ACEC/MW Newsletter-February/March 2008

We have had a busy first half of the 2007/2008 year. The Committees, the backbone of the organization, have been very active. The Program Committee has been instrumental in achieving record attendance at the monthly Business Opportunity Luncheons and is making plans for the Annual Conference. The Legislative Committee has responded to legislative alerts and assisted our sister organization in Maryland in preventing a sales tax on engineering services during a special session by the Maryland Legislature in November. Additionally, ACEC/MW defended and helped to maintain the Qualification Based Selection process in Montgomery County. The Transportation Committee has held meetings with regional/local DOT’s and will be sponsoring a quality forum with DDOT. The Environmental Committee is actively pursuing a conference with state and local agencies to present Low Impact Development (LID) processes. The Facilities Committee has held recent meetings with GSA, ACE, and Prince William County, and will soon meet with NAVFAC.

Members are notified prior to each meeting so they may offer their input or suggestions. This information is used to develop agenda items that reflect current interests and/or issues. Involvement in the Committees is highly encouraged and will lead to the greatest value of your membership.

The Board responded to ACEC National’s request for input on the Bachelor +30 Program. This is a sensitive matter with proponents believing additional licensure and education requirements will better prepare young engineers and elevate the status of Professional Engineers. Others are unsure of the need for revised requirements given the additional demand on young engineers and their firms and also the dire need for more consulting engineers.

With the assistance of many contributors, ACEC/MW has exceeded the ACEC PAC goal. These contributions will support qualified elected officials, improve our industry/profession and promote sound national policies.

The Chapter’s EEA Gala was recently held. This is a great promotional tool and provides recognition of significant achievements to the submitting firm and their clients and offers a unique public relations opportunity and peer recognition. These projects provide improvements to our quality of life, safety and prosperity!

Please join us at upcoming events and functions to associate and network with your peers and clients.

Mike Wiercinski
ACEC/MW President

ACEC/MW has 6 committees which are the heart and soul of what ACEC/MW represents. If you are not currently involved in a committee, please consider attending a meeting and joining a committee. See below for a list of the committees along with their mission statements and 2007-2008 chairs.

Environmental Committee
Chaired by Gary Weil, CH2M Hill
- To develop relationships, make contacts, educate members, and influence the business environment for water/wastewater, site remediation and water resources in Metropolitan Washington.

Facilities Committee
Chaired by Jerry Kavadias, A. Morton Thomas & Associates
- To identify key decision makers in the public and private facilities markets and establish a conduit with key decision makers for engineering companies to exchange information in order to improve the business environment in Metropolitan Washington. We will achieve this through educational programs and the activities of subcommittees focusing on the business sectors that we serve.

Legislative Committee
Chaired by Bob Henchbarger, Michael Baker Jr., Inc.
- Advise and educate local, state and national legislators in our jurisdiction regarding issues of importance in the engineering and surveying community.

Membership Committee
Chaired by Angela Marchetti, Schnabel Engineering
- Foster the growth of the ACEC/MW through stewardship of the membership recruitment and retention program.

Program Committee
Co-chaired by Lesley Arnott-Rogers, A. Morton Thomas & Associates and
Tracy Allen, ECS Mid-Atlantic
- To conceptualize and plan monthly Business Opportunities Luncheons, seminars, annual meeting, breakfast roundtables and special events.

Transportation Committee
Chaired by Peter Bonaccorsi, HNTB Corporation
- To develop relationships, make contacts, educate members, and influence the business environment for the highway, aviation, and transit market within the ACEC/MW jurisdiction.

KEY MEETINGS WITH CLIENT AGENCIES

This year our ACEC/MW Leadership and Committees were very active in meeting with clients and agencies. Please see below for a brief listing of these successful meetings held within the last 6 months:

- Joint executive meeting with ACEC/MW and ACEC/MD
- Facilities Committee meeting with GSA
- Environmental Committee Meeting with USACE
- Meeting with Fairfax County DPW
- County Liaison Meeting with Montgomery County
- Meeting with Loudoun County
- Quarterly meeting with DDOT
- VDOT NOVA District
- Commissioner Ekern, VDOT
- NAVFAC
...and numerous more.

