on June 17.  Now is the time to evaluate your projects for entry into the competition.

Now is the time to showcase your innovations to the world.

To sign up for the EEA workshop, please contact Jennifer at jennifer@acec-co.org or 303-832-2200.

- By Mary Beth Sepper, Awards Committee Chair

News From National

President's Report

General

• ACEC joined key business associations and Members of Congress in a “Rally for Roads” on Capitol Hill urging Congress to pass a new six-year federal highway bill. 
  
  
• Opposed draft proposal under consideration by Obama Administration to require government contractors to reveal political contributions in advance of being considered for project awards.
  

Government Affairs

• Testified in support of 3% withholding repeal at House Small Business Committee hearing; Ian Frost of EEE Consulting presented ACEC’s position.
  
  
• Testified on small business size standard at House Small Business Committee hearing; secured extension for deadline on comments in order to develop unified industry position; John Woods of Woods Peacock Engineering Consultants represented ACEC.
  
  
• Introduced legislation to remove the state volume cap on Private Activity Bonds for water and wastewater financing, allowing municipalities easier access to capital for water infrastructure projects. 
   
• Met with senior officials from the Departments of State and Commerce on how to increase overseas infrastructure work for U.S. firms; 14 member firms participated.
  
  
• Hosted industry roundtable with Congressman Bill Shuster (R-PA), of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, on surface transportation program and pending FAA and water legislation.
  
  
• Hosted industry “meet and greet” at ACEC headquarters for freshmen Congressmen David McKinley (WV) and Pat Meehan (PA).
  
  
• Hosted congressional fundraising events for Reps. Sam Graves (MO) Devin Nunes (CA) and Bill Pascrell (NJ).
  

 Institute for Business Management

• ACEC’s Business of Design Consulting “fundamentals of business” course received top marks from attendees.
  
  
• Launched Ten Top Legal Issues Facing Engineers, a program featuring general counsels of ACEC firms discussing legal issues critical to engineering business, including insurance, non-standard contracts and healthcare requirements.
  

By Dave Raymond, ACEC President

Engineers in the News

Two former leaders of ACEC received honorary doctorates in May. Structural engineer Richard G. Weingardt, former national ACEC President, received an honorary doctor of science degree from the University of Colorado (CU) on May 6, while water engineer and former national director Kenneth Wright and his wife Ruth were awarded a joint honorary doctor of science degree from the University of Wisconsin (UW) on May 13.  The trio has been friends and colleagues for many years.

Nolte Vertical Five (NV5) announced the promotion of Blake R Calvert, P.E., to Engineering Group Director for the Denver office.

Tom Walsh, P.E. recently joined David Evans and Associates, Inc. as the Transportation Business Unit Business Development Leader.

Beaudin Ganze Consulting Engineers has announced these additions to its staff: Morgan Royce as Project Manager in the New Mexico office and Zach Wurth, Mechanical Engineering in the Vail, Colorado office.

Alfred Benesch & Company was one of only 48 firms recently named to the 2011 Circle of Excellence by PSMJ Resources, Inc. for its strong business performance.

Terracon has added several new team members to its Wheat Ridge office: Bill Rethamel, P.E., project engineer; Sean Costello, staff geotechnica lengineer; Ben Murphy, staff environmental engineer; Ashleigh Kayne, staff environmental scientist; Stewart Ward, P.E., senior project engineer; Thomas Wall, CWI, senior inspector and field project manager.

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