The Right Angle
April 2017
The Right Angle
In this issue:
Registration Now Available
for the 2017 Emerging Leaders
Program
Page 2
ACEC of Kansas Presents
Scholarship Checks to
Outstanding Students
Page 3
Save the Date: KDOT/ ACEC
of Kansas Partnering
Conference
Page 3
Highlights from the 2017
Water Quality Seminar
Page 4
2017 ACEC Midwest States
Conference
Page 4
Monthly Report from ACEC
National President Dave
Raymond
Page 5
EMERGING LEADERS EXECUTIVE TRAINING
REGISTRATION DEADLINE MONDAY, APRIL 3
Don’t miss your opportunity to register for the ACEC of Kansas Emerging
Leaders Executive Training (ELET)! Please Click Here for the schedule and
application. Registration deadline is Monday, April 3.
The program is for graduates of the ACEC of Kansas and ACEC Missouri
Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) who are committed to expanding their
knowledge and developing their leadership abilities to create opportunities
both in their career and company. Both sessions will take place at the
Holiday Inn Express in Overland Park. Space is limited and will be
allocated based on the order in which registrations are received.
As with all ACEC activity, the focus of this program is entirely business.
This training will help improve your performance and business acumen.
There are few training options to be found anywhere with such a focused
business approach, and most of those would normally require heading to
Chicago, Atlanta, etc., and attending your training with people you will
likely never see again. ELET and the blue chip speakers that will be
presenting will allow you the very best business growth opportunities right
here in Kansas, tremendous networking opportunities among your peers,
and will cost significantly less in travel and time.
A Word from KSPE
Page 7
ACEC Engineering Business
Index Survey Details Below
Page 7
Save the Date: ACEC of
Kansas Membership Lunch
Page 7
ACEC of Kansas New
Member Spotlight:
Professional Employment
Group
Page 8
Business
Insurance Trust
Creating a Culture of Excellence
Monday, May 22 - 1:00-5:00 PM
Tuesday, May 23 - 9:00 AM-12:30 PM
Kathryn LeRoy, Ph.D.
Page 9
ACEC of Kansas Calendar
Page 10
Partnering Committee
Interest Survey
Page 10
Expanding our Ability to Effectively Communicate through
Strengths Based Teams, Coaching, and Adaptive Leadership
Monday, June 26 - 1:00-5:00 PM
Tuesday, June 27 - 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Mike Finnegan, Ph.D.
REGISTRATION NOW AVAILABLE FOR THE 2017
EMERGING LEADERS PROGRAM (ELP)
The ACEC of Kansas Emerging Leaders
Program is for individuals committed to
developing their leadership abilities. This
program imparts specific skills and
competencies identified by top ACEC of Kansas
principals as critical for leadership success.
These highly interactive sessions are taught by
experts in the field of business administration
and people management in professional services firms. This program is only
open to ACEC of Kansas member firms. The dates and locations for the 2017
ELP sessions are shown below.
ACEC of Kansas
Emerging Leaders
Program is for
individuals
committed to
developing their
leadership
abilities. This
program imparts
specific skills and
competencies
identified by top
ACEC of Kansas
principals as
critical for
leadership succss.
Thursday and Friday, September 14-15, 2017
Capitol Plaza Hotel
1717 SW Topeka Boulevard
Topeka, KS 66612
Thursday, September 14, 2017
Orientation – Scott Heidner, J.D. (ACEC of Kansas Executive Director)
Leadership - Dan Oblinger (Leadercraft Corporate Education)
Friday, September 15, 2017
Business Development – Mike Lally, PE, PG (Olsson Associates)
Governmental Affairs – Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt
Thursday and Friday, October 19-20, 2017
Hotel at Old Town
830 E. 1st St. N.
Wichita, KS 67202
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Human Resource and Management – Dan Oblinger
Friday, October 20, 2017
Risk Management - Wyatt Hoch, J.D. (Foulston Siefkin LLP)
Thursday and Friday, November 13-14, 2017
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Kansas City - Overland Park
10100 College Blvd
Overland Park, KS 66210
Thursday, November 13, 2017
Economics of Private Practice – Lee James, CPA, CBI, CMC (Lee James &
Associates)
Friday, November 14, 2017
Senior Leaders Roundtable – Speakers TBD
Graduation Celebration and lunch
Also on the itinerary will be a reception at the ACEC Kansas office, one dinner
(per session) as a group, and the opportunity to network while enjoying a night of
bowling in Olathe.
There are only twenty spaces available, so reserve your spot today! For a full
schedule and application, click here. If you have any questions about the
Emerging Leaders Program, please contact Alison Connell at 785-357-1824