ACEC/MW enjoys a unique perspective on issues affecting the engineering industry. Our organization serves localities spanning Suburban Maryland, Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. Our members are interested in local, state and federal issues across these three distinctive areas. We strive to hold meetings and partner with local government, agencies and associations to understand our environment and increase the level of dialogue to benefit our members and the Metropolitan Washington engineering industry.

Each of our committees hold numerous scheduled meetings with the local, state and regional agencies that affect the business affairs of our member firms. These meetings are a key benefit to the members of our committees's and hold enormous value.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY NETWORKING LUNCHEONS

The interest in our luncheons has taken us to record attendance in each event this year - be sure to register early when the notices hit your inbox!

Federal Government Business Opportunities Networking Luncheon
was held on Thursday, November 15th
If you are interested in the speakers presentations,
please click here .

Maryland Transportation Business Opportunities Networking Luncheon was held on Wednesday, October 10th
If you are interested in the speakers presentations,
please contact the ACEC/MW Office .

Virginia Transportation Business Opportunities Networking Luncheon was held on Thursday, September 20th
If you are interested in the speakers presentations,
please click here.

2007-2008 Luncheon Schedule

We have 3 remaining luncheons for you to attend before our Annual Conference on June 4, 2008 - please check the schedule, mark your calendar and be on the lookout for the registration form the month before the luncheon.

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

ACEC/MW sponsorships remain very popular and are a great marketing outlet for our firms.

With a number of events to choose from like our:
- Business Opportunities Networking Luncheons
- Annual Golf Outing
- Annual Conference
- Educational Seminars

Get your firm noticed by targeting the engineering community at some of our events. If you are interested in being a sponsor and learning about the rates at these or any of our events, please contact ACEC/MW Executive Director Mac Cannon.

Sponsorship opportunities in the next 3 months include 3 luncheons and our Annual Conference!

This past year's 2007 "FORE" in the Fall Golf Outing was held on September 13th at the Pleasant Valley Country Club in Chantilly, Virginia. We enjoyed some spectacular weather for this well attended event, which hosted over 75 golfers made possible by over 30 sponsors.

It turned out to be a great day with some wonderful shots and stories of near misses. All except for one - Johann Dobak of Alpha Corporation hit a hole in one on our Grand Prize $10,000 hole from 172 yards out, downhill, over the water. With two hops and into the cup Johann goes into our record books as the first ever Grand Prize winner. He received his check and is already making good use of his winnings.

Please make sure to mark your calendars for our tournament next year on thursday, September 25, 2008 at Pleasant Valley Golf Club in Chantilly, VA.

ACEC/MW EEA AWARDS COMPETITION

ACEC/MW would like to thank each firm that submitted a project this year – we had quite a few projects submitted and we were again impressed with the level of professionalism and the innovation/skill displayed in each effort. This competition continues to draw more and more interest each year and this year was another great testament to the quality of work each of your firms engages in every day – congratulations to each of you!

ACEC/MW would like to thank our panel of judges for their time and expertise in evaluating each project submission and presentation:

Jimmie Jenkins, Fairfax County DPW
Adershir Nafici, DDOT
Holger Serrano, Montgomery County DPW

We would also like to give special thanks to our EEA moderator – Bill Murphy of Schnabel Engineering.

Here are the winners:

GRAND AWARD WINNER – Design:

HNTB Corporation – “I-95/I-395/I-495 Springfield Interchange”

Bechtel / Dewberry, A Joint Venture – “ Springfield Interchange Improvement Project”

Earth Tech, Inc. – “Route 340 Bridge over North Fork Shenandoah River - Warren County, Virginia ”

HSMM – “National Gallery of Art Chiller Plant Renovation - Washington, DC”

Syska Hennessy Group, Inc. - “National Armed Forces Center for the Intrepid - San Antonio, TX”

Congratulations again to the award winning firms - good luck in the national competition!