PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
August, 2019
Summer 2019 has been busy and productive for the ACECL staff. In addition to the Deep South Convention in SanDestin, there were chapter meetings, committee work group sessions, new board member orientations, a board member leadership meeting in DC, the second Emerging Leaders Session, LCFOR candidate position paper development, launch of the EEA Call for Entries, work on contract issues in Calcasieu, New Orleans and DOTD, financial closeout, responding to QBS issues, 2020 Transportation Committee Planning, ACECL Fall Conference Planning and the LMA Convention in Monroe that ACECL co-sponsored with Digital Engineering and PEC Engineering. Our attention now turns to the fall and more work on behalf of our membership. We're working on a template solicitation for design services that small municipalities can use; the Fall Conference and EEA Awards in November, AGC co-sponsored events in Monroe and Shreveport, chapter meetings, the ACEC Fall Conference in Chicago, and preparation for the 2020 Legislative Session. We expect to ramp up the Water Resources Committee as well as start a new Private Industry Committee focused on the issues impacting our MEP, Structural and Civil firms involved in industrial and commercial work. As always, please feel free to reach out to me if there are issues that ACECL can help facilitate.
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MESSAGE FROM THE ACECL BOARD CHAIR ANDY CRAIG
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Just last week the local weather service issued a heat advisory for our part of the State. Really. So, it’s going to be hot in Louisiana in August? It took an official NWS advisory to tell us that? Sometimes stating the obvious can be humorous. I will issue my own advisory: ACEC/L is here to serve you. You will probably consider that obvious as well.
Our professional and competent staff, led by Doreen Brasseaux, are willing and able to help members (and non-members in some cases) in any matters related to our organization and how ACEC can help your engineering or surveying business. Membership, dues, insurance, advocacy, issues with national ACEC – these are just a few of the items they can answer your question or find someone that can.
Your board members and Executive Committee are made up of volunteers that have agreed to various terms to serve the organization in an active leadership position. Do not hesitate to contact a local Board Member or Committee Chair if you need information on current issues or business of our Organization. In that regard, we are striving to improve our communication from the board level to the corporate membership. Many long-term, important issues are on-going, and you need to know what the issues are and the action taken on each one on a month-to-month basis. Please check out the meeting minutes posted to the website following each board meeting. The staff or any board member can provide more details if needed, so contact us.
At the June board meeting, we reviewed the progress on our five-year Strategic Plan that was initiated in 2017. There are five main goals that the board committed to address:
- INCREASE MEMBERSHIP BY 25% THROUGH DIVERSIFICATION AND ENGAGEMENT;
- BECOME RECOGNIZED AS THE VOICE AND ADVOCATE OF THE ENGINEERING BUSINESS COMMUNITY;
- BECOME RECOGNIZED BY ALL LOUISIANA ENGINEERING COMPANIES AS THE PRIMARY SOURCE ON BUSINESS PRACTICES;
- MAINTAIN A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE BOARD AND COMMITTEE STRUCTURE;
- ENHANCE THE FINANCIAL STRENGTH OF ACEC/L.
Each of these goals were reviewed and discussed, I am glad to report that we are pretty much on target to reach each of pre-set goals toward the 2022 completion date. Thanks to our capable past chairs (president), Raymond Reaux and Kurt Evans, for their accomplishments so far. We will not drop the ball going forward.
Have you submitted an application for an Engineering Excellence Award? If you have a neat project, you need to apply – every project submitted will get recognition for your firm and your client. Check out the various categories on the website – most firms will find something that fits.
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2019 ACECL Fall Conference
& Engineering Excellence Awards
Sponsorship Program
T
he American Council of Engineering Companies of Louisiana (ACECL) is pleased to extend this invitation to you and your company to become a sponsor of the 2019 ACECL Fall Conference and Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA).
The one-day conference gives members the opportunity to hear firsthand from local, state and federal industry and governmental leaders offering their business expertise in both the public and private sectors. ACECL anticipates 125-175 A/E/C key industry leaders will attend this educational conference.
New for 2019
, ACECL is hosting the Engineering Excellence Awards ceremony! The EEA is a competition recognizing engineering firms for projects that demonstrate a high degree of achievement, value, and ingenuity. ACECL’s EEA awards ceremony will be a first-class event celebrating winning firms and clients, along with showcasing their talent and expertise.
