ACEC WI

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Upcoming events
Make Their Day: Recognition Across the Generational Divide: May 12, Virtual Seminar

TDA Drive In: May 13, Madison

Annual Meeting: May 14, Milwaukee

AIA Wisconsin Convention & Building Products Expo: May 20-21, Madison

Down But Not Out: How to Motivate Your Employees in this Recession: May 26, Virtual Seminar

4 Steps to Greater Profitability with Break-Even Analysis: June 11, Virtual Seminar

Who is Your Online Community? Tools and Tips to Identify and Engage Your Audience: June 30, Virtual Seminar

Engineering Future Leaders Class of 2010 Application Deadline: July 8

DSF Consultants Conference: October 29, Madison

Committee Meetings
Human Resources
May 7

DOT Liaison
May 12

Government Affairs
May 20

Public Relations
May 21

Membership Subcommittee - Past Presidents
May 25

Membership Subcommittee - Retention
May 26

DNR Liaison
June 2

Executive Subcommittee & Transportation Task Force
June 2

Click here for a print friendly version

May 4, 2009

Legislative Update
Education Programs
     Surviving & Thriving in Challenging Times – Annual Meeting
     Engineering Futures Call for Applicants
     Engineering Future Leaders Class of 2009
     Virtual Seminars
     Green Bay Roundtable Recap
2009-10 ACEC WI Board of Directors Ballots
Call for Volunteers – Wisconsin TranspoExpo
Member News & Updates
Committee News & Updates
State Agency News & Updates
ACEC National News & Updates
     President’s Update
     Spring Meeting/Consulting Congress Day Recap
     Community Service Award Application
Conduit & WisPAC
Loss Prevention/Risk Management Seminar
Midwest Infrastructure & GIS Technical Conference
Business News Wire

Legislative Update
The Joint Finance Committee continues to work on its re-write of the state’s biennium budget. Some “policy” issues have been removed from the budget bill and will be treated as separate stand-alone legislation. Still included in the bill is an issue important to this industry – comparative negligence joint and several liability. This provision in the bill would fundamentally change the way in which juries assign liability in negligence cases. It eliminates current joint and several liability rules that compare a plaintiff’s liability to each person who negligently caused the plaintiff’s injury. ACEC WI is working with a coalition, the Wisconsin Civil Justice Council, which represents Wisconsin business interests on civil litigation challenges before the state legislature.

The state’s capital budget is also part of the budget bill. Participating in another coalition, ACEC WI supports the $1.4 billion building program budget proposed by the State Building Commission. A strong building program budget creates construction jobs and economic activity for Wisconsin.

Our lobbyists continue to work with members of the Assembly for sponsorship of a QBS bill. We hope circulation of the bill will take place during May. ACEC WI members will be called on to contact their legislators once the bill begins circulation.

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EDUCATION PROGRAMS

Surviving & Thriving in Challenging Times ACEC WI’s 2009 Annual Meeting Thursday, May 14, Milwaukee Registration deadline is Thursday, May 7. Surviving & Thriving in Challenging Times, ACEC WI's 2009 Annual Meeting, is the must-attend event of the year for consulting engineering firm owners, principals, department level managers, and up and coming leaders. The meeting is designed to provide insights into where the consulting engineering industry is headed and the actions needed to ensure your firm survives and thrives.

Meeting Highlights:
Making Work Work:
How Generations Can Get Along, Learn From Each Other & Thrive
Based on ACEC WI member firm-specific research, Chris Clarke-Epstein will share insights that frame the current realities of a multi-generational workplace. Using an interactive process, you'll have the opportunity to develop strategies to take back to your firm to capitalize on the potential that a generationally diverse workplace offers. This session will provide the opportunity to look at your firm through the lens of the research findings and establish a strategy for improving communication and relationships within your firm. Unique, industry specific information that you can’t find anywhere else will be presented.

Escaping the Wal-Marting of Engineering
External forces on the industry are forcing the commoditization of engineering services, the Wal-Mart effect. To succeed, you need to differentiate your firm from your competitors, understand and deliver client demands, and maximize the knowledge value of your workers. To succeed in the future, you will need to understand how to differentiate your firm from your competitors. You will learn:

• Differentiation strategies for increasing the value of your firm
• Why differentiation and specialization hold the keys to the future in engineering
• How to value knowledge work in your company

The Economic & Political Environment
Hear the latest economic and political forecast from the experts. Todd Barry, of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, will address the global and national economy, while Lobbyist Susie Schooff, Essie Kammer Group, and a member of the Wisconsin State Legislator will provide an insider's view of the state budget and political atmosphere.