or [email protected].
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ACEC OF KANSAS PRESENTS SCHOLARSHIP
CHECKS TO OUTSTANDING STUDENTS
ACEC of Kansas
winners received
General
Scholarships in
the amount of
$1,500 and were
awarded to Alan
McGinnis and
Tristan Yount,
both from the
University of
Kansas.
Congratulations
to Alan and
Tristan!
The ACEC of Kansas Scholarship committee led by Karla Waters, Schwab-Eaton,
was challenged with selecting this year’s scholarship winners among a pool of
bright engineering students. Applicants were to provide information on their university, work experience, extracurricular activities and write an essay on the following topic “Consulting Engineers and their Community Impact.” Applicants
were scored by each committee member on their own and then a recap was made
of the scores. By this method of scoring, the selection process was made easier. The most significant factors in the scoring proved to be extracurricular college
activities and the written essay.
This year the winners received General Scholarships in the amount of $1,500 and
were awarded to Alan McGinnis and Tristan Yount, both from the University of
Kansas.
Alan is currently obtaining his Masters in Science in Architectural Engineering
and has an anticipated graduation date of May 2018. He is currently enlisted in
the United States Navy.
Tristan is studying Architectural Engineering with an anticipated graduation
date of May 2017. He is employed as an Undergraduate Research Assistant, with
the School of Engineering, Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering
Department.
We appreciated the efforts of these students to take time to prepare their applications.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
KDOT/ACEC Kansas Partnering Conference
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Capitol Plaza Hotel-Maner Conference Center
Topeka, KS
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HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2017 ACEC OF KANSAS/
KSPE/KDHE WATER QUALITY SEMINAR
ACEC of Kansas jointly hosted the Water Quality Seminar with KSPE and
KDHE on March 10th at the Ramada Hotel in Topeka.
Attendees heard from speakers on the following topics:
 BOW Update, Jaime Gaggero
 BOW Program Changes, Tom Stiles
 Water Quality Standards/Regulations, Trevor Flynn
 Nutrient TMDLs – Status and Update, Michelle Probasco
 NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule, Shelley Shores-Miller
 Kansas Municipal WWTP Ammonia, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus
Reduction Performance and Reporting, Rod Geisler
 CAFO Engineering and Permitting 101 – A Brief Description of the
Permitting Process and Pollution Controls, Tara Mahin
 Current Status of Non-Point Source Pollution Control Efforts by KDHE/
BOW, Amanda Reed
 PWS Program Updates, Cathryn Tucker-Vogel
 Clean Water & Drinking Water SRF Programs and Funding Updates,
William Carr
The date of the 2018 seminar will be announced later this year.
2017 ACEC MIDWEST STATES CONFERENCE
SAVE THE DATE
WHEN: June 1-7, 2017
The ACEC Midwest
States Conference is
a Joint meeting
with ACEC
Missouri, ACEC
Kansas and ACEC
Oklahoma.
WHERE: The Buccaneer, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
HOTEL INFO: Room rates are $240 per night for Ocean View
rooms / $320 for Oceanfront rooms. For reservations, call 1-800255-3881 and ask for the ACEC rate. For more information on the hotel, visit
their website at: http://www.thebuccaneer.com/.
For more details on the conference, here is a link to our website. If you want to
see a draft conference agenda, click HERE. Registration information will be
sent out as soon as we finalize program details. We hope to see you in the U.S.
Virgin Islands.
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MONTHLY REPORT FROM ACEC NATIONAL
PRESIDENT DAVE RAYMOND
Dear Colleagues –
Registration is
available for the
ACEC Annual
Convention and
Legislative Summit
being held April 23
-26, 2017 in
Washington DC.
Visit www.acec.org
for more
information.
As we close in on our Annual Convention, now three weeks away – with
projected record attendance – our early advocacy gains this year include repeal
of the unfair "blacklisting" rule, and go-aheads for the Keystone and Dakota
pipelines. ACEC/PAC fundraising is again running at a record pace; and our
"voice" for the industry was heard in an interview with ABC news on the
President's $1 million infrastructure proposal. The Convention will give us an
opportunity to discuss challenges ahead, hear from economic and political
experts, and lobby Congress on key issues including infrastructure and tax
measures. (Click here for registration information.) See you soon.
Dave
PRESIDENT'S MONTHLY UPDATE
April 1, 2017
General

