2017 AnnuAl RepoRt

2017 Annual Report

#BuildYourBusiness

Content ACEC/VA Celebrates 50 Years 2017-18 Board of Directors Letter from our President Executive Director’s Report Financial Review Making Business Work - A Legislative Review Making Business Contacts Making Business Decisions Engineering Excellence Awards Legislators of the Year Rising Star Awards

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In Memoriam Thank you for your vision, guidance, dedication and leadership.

Arthur “Art” McKinney 1944 - 2016

Daniel J. DeYoung 1938 - 2016

ACEC Virginia Celebrates 50 Years Over the course of the next year, we will be celebrating our 50th anniversary and want to extend a personal invitation to all our member firms, past award recipients and the Virginia engineering community to join us! The year of celebration will include a special presentation at the 2018 Engineering Excellence Awards Gala and will culminate at the 2018 Annual Conference at the Homestead. In the beginning, we were established as the Consulting Engineers Council (CEC), a federation of associations serving the needs of consulting engineers. Each state maintained a great degree of independence, conducting service programs responsive to the needs of it’s members. National affiliation criteria required that a Member Organization have purpose consistent with the national Council and bylaws/activities that did not conflict with those of the national Council. For Virginia, it started in May of 1962 when representatives of ten consulting firms in the Richmond area met to discuss the formation of a state organization with the specific purpose of affiliating with CEC/US and implementing efforts at the state level parallel to those being pursued nationally. After meetings with national CEC representatives, an application for affiliation was filed on July 16, 1968 by CEC Virginia Officers Carl Torrence (President), Richard P. Hankins (VP), and Henry P. Sadler (Secretary/Treasurer). The group then found itself in competition with the state society’s private practice group, with several leading consultants taking the position

that CEC would prove to be divisive and that the interests of all engineers, including consultants, could best be served by a single “umbrella” organization. With the passage of time, most of the rivalry disappeared and the organizations worked together on matters of mutual interest. The Consulting Engineers Council of Virginia, Inc. (CEC/VA) was organized as an incorporation on December 7, 1968. The original objectives of CEC/VA were: • To protect the public welfare. • To maintain ethical professional standards among the independent consulting engineers of Virginia. • To promote harmony, cooperation and mutual understanding among the independent consulting engineers of Virginia. • To cooperate with other bodies in matters of interest to the independent consulting engineers of Virginia. • To promote the professional and economic welfare of the independent consulting engineers of Virginia. • To act as a clearing house for information and action on matters of common interest to the independent consulting engineers of Virginia.

Charter members included: • Austin Brockenbrough & Associates • R. M. Bartenstein & Associates • Brandt & Morse • Chandler & Gibson • Robert H. Deaderick • Hankins, Anderson & Noncrief • Roache, Mercer & Faison • Henry P. Sadler • Thomas W. Smith • Sowers, Rodes & Whitescarver • Robert S. Spratley & Associates • Torrence, Dreelin, Farthing & Buford • Wagner & Jones

The initial Executive Board comprised of: • M. O. Roache, Jr. • W. A. Thompson, Jr. • Alvin W. Dunbar • W. L. Gibson • Walter K. Jones, Jr. • Creed T. Elliotte • Elmer O. Rodes, Jr. • Robert H. Deaderick

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2017-2018 Board of Directors

Robert L. Burkholder Clark Nexsen

President

President-Elect

Jeffrey N. Lighthiser Draper Aden Associates

National Director

Vice President Western

Vice President Central

Vice President Eastern

Paul P. Anderson AECOM

Vice President at Large Donald F. Booth DJG, Inc.

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Courtney A. Beamon Delta Airport Consultants

Secretary

Gregory C. Ellen Dunbar Milby Williams Pittman & Vaughan

Paul E. Diggs Schnabel Engineering

Jeffrey W. Ganthner Burns & McDonnell

Treasurer

Jared B. Jamison Mason & Hanger #BuildYourBusiness

From Our President

In 2016-17, significant work was accomplished in governance through dramatic modifications to our bylaws and the creation of a board policy manual. Revamping the bylaws was crucial so that ACEC Virginia could focus on serving our members in today’s marketplace. It took a huge amount of effort on the part of our executive director, Nancy Israel, our past president, Paul Diggs, and our Bylaws Committee Chair, Roy Sebring. These changes were essential and have made us stronger. A key change we made this year to the bylaws was decreasing the number of committees and enabling the formation of temporary subcommittees that can be disbanded once their task is complete. This dynamic structure aligns with the lifestyles of professionals who are trying to balance work and personal life. We are sensitive to the amount of time firm representatives are willing to volunteer and hope this change will allow more opportunities to serve. Now that the grunt work is complete, we can put high energy into celebrating ACEC Virginia’s 50th anniversary, kicking off the 2017-18 Emerging Leaders Institute and hosting the first CEO and