The meeting also features Principals Roundtable Breakfasts and the Engineering Future Leaders Graduation Ceremony during the luncheon and a post-meeting reception, from 4:30 to 5:30 pm, in honor of the class.

To keep your meeting registration costs low (the lowest registration rates since 2003!), a print brochure was sent for this meeting. Please download a brochure at https://m360.acecwi.org/event.aspx?eventID=6685&instance=0.

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Engineering Future Leaders Class of 2009 – Journey Comes to an End The Engineering Future Leaders Class of 2009 program sessions came to an end with the final session April 21-22 in Wisconsin Dells. The final program featured the topic of stress management and work/life balance, two very important concepts for everyone, and especially those in leadership roles. The class also included an introduction to ACEC Wisconsin, specifically the organization’s committees. A new generation of leaders was exposed to the value of ACEC WI’s committees. The comments came back that through this assignment of researching committees, the group learned the value of participating in the association.

It has been a long journey, but members of the Class of 2009 are well on their way to leadership positions in the design industry. The class will be honored at the May 14 Annual Meeting with a graduation ceremony and reception. Join us in honoring the achievement of the class of 2009.

Solicitation for applicants to the Engineering Future Leaders Class of 2010 is now underway. Click here for information.

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Cost-Effective Training Solutions - Virtual Seminars
Virtual seminars are the prefect solution for training on a budget. For one low registration fee, any number of employees can participate in the program at your firm's office. Avoid additional expenses of multiple registrations and travel costs by participating in virtual seminars. Recognizing the tough economic times, ACEC WI will be focusing on offering these cost-effective solutions for training rather than numerous face-to-face meetings.

ACEC WI is proud to offer the following opportunities. These 90-minute programs are perfect lunch and learn opportunities and offer the opportunity to earn PDH (professional development hour) credits. In many cases, a program CD may be purchased if the program date and time are not convenient. Seminar details and registration information for each program is available at  http://online.krm.com/iebms/coe/coe_p1_all.aspx?oc=10&cc=00324938.

Make Their Day: Recognition Across the Generational Divide
Tuesday, May 12
12:00 - 1:30 pm
Billions of dollars are wasted on employee recognition programs that do not work. Presenter Cindy Ventrice is an employee loyalty specialist with over 20 years of experience. Her latest research on generational preferences in employee recognition reveals where messages are being misunderstood across the generations and what managers can do to integrate the right recognition into the daily routine.
This webinar has been designed specifically with managers and human resource practitioners in mind.

You'll learn:

• What motivates each generation
• Techniques to match recognition and management style to the individual
• How to adjust your management style to effectively meet your business needs and your employees' need for recognition and motivation.

Down But Not Out: How to Motivate Your Employers in the Recession
Tuesday, May 26
12:00 – 1:30 pm
The uncertainties of the current economic situation are taking a toll on everyone.  Employees and managers both are feeling battered and unsettled. The key is to recognize the early warning signs of declining motivation and plummeting morale, then respond quickly with practical solutions to help your employees and your business bounce back.

The first step is to attend Kiplinger's latest 90-interactive audio conference on May 26.  Employee motivation and productivity expert Dr. Lee Innocenti will explain practical methods to help boost employee morale, reassure unsettled workers and motivate them to remain productive even in the present economic downturn. 

You'll discover how to:

• Determine what matters most to employees -- specifically in today's challenging business climate,
• Inspire strong individual performance even as you ask employees to do more with less,
• Improve employees' attitudes and outlook even in dire economic straits,
• Implement a suite of proven-effective low- and no-cost benefits and incentives to increase employee motivation
• Harness your own attitude and mood to project critical positive signals that inspire confidence and foster buy-in among employees, and much more

4 Steps to Greater Profitability with Break-Even Analysis
Thursday, June 11
12:00 – 1:30 pm
It's no secret: sales are down. In this economy it's critical that business owners and managers know how to make cuts with a scalpel rather than a hatchet in order to return to profitability.
 
Join Steve LeFever, Founder and Chairman of Business Resource Services, a Seattle-based financial services consulting firm, for this highly interactive 90-minute webinar to see financial measurement in a whole new light and get the tools you need to capture incremental profits - starting today!
 
Learn to squeeze additional profits out of your business -- even during tough economic times.
You will see that separating costs on the income statement will lead to a more accurate approach to determine what it's going to take to cover the "nut" for the year, month or day in sales volume.
 
Fewer than 10% of business owners or managers know their contribution margin percentage. Do you?
Learn why knowing this number can make the difference between just surviving and thriving.
 