The support provided by Sponsors is crucial to the success of our events each year and becoming an event sponsor not only gives you the opportunity to increase your company’s exposure but may also gain complimentary entry to events. Available sponsorship opportunities for the 2019 Fall Conference and Engineering Excellence Awards are described below:
GOLD SPONSORS ($2,000)
᛫One (1) complimentary Fall Conference registration
᛫Two (2) complimentary EEA Awards Ceremony tickets
᛫Recognition on all event promotional literature (your company’s logo) including ACECL website & press releases
᛫Signage at Fall Conference & EEA Awards Ceremony including event programs
᛫Personal recognition at Fall Conference & EEA Awards Ceremony
᛫One (1) complimentary Fall Conference registration
OR
two (2) complimentary EEA Awards Ceremony tickets
᛫Recognition on all event promotional literature including ACECL website & press releases
᛫Signage at Fall Conference & EEA Awards Ceremony including event programs
᛫Personal recognition at Fall Conference & EEA Awards Ceremony
BRONZE SPONSORS ($500)
– Refreshment/Break Sponsors
᛫Recognition on all event promotional literature including ACECL website & press releases
᛫Signage at the Fall Conference refreshment/break station
᛫Personal recognition at Fall Conference
FALL CONFERENCE WI-FI SPONSOR ($750)
-
*only one sponsorship available
᛫Your company will be promoted among the full conference delegation through the Wi-Fi login portal
᛫Recognition on all event promotional literature including ACECL website & press releases
᛫
Recognition handout of Wi-Fi sponsor in all conference registration packets
᛫
Personal recognition at Fall Conference
FALL CONFERENCE LANYARD SPONSOR ($750)
–
*only one sponsorship available
᛫Sponsorship at this level includes company logo lanyards distributed to all Fall Conference attendees (sponsor must provide lanyards to ACECL at least 5 days prior to conference)
᛫Recognition on all event promotional literature including ACECL website & press releases
᛫Personal recognition at Fall Conference
Purchase your sponsorship early for maximum exposure since sponsors are listed in all promotional literature for the conference and ACECL’s website.
For more information contact:
Janet Tomeny, Vice President
ACEC of Louisiana
(225) 927-7704
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All three ACEC Trusts presented at the New Orleans Chapter Meeting held August 8.
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Business Trust:
Lee Ann Wheeler
, Client Executive
Greyling, broker for ACEC Business Trust
605-351-3647
Retirement Trust:
Lydia R. Zabrycki,
Director
ACEC RT Education
Life/Health Trust:
John Krebsbach
, National Director of Sales
ACEC Life/Health Trust
Cell: (320) 267-9910
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The City of New Orleans is hosting
Industry Day
on
September 30, 2019
ACECL has been advised that CNO has allocated $5 million for construction and design projects including staff augmentation, asset management and JIRR grant management. The goal is to procure projects that are sized for firms who are not always able to prime.
More details on time and location will be shared as available.
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THE ACECL MONTHLY INTERVIEW
K
enneth Wm. Smith, P.E., P.L.S., FACEC represents third generation leadership of the firm bearing his grandfather’s name, T. Baker Smith, C.E. A Louisiana Tech University graduate, Kenny is a Louisiana-licensed professional civil engineer, environmental engineer, and land surveyor. Additionally, he holds professional civil engineering licenses in 15 other states. Affiliated with TBS his entire life, he has 38 years; current position of CEO. As of April, 2019 Kenny has the distinguished honor of serving as a Vice Chair on the 2019-2021 national ACEC Executive Committee.
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Ascension Parish Government has issued an RFQ for Stormwater Permitting Consulting Services for Ascension Parish MS4 Stormwater Permitting Compliance Program. Specifications/documents may be obtained at the Ascension Parish Government Purchasing Department located at 615 E. Worthey Street, Gonzales, Louisiana
Proposals are due by 4pm on September 12, 2019.
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2020 DOTD Transportation Conference
March 1-4, 2020
Raising Cane's River Center
Registration is open
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Registration Fees:
- LADOTD Employees: No Charge
- LADOTD Retirees: $350
- Government/University Employees: $200
- Private Industry: $425
- Speakers: No Charge
- Students: No Charge
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The
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
has issued a Federal Register Notice for the $1.2 billion mitigation allocation made to Louisiana, providing guidelines on eligible activities and investments to advance Louisiana’s pioneering long-term flood risk reduction and resilience initiative.
The next meeting of the Council on Watershed Management will be held Wednesday,
September 25, 2019
1:30pm
La State Capitol
900 North 3rd Street
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Contact: Lori Dupont (225)
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Graves secures $76M in surplus highway funds for Louisiana
L
ouisiana is poised to land an unexpected $76 million from the Federal Highway Administration, provided the state can obligate the funds—essentially, send the FHA a list of projects on which the money will be spent—by Sept. 26.
The money is coming from unspent highway funds originally allocated to other states that, for one reason or another, were unable to spend it this year, according to U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, who has been working to secure the extra money for Louisiana.