Senior Principal Retreat. ACEC Virginia staff have been prepping for the 50th Anniversary all summer. We ask all members to join us for a special presentation at the 2018 Engineering Excellence Awards Gala to celebrate engineering accomplishments from the past 50 years and past award recipients, including Rising Stars and Legislators of the Year. The year of celebration will culminate at the 2018 Annual Conference at the Homestead. We hope you take this opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and join us to celebrate the many achievements of ACEC Virginia and member firms! The Emerging Leaders Institute will kick off in September and is near and dear to my heart being a graduate of the class of 2008. The program opened my eyes to a whole new side of the engineering world. ACEC Virginia fosters an open culture where you can openly exchange information with colleagues that any other day of the week you would be competing with. It exposed me to the threats and challenges to our industry from state and federal legislation. Most importantly, it expanded my network in a way that I could never do on my own.

The first CEO and Senior Principal Retreat will replace what was previously known as the Winter Meeting. Catch Your Limit will guide us through an interactive meeting on assessing your leadership team and fine tuning your approach for growing leaders within your organization. A “retreat” is not a “retreat” without the appropriate venue; we will be heading to the Salamander Resort & Spa for education and some relaxation. The bottom line at the end of the 2016-17 fiscal year: ACEC Virginia is a fantastic organization where you can learn from others to build your business and share your knowledge to help your peers. We have strengthened our structure this year so that we have an strong foundation. Now, we are poised and ready to meet the new challenges of the next fifty years. Sincerely,

Bob Burkholder 2017-2018 President ACEC Virginia

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On the Eve of Our 50th 2016 to 2017 has been a year of important transitions and giant steps forward. Since the 1960s, when ACEC Virginia was established, our profession has seen a world of change. The digital world has forced us to become more agile and respond immediately to situations as they arise. To ensure our association stays proactive versus reactive, we embarked on a complete revision of our bylaws and communication strategy, took a detailed look at the educational and networking events we offer, and approved a membership dues increase for the first time in 15 years.

Association Business Our new bylaws were approved at the Annual Business Meeting in June and empower us to serve as a leader for our industry rather than be mired down in red tape and unproductive procedures. They permit us to appoint committees, subcommittees, and ad hoc committees as needed, allowing members to serve on key committees and task forces on a temporary basis without requiring a commitment for the next year. Another milestone was increasing membership dues by 4%, the first increase in 15 years. The impact of static revenue has made itself felt. For the past two years, we have fought to keep up with the demand for more services, technology, and staffing costs. Costs have gone up while membership has remained flat. To make up the difference between cost and revenue, a 10% increase is needed. The Executive Board took a more measured approach with only a 4% increase, hoping to compensate for a portion of the needed funds with a membership recruitment program and the use of a part-time membership recruitment consultant.

Education Curriculum Changes A major development this year that impacts how ACEC Virginia facilitates educational opportunities in future years is our status with the Virginia Society of Professional Engineers (VSPE) and our 14 year partnership hosting the Virginia Engineers Conference (VEC). For the first time this year we will handle the logistics of the entire conference. We also laid the groundwork for changing the scope of certain events. Going forward, the Winter Meeting will be geared towards CEOs and Senior Staff. Our goal is to have meetings and conferences offer a broader variety of training and educational opportunities relevant to varying levels of management. With an economy that looks strong and a revamped dues structure and bylaws, we are poised for a great beginning to our 50th year. We can forge ahead with an optimistic view for the next 50 years! Sincerely,

Communication Strategy One expressed concern from engineering firms is the number of emails received and sifting through all the clutter for pertinent information. To give member representatives the information they want, we took our old communication strategy and broke it up into smaller portions, then moved our email newsletter to a print publication. The cherry on top is that representatives can select which communications they want to receive! Log into the Member Information Center at www.acecva.org to update your communication preferences.

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Nancy L. Israel, MPA Executive Director ACEC Virginia

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Meeting the Financial Challenge For the third year in a row, ACEC Virginia ended the year with a deficit. While we cut event costs and withheld operational expenditures, we did not generate sufficient non-dues revenue to offset expenses. We continued to focus on the services we provide to the industry despite the shortfall. The 2016-17 shortfall was much higher than in years past, resulting in a withdrawal from our reserve fund to cover the loss. There are two major factors for the ongoing shortfall: • First and foremost, the dues structure that worked well 15 years ago cannot provide the revenue to support the services and programs our members expect and need in 2017. • Secondly, due to mergers, acquisitions and retirement, overall membership numbers are down. Even as we pull out all the stops to help member firms build their businesses, our financial sheet shows funding which was adequate in 2002 is not in 2017. To address the recurring shortfall, the Executive Board voted to raise dues by 4% although the numbers show that a 10% increase is needed to stop the drain on the reserve fund. The 4% increase is a $15/index number increase for all member firms. The Executive Board also approved the use of a membership recruitment consultant to increase membership and engagement, and emphasize our core strengths: advocacy, education, and networking. Transportation 4.8%