ACEC Chairman Peter Strub and President Dave Raymond discussed with
Senator John Barrasso, Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public
Works Committee, infrastructure, energy and regulatory actions (full
interview to be featured in the July-August issue of Engineering Inc.).

Following President Trump's address to a joint session of Congress, ABC
News interviewed ACEC President Dave Raymond on the President's $1
trillion infrastructure investment proposal.

ACEC/PAC has surpassed $300,000 in total receipts in the first quarter of
this year; ACEC/Wisconsin became the second state to reach their 2017 PAC
goal, after ACEC/Indiana.

Awarded a Minuteman Fund grant to ACEC/Arkansas to help kill a bill that
would require competitive bidding.

Stantec's acquisition of MWH is completed (in the U.S.) with the combined
company employee count of 22,000.
Government Advocacy

The President signed into law ACEC-backed legislation to repeal the socalled "blacklisting" rule which would have jeopardized firms competing for
federal work.

Successfully supported House passage of HR 1101 which facilitates the
expansion of association health plans, such as the ACEC Life-Health Trust.

Promoted a bipartisan House letter in support of retaining tax-exempt
municipal bonds.

Hosted introductory meetings at ACEC headquarters with freshman
Members of Congress Brian Mast (R-FL) and Mike Gallagher (R-WI).

Sent letters to House and Senate members urging support for legislation
introduced by Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Representative Dennis Ross (RFL) to eliminate the mandated use of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) for
larger federal projects.
5
(Continued on page 6)
(Continued from page 5)

ACEC staff gave presentations at state meetings in Oklahoma, Missouri, and
South Carolina on major national advocacy priorities.

Engaged in a three-day conference with the North American Electric
Reliability Corporation (NERC) to promote industry priorities related to
supply chain cybersecurity standards.

Supported efforts by ACEC/Florida to oppose legislation that would severely
weaken Florida's QBS law; these efforts persuaded state lawmakers to
postpone consideration of the bill in committee.

The latest members of ACEC/PAC's Capitol Club this year (contributing the
legal maximum of $5,000) are: David Bills of Bills Engineering in Hawaii;
Jeffery McBride of EBL Engineers in Maryland; Terry Neimeyer of KCI
Technologies in Maryland; Judith Nitsch of Nitsch Engineering in
Massachusetts; Gary Raba of Raba Kistner in Texas; and Kenneth Smith of
T. Baker Smith in Louisiana.

Hosted fundraising events for Representatives Bill Shuster (R-PA), Peter
Roskam (R-IL), Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), John Katko (R-NY), and Mark
Meadows (R-NC).
Business Resources

The popular Business of Design Consulting program was recently held in
Orlando, with 36 attendees learning the fundamentals of managing a
successful A/E business.

Senior Executives Institute (SEI) Class 21 capped their program with
instruction on communication styles.

March's most popular online class, Understanding Firm Value: Looking
Beyond the Numbers, explored risk factors and how member firms can
manage them.

Released updated CASE Guideline Addressing the Bidding and Construction
Administration Phases for the Structural Engineer, available at
www.acec.org/bookstore.

Land Development Coalition (LDC) released updates for 15 publications
focused on Marketing /Business Development, Project Management, and QA/
QC, available at www.acec.org/bookstore.

Coalitions' best sellers for March included CASE's Guideline Addressing
Coordination and Completeness of Structural Construction Documents 2013
and National Practice Guidelines for the Structural Engineer of Record,
available at www.acec.org/bookstore.