You will learn:

• The four-step process to determine Break-Even
• How to calculate contribution margin percentage
• How to use contribution margin as a management tool to set sales volume goals
• How to understand costs, develop pricing strategies and prioritize investments
• How to develop a culture of accountability

Who is Your Online Community? Tools and Tips to Identify and Engage Your Audience
Thursday, June 30
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
You know about MySpace and Facebook. You've created a Twitter account and perhaps even dabbled with blogs. What's next? Now that you're aware of the different social media platforms, it's time to figure out how your organization can get these online communities working for your benefit. In this 90-minute web seminar, award-winning social media evangelist Aaron Uhrmacher will walk you through the steps to find the people most interested in your organization, harness their passion and connect them to build an online community that benefits your organization's brand.
 
We'll explore how communities form, the tools you can use to identify them and what it means for a company to participate in online social networks. In addition, we will look at case studies from organizations that have successfully connected with their community and a few that haven't. By the end of this presentation, you'll have a basic understanding of what your organization needs to do to effectively engage your audience and the resources to get started!
 
In this session, you will learn:

• Five tools you should be using to quickly identify your community in blogs, social networks and on Twitter
• Techniques for participating authentically, whether the community you're targeting is internal, external or thousands of miles away
• Three ways to measure success that even your manager will appreciate

This seminar will help you identify and engage your company's community in blogs, social networks and on Twitter, and measure success of your online outreach.

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Transportation Improvement Conference Session Online
Selected sessions from the popular March 2009 ACEC/WisDOT Transportation Improvement Conference: Pointing to the Future are now available online free of charge. If you missed the conference or were not able to attend all the sessions of interest, this is a way to get caught up to speed on all the hot topics.

Visit http://www.acecwi.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=453 for a list of sessions available.

Thank you to WisDOT for recording and editing the sessions for web use.

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2009-10 ACEC WI Board of Directors Election
In accordance with the ACEC WI bylaws, the ballot for the 2009-10 ACEC WI Board of Directors is being mailed to the designated key contacts at member firms. Please vote and return the ballots. Ballots must be received at ACEC WI by May 21 to be counted.

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Call for Volunteers - Wisconsin TranspoExpo
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is hosting the first-ever Wisconsin Transpo Expo Conference. This groundbreaking event will be held on May 21 at the Milwaukee Midwest Airlines Center.

This one-day event will expose middle school students to professional and technical careers in the transportation industry. The goal is to inspire and educate these young minds through interactive workshops, exciting guest speakers, presentation of engineering projects by high school students and challenging competitions.

Additional volunteers are now needed for the May 21 event. For information on volunteer opportunities and to download an application form, visit http://www.dot.state.wi.us/news/events/expo.htm. Please return your volunteer form as soon as possible. Questions may be directed to Van Walling, Engineers & Scientists of Milwaukee, at 414-702-1311 or van.walling@ch2m.com.

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Member News & Updates

RA Smith National  - is pleased to announce the promotion of Chris Pinkowski from director of information technology services, to executive director of operations.

Ayres - Kenneth Voigt, PE, a senior traffic engineer based in the firm’s Waukesha office, is now the 2009 international president of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). John Davis, PE, a supervisor of traffic services also in the Waukesha office, has been elected 2009 president of the Midwestern District of ITE. Davis also was elected to the board of directors of the Transportation Professional Certification Board for 2009 through 2011.

Ruekert/Mielke -  is pleased to announce that the firm has joined forces with VUEWorks, Inc in their channel partner program. RM will provide sales, implementation, training, and ASP web hosting services for VUEWorks® GIS-integrated asset management solutions to municipal and utility clients throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

RMT – is pleased to announce Priyantha Sirisooriya has been promoted to electrical engineering team manager within the WindConnect® group.

Yaggy Colby – announces the election of the 2009 Board of Directors, which includes Wisconsin vice president Mike Court and principal Mark Mickelson. The firm also announced Dan Bednar, RLS and Bryce Kaczor, RLS as new associates.

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Committee News & Updates
Business Practices – The full committee met April 2. The annual joint meeting of the ACEC WI QBS subcommittee and AIA Wisconsin also met on April 2. The next full committee meeting has not been scheduled, but is planned for July.

DNR - The committee is scheduled to meet again in June.

DOT - The committee’s quarterly meeting is scheduled for May 12 and will include an update from TDA Executive Director Craig Thompson regarding the recent Fly In to Washington, DC.