Dues Management Fee State Programs Engineering Excellence Awards Virginia Engineers Conference Transportation activities Other Total

236,318 5,200 39,020 35,027 22,393 17,780 11,011 366,749

Reserve 112,500 Certificate of Deposit 50,000

Expenses

General Administration State Programs Engineering Excellence Awards Legal & Accounting Training & Conferences PR & Membership activities Advocacy Transportation activities Other Total

218,941 42,824 28,074 10,750 18,256 6,376 60,600 13,042 4,168 403,031

Training & Transportation Conferences Activities 4.5% 3.2%

VEC 6.1%

PR & Membership Activities Programs 10.6% 1.6%

Programs 10.6%

Other 1.0%

Other 3.0% MGMT fee 1.4%

Revenue

EEA 9.5%

Revenue Dues 64.4%

Legal & Accounting 2.6%

EEA 6.9% Advocacy 15.0%

Expenses General Administration 54.3%

*Mitchell Wiggins & Company is completing the financial review of ACEC Virginia’s finances. A complete, updated statement will be available by October 1, 2017.

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Making Business Work

Making Business Contacts

There are very few things more important to the engineering community in Virginia than a competitive business climate. Laws that could result in deregulating professional services not only hurt our industry but the citizens of Virginia, who would experience a weakened built environment and infrastructure.

Through an array of events this past year, ACEC Virginia continued to find new ways to help small and large member firms stay on top of the trends, made valuable contacts in the Virginia engineering profession, and forged ways to be a “go to” resource for member firms on the business of engineering in Virginia as we help to resolve very crucial issues for the industry.

A Legislative Review

Each General Assembly session has its challenges and 2017 was no exception. Williams Mullen spoke on behalf of member firms at committee meetings involving Qualifications Based Selection (QBS), contract limits, contract management, and construction management. We identified and followed issues on professional licensing and the administrative process for regulation until we knew they would not adversely affect our industry. One bill of concern this year would have deregulated landscape architects and interior designers. After hearing the objections of ACEC Virginia and others, the bill was pulled. The deregulation of professional services in an issue across the country and we will continue to watch for bills that would impact our industry. We set a record for the number of violation letters written this past year asking for price or terms and conditions in RFPs. In addition, we provided experts for a panel discussion for the Virginia Association of Governmental Purchasing officials to give an update on QBS, contract regulations and requirements. In addition, we continue to pursue holding a similar panel with counties and city attorneys. Over the past decade, ACEC Virginia members have contributed over $100,000 to our advocacy efforts. Funding for the Engineering Companies of Virginia Political Action Committee (ECVPAC) is crucial to our lobbying efforts and serves as a way to provide a presence with Virginia legislators. Engineering issues are unique and sometimes we are the ONLY organization tracking them. Your contributions this past year gave ACEC Virginia and Advcocay Committee members the opportunity to meet with numerous Senators and Delegates, including Senators Frank Ruff and Frank Wagner; Delegates Steve Landes, Tim Hugo, Chris Peace, Jim LeMunyon and Roxann Robinson.

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Last fall, ACEC Virginia became involved in an issue on FAR Overhead rates for vehicles. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) requested a meeting with ACEC Virginia, and we brought in Dan Purvine of A/E Clarity, an expert on FAR guidelines, to offer clarification on the vehicle issue. With Purvine’s assistance we anticipate a resolution on this issue in the near future. The Transportation Reception remained one of the most popular events of the year. This members-only reception, which hosted the Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne as guest speaker, offered consulting engineers an opportunity to network with key representatives from VDOT, the Department of Aviation (DOA), and the Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT). ACEC Virginia and VDOT continued its partnership connecting engineering firms with representatives from Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) and Small, Women and Minority (SWaM) owned businesses. The Transportation Round-Robin was an essential networking opportunity to help Virginia engineering firms make the necessary contacts to put DBE and SWaM owned businesses on their teams. This popular one-day event is scheduled again for September 7, 2017. Ensure your firm is represented by visiting www.acecva.org. Last October and November, we coordinated with ACEC Metropolitan Washington to host luncheons across the state with guest speakers Shailendra Patel, PE, DBIA and Jeff Rogers, VCO, VDOT. Luncheons were held in Norfolk, Doswell, and Roanoke with attendance by ACEC members and VDOT District staff. In addition to networking, attendees heard updates on the Consultant