April online seminars include: GA Pre-Convention Program; The Battle of the
(Paper) Bulge: Document Retention Issues and Best Practices for Design
Professionals; Manage Your Projects to Meet Your Clients Expectations; Make
Profit and Cash Flow Matter to Everyone in Your Business; The Art and
Science of Delivering Superior Customer Service; Strategies to Develop
Winning Awards Submissions; Secrets to Successfully Communicating
Technical Topics; Sharpen Your Communication Skills!; Take Control of Your
Email: Outlook and Email Management Best Practices; Rules for Good
Teaming!; and ESOPS and Why Engineering Firms Love Them.
6
A WORD From KSPE
For KSPE
membership
information,
please visit
kansasengineer.org
or contact the
KSPE Office at
(785) 233-2121.
KSPE recently weighed in on House Bill 2389, which addresses
amusement park safety. The bill adds regulation for
amusement parks and requires rides to be annually inspected.
HB 2389 amends the definition of a “qualified inspector” to be a
licensed engineer with specified experience in the amusement
ride field. KSPE Executive Director Travis Lowe testified in
support of the bill, explaining that PE’s are the most creditable
people in the industry. KSPE suggested an amendment to the bill to define
“licensed engineer” to ensure this term is linked to the rest of the statutes that
explain engineer licensure requirements with the Kansas Board of Technical
Professions. The House Federal & State Affairs Committee adopted the change
when they worked the bill. Later that week, the bill was debated on the House
floor and recommended for passage. HB 2389 will receive its vote on Monday,
April 3.
ACEC ENGINEERING BUSINESS INDEX SURVEY
DETAILS BELOW
The quarterly Engineering Business Index
(EBI) measures the health of the engineering industry through firm leader responses
on company performance and market
trends.
Click here to take the streamlined oneminute EBI survey. All responses are confidential.
More than 400 of your peers participated in the last survey. Click here to see the
report.
If you have any questions, please Alan Crockett at 202-682-4301 or
[email protected]
SAVE THE DATE: ACEC OF KANSAS
MEMBER LUNCH
ACEC of Kansas members statewide are invited to attend member lunches. As
always these are a great venue to discuss issues of concern to ACEC of Kansas
and its member firms. All membership lunch meetings are held from 12:00 - 1:30
p.m.
Mark your calendar for our next lunch August 8th at Fort Riley. Details will be
available at a later date.
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ACEC OF KANSAS NEW MEMBER SPOTLIGHT:
PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT GROUP
Dear Fellow Members of ACEC KS,
We at Professional Employment Group are honored to
have been accepted into an elite organization such as
the American Council of Engineering Companies of
Kansas. The rich history of this organization, with
nearly 60 years of service to each of the members’ communities, really speaks to the dedication and commitment to success of each generation who has been involved. With more than 30 years in the Staffing industry at PEG, we too know this same level of dedication
and commitment demanded to achieve such success.
Although I recognize most of the firms and many of the
names represented within this organization, I cannot express enough the excitement I feel to become even more engaged in our engineering community.
A quick intro; here in our Kansas City location, our primary focus has always
been helping consulting firms in the AEC industries to identify top-notch talent
at all levels. Similar to many of your firms, we approach each client with a personalized solution catered specifically to what their needs are, whether on a vast
scale per project demand, or an isolated proactive key-hire, which could help their
positioning on a future project. Here at PEG, there really is no job too big or too
small.
Professional
Employment
group offers a
variety of
staffing solutions
on Contract,
Contract to Hire,
and Permanent
bases; depending
on the specific
needs of our
clients.
Professional Employment group offers a variety of staffing solutions on Contract,
Contract to Hire, and Permanent bases; depending on the specific needs of our
clients. One of the benefits of contract staffing is the employer has the flexibility
of utilizing personnel with niche skill sets for specific lengths of time, and only
paying for what they need, when they need it. With Contract to Hire solutions,
the employer is able to evaluate an employee’s performance over a predetermined period of time, prior to making a decision of whether or not to bring
them on board as an internal employee and assume all the employment burdens
associated with such. As we all have seen the cost of labor increase over the past
few years, and multipliers which have not, it’s vital more than ever to track
productivity. If an employer would prefer, and/or the market dictates as such,
PEG will also identify individuals for Permanent hire searches as well.
Lastly, I’d like to thank the Board at ACEC of Kansas in providing us at PEG the
opportunity to become a member of such an incredible organization. Our primary
goal in joining the ACEC of Kansas is to serve as a resource into the employment
process and candidate pools for AEC specific roles. If anyone ever has questions
as to why they are not receiving traction with their search efforts, what the current talent pool looks like for a certain skill set, whether or not they’re competitive in the market with compensation/benefits offerings, or really anything related to the world of hiring employees, we are here to help in any way we can.
Thanks again and looking forward to a great 2017!
Best Regards,
Nick Jaros
Professional Employment Group
KC Branch Manager
O. 913-871-0545 D. 913-214-5562
8
C. 913-954-8932
9
ACEC OF KANSAS CALENDAR OF EVENTS
2017
May 2
ACEC of Kansas Board Meeting
Topeka
May 4
KDOT/ACEC Partnering Committee Meeting
Wichita
June 1-7
2017 Midwest States Meeting
St. Croix
August 7
AIA/OFPM/ACEC Partnering Committee Meeting
August 8
ACEC of Kansas Member Lunch
Fort Riley
Manhattan
Topeka
October 6
18th Annual EFK Golf Tournament
October 24
KDOT/ACEC of Kansas Partnering Conference
Topeka
October 25
KDOT/ACEC Partnering Committee Meeting
Topeka
ACEC OF KANSAS PARTNERING
COMMITTEE INTEREST SURVEY
ACEC of Kansas has partnering committees with various owners and organizations that work with the
member firms of ACEC of Kansas. These include KDOT, KDOT Road and Bridge Design Squad leader
meetings, APWA KC Metro Chapter, Office of Facilities and Property Management/AIA, Corps of
Engineers, and others. Partnering committees gives ACEC KS a great opportunity to dialogue with
these groups, review procedures, regulations and policies before they become final, network with client
prospects, and much more. Committee terms run for three years. They truly serve the consulting
engineering industry with their work.
The ACEC of Kansas President has responsibility for filling the ACEC positions on these committees.
The primary tool used for making appointments is the response to the "ACEC of Kansas Committee
Interest" survey. You can fill out this form online by Clicking Here. Please take a moment to complete it
and send it back, which can all be done online. The President reviews responses from the current and
previous calendar years, so even if you've filled this out in the past, it's important to do so again.
Making appointments to our partnering committees and other initiatives is a critical task, and as much
input from our members as possible is appreciated. More member involvement in ACEC Kansas gives us
a stronger voice in the community. We look forward to having you involved!
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