Graves was notified Thursday his efforts were successful, though the state has to provide details on how the money will be spent before the funds will be reallocated.
“We’re going to be working with DOTD to make sure they can pull the trigger on these projects so we can get the money,” he says.
Though Graves cannot say for sure which projects might get a share in the lagniappe money, he says a couple of possibilities include: the completion of the Pecue Lane extension, additional work on I-10 and upgrades to LA 30 and LA 1.
The federal reallocation can be taken as an administrative action and does not require any hearings or Congressional action.
“We’re excited about being able to take advantage of these additional funds,” says Graves, who notes the money puts the state at more than $800 million over the past few years in lagniappe highway funds from grant and discretionary programs, over and above what it would typically receive. “We need to ensure that these dollars are invested in the highest priority projects, not in political projects.”
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Three agencies agree to fund $65 million pump station
Officials with the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, and the Bayou Lafourche Freshwater district on Wednesday signed a cooperative endeavor agreement fund a $65 million pump station at the head of Bayou Lafourche in Ascension Parish.
The pump station will help to combat saltwater intrusion along the coast and provide drinking water to more than 300,000 residents of Assumption, Ascension, Lafourche, and Terrebonne parishes, officials said. The agreement also will allow construction to begin this year on an $18.5 million floodgate at Grand Bayou in the Morganza to the Gulf Levee System.
The Bayou Lafourche Freshwater District will borrow $65 million from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund administered by LDEQ to construct a pump station on the Mississippi River at Donaldsonville with a minimum pumping capacity of 1,000 cubic feet per second. The existing pump station will remain in service, effectively tripling the capacity for fresh water entering the bayou.
CPRA is pledging $50 million toward repayment of the loan, using a portion of future Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act revenues CPRA will receive from offshore federal oil and gas leases. The Freshwater District will repay the balance with money from an existing property tax.
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C.H. Fenstermaker & Associates, L.L.C. is a multi-disciplinary firm specializing in Survey & Mapping, Engineering, and Environmental Services. Fenstermaker provides long-term partnerships with a commitment to safety, quality and technology with a mission to be a vital partner in the success of their clients.
Contact: sherie@fenstermaker.com
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ACEC’s Fall Conference on October 13-16 in Chicago promises to be an outstanding event. I urge you to join me and your fellow ACEC members for networking, education, and much more. Consider this line-up:
2019 Conference Highlights:
- Opening General Session with Robert Costa, National Political Reporter for The Washington Post on "Inside America's Politics: Now Though 2020"
- Over 30 Business Management Education Sessions
- Over a dozen roundtables, committees and forums for C-level and senior firm leadership
- Networking with industry leaders at numerous events and receptions
Remember, time is money.
Early bird registration
discounts expire Thursday, September 12
th
.
You’ll also want to take advantage of added discounts for First Time Member Attendees, Emerging Leaders and Additional Registrants from the Same Member Firm – but you need to register now to get them.
Click Here
to register, book your room at the Sheraton Grand Chicago,
and get the full agenda and complete details. Question? Please contact
The ACEC Fall Conference is a can’t-miss event at this challenging and critical time for our industry. Let’s make a strong
ACECL
showing in Chicago and show ‘em how we do it in Louisiana!
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ACEC has just published a new episode of their podcast, Engineering Influence. In this show, they cover the issue of diversity in the workplace and how improving the hiring and retention of diverse employees can yield higher revenues and grow business opportunities for engineering firms. The guest for the podcast is Chandra Storusten, the CEO of Visible Value. Chandra has presented at ACEC conferences before and most recently presented at a panel during ACEC North Carolina’s annual convention. Chandra did a great job providing statistics for the value of diverse hiring and the information in the episode should be very valuable to our members. The show can be downloaded here:
http://bit.ly/2HwPAV1
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As we enter the FY 2019-2020 fiscal year, we are going paperless! Your first quarter invoice (Q1) will be the last paper invoice mailed to your office. We will email all future invoices beginning with the FY 19-20 second quarter (Q2) invoice with the additional
option
to pay online. This change will reduce administrative time and costs associated with quarterly invoicing. On your dues statement, please also select your preferred annual, quarterly or monthly invoicing option.
Please contact Haleigh Gray at 225-927-7704 or
hgray@acecl.org
if you have any questions!
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ACECL Board of Directors Meeting
L
a. Civil Engineering Conference & Show
Parish Engineers and Surveyors Association Conference, Charenton, La
ACEC Fall Convention, Chicago, IL
Fall Conference (Project Outlook) - Renaissance Hotel, BR
Inaugural Engineering Excellence Awards – Renaissance Hotel, BR
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Thank You to our Sponsors!
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Doreen Brasseaux
President & CEO
ACEC of Louisiana
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