DSF - A partnering meeting is scheduled with DSF senior level staff and AIA on May 11. Work also continues for a fee guidelines task force and commissioning work group.

Government Affairs - The next committee meeting is scheduled for May 20

Human Resources - The May 7 committee meeting will be held at GRAEF in Milwaukee. In addition to the topic, diversity, the committee will be drafting its program schedule for 2009-10.

Membership - The committee’s subcommittees continue to focus on recruitment and retention issues.

Public Relations- The next committee meeting is scheduled for May 21. Topics to be covered include utilizing social media and updates to the Engineering Excellence Awards competition.

Transportation Task Force - The task force continues to meet monthly with the DOT committee executive subcommittee as well as with senior level WisDOT staff.

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State Agency News & Updates
Department of Natural Resources - The 2008 DNR Air & Waste Division Annual Report, available online at: http://dnr.wi.gov/environmentprotect/ar.pdf   (PDF, 383KB, 43 pages).  The report provides an overview of the work carried out by the division in the past year.

The April editions of the RR Report from the DNR's Remediation and Redevelopment program are available at the following links:
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/aw/rr/listserv/09/04-16-09.pdf

Department of Transportation
The 2008 Annual Report  of the WisDOT Research Program is now available. This publication continues our annual reporting of WisDOT research efforts, with a focus on measuring benefits to the department and users of the Wisconsin transportation system.

The following link, http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/business/engrserv/index.htm, provides information on field rate accounting. The policy was reviewed and the FAQ drafted by a task force of DOT staff and consultants and should provide guidance for contract negotiations for all parties. It's the department's intent to post future notices on the web in order to provide guidance on policy. Updating the FDM requires time & resources that are currently stretched thin within WisDOT. The website will be used to keep consultants and WisDOT staff updated in a more timely manner.
 
Natural Resources Conversation Service – A number of revisions have been made to the Wisconsin FOTG Section IV. These revisions have been posted on the Wisconsin e-FOTG website, http://www.wi.nrcs.usda.gov/.

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ACEC News & Updates

President’s Monthly Update

• DOT Secretary Ray LaHood spoke at ACEC’s 100th Anniversary Convention in Washington, DC at the end of April.
• Met with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, as well as White House communications staff re stimulus and other matters.
• The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the “Water Quality Investment Act of 2009” which includes a significant boost in federal loans for wastewater projects, and the application of QBS to EPA State Revolving Fund projects.

ACEC Spring Meeting


2009 Community Service Award
Nominations are currently being accepted for ACEC’s 2009 Community Service Awards which recognize Member Firm owners and principals who have made a positive difference in their communities.  Nomination forms and guidelines are available on the ACEC website or by contacting Daisy Nappier at 202-682-4340.

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Conduit & WisPAC List

In addition to the Conduit contributions listed above, there were 2 contributions of less than $100.

WisPAC Contributors (as of April 27)
Contributions of $100 or more
Jeff Kronser, Strand Associates
Rajan Sheth, Mead & Hunt
Rusty Chesmore, Mead & Hunt
Paula Schultz, Strand Associates
William Mielke, Ruekert/Mielke, Inc
David Smith, KJWW Engineering Consultants
In addition to the WisPAC contributions listed above, there was 6 contributions of less than $100.

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2009 Loss Prevention/Risk Management Seminar – When Disaster Strikes
June 2, Madison and June 3, Fond du Lac
If a catastrophic event occurred on one of your projects, would you know how to respond? Do you have crisis management procedures in place at your firm? Have you ever run a “disaster drill”? This three hour session will discuss real-life examples of project disasters and provide you with tools and techniques that you can apply to your existing process and procedures. The cost to attend is $25/person. 3 AIA CEU / Engineering PDH are available to attendees.

To register for a session or for additional information, contact Wendy Arnold at warnold@holmesmurphy.com or 800-527-9049.

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Midwest Infrastructure & GIS Technical Conference
June 1 – 3, Sheboygan
The Wisconsin Geospatial Users Group, Corp would like to extend an invitation to attend the Midwest Infrastructure & GIS Technical Conference. Included at this conference is training in Civil 3D. A number of WisDOT Workflow classes are also offered at this event. Click here (http://www.acecwi.org/associations/3362/files/WGUG_ClassDescriptions.pdf) to view program descriptions. To register, visit https://www.regonline.com/wgug2009. 

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UW Business News Wire
Check out the latest edition of UW Business News Wire at http://buswire.ocr.wisc.edu/. The monthly online publication is intended to build and strengthen awareness of and appreciation for university resources and programs that assist the Wisconsin business community.

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