ACEC Impact: Spring Conference, Changing of the Guard, and More

ACEC Impact: Your Monthly Roundup of ACEC Washington happenings

Spring Meeting in Chelan A Success... But Look for Changes to Future Meetings

Lake Chelan is a beautiful, tranquil and idyllic place and was the perfect backdrop for the ACEC Spring Meeting. Being in May, but before Memorial Day, the lake level was up, the water sapphire blue, the hills yet green, and the town still coming out of its winter sleepiness. It is not to say that Chelan was not fun, especially nighttime fun – just ask those who strolled down the main drag to Senor Frogs the first night! (or the second night!). However, it was the daytime activities that brought everyone there and they were highly acclaimed. First, there was the usual, but often unrecognized networking. The relationships and contacts that are built or reinforced by participating in an ACEC meeting like Chelan is of unquestionably value - both from a professional and personal perspective. Clearly, relationships matter.

There were also two outstanding speakers that highlighted the training portion of the meeting. Gerry Salontai, past CEO of Kleinfelder and now on his own with Salontai Consulting Group, discussed things which looked internally at firms beginning with “What’s Holding Your Firm Back: Evaluating Internal and External Barriers to Success” then following up with “Organizational Design & Structure”. Similarly, Mark Goodale with Morrissey Goodale LLC, examined concepts that dealt with the external perception of firms while presenting on the topics of “Why Clients Really Select Your Firm” and also “Failure Demand: Profit’s #1 Enemy.”

While the Spring Meeting was an absolute success, we also recognize that times “are a changing.” ACEC appreciates and understands the demands on people’s time and the busy existence we all follow. For this reason, starting with the next meeting (the Fall Meeting in September) we will mark the beginning of a new format for ACEC Fall and Spring Meetings.

To help encourage more members to attend, to be conscientious regarding people’s valuable and limited time, and to also be fiscally mindful, ACEC has decided that future meetings will be held in locations that do not require extended travel time. We are looking at locations within two-hours of the Seattle/Bellevue area. In addition, the meetings will be scheduled such that only one-nights lodging is likely to attend. This means that the schedule will be all-day Thursday and Friday. In total, these changes should reduce the cost of the event, the cost of travel, and the cost of lodging.

We hope that these changes will be received positively and will fulfill the goals we are trying to reach – more participation, more networking, more education and training, and more business success for our membership.

The Fall Meeting will be held September 13 ^th and 14 ^th at the conference center at the Clearwater Casino Resort located near Poulsbo, WA. We hope to see you there!

Upcoming Events

Mark your calendar for these exciting upcoming events:

June 6: Panel: Corporate Governance and Boards of Direction
June 7: ACEC-WSDOT Joint Annual Meeting
June 19: ACEC and SAME Meet the Chiefs
September 13-14: ACEC Washington-Oregon Joint Fall Conference

Join the Fun

Great News! We Now Take American Express

You asked, and we've answered! As of this month, you can now use American Express credit cards to register online for ACEC Washington events. We hope this makes online registration easier for all of our AmEx-using members. Do you have other questions or concerns about our registration system? Don't hesitate to let us know!

Changing of the Guard- Welcoming our New Officers and Thank You to Kathy and Jim!

It is the nature of things that there is a progression of leadership in ACEC. The latest transition occurred in conjunction with the Spring Meeting where we welcomed the newest members of the ACEC Officers and Directors:

· Board Chair – Dan Campbell, P.E., GeoEngineers

· Chair-Elect – Karen Doherty, P.E., HDR, Inc.

· Vice-Chair – Dave Warner, P.E., WSP

· Director – Roger Smith, P.E., KBA, Inc.

· Director – Richard Patterson, P.E., Stantec

These members joined the remaining Officers and Directors who are continuing in their terms of office:

· Vice-Chair – Scott Roux, P.E., Michael Baker International

· National Director – David Winter, P.E., Hart Crowser

· Director – Larry Swartz, P.E., Notkin Mechanical Engineers

· Director – Crystal Donner, P.E., Perteet Inc

· Director – Roger Flint, P.E., Parametrix

While we are incredibly excited about our new officers and directors, we would also be remiss if we did not recognize and given special thanks to outgoing Chair, Kathy Cox-Czosnyka , Jacobs Engineering, and Jim Thomson , HNTB Corporation for their tremendous dedication and value to ACEC. Kathy’s leadership has been nothing short of outstanding and she will be remembered for the passion she brought to the position. Similarly, Jim could always be counted on for thoughtful input and wise advice. Again, thank you to both Kathy and Jim for their years of service to ACEC and to the consulting engineering industry. Both are better because of your involvement.

Fortunately, both Kathy and Jim plan to remain active in ACEC in other capacities, including helping with our legislative and liaison committee activities.

Passing the "gavel" to new ACEC Washington Chair Dan Campbell, P.E, GeoEngineers

ACEC Washington Officers take the Oath of Office

Affiliate Member

Spotlight:

CPA Consulting, Inc.

CPA Consulting, Inc. P.S. is a CPA firm located in Bellevue with a staff of eight professionals that perform financial statement attest services, tax preparation and consulting, and bookkeeping services. We specialize in indirect cost rate audits for engineering and architectural firms located in the Puget Sound region. The owner and director of audit services each have over 30 years of audit experience in several different industries.

We want to hear from you! Would you like to to see your firm highlighted? Do you have suggestions for seminar topics or ideas for events? Pressing legislative issues you'd like to see ACEC tackle? Let us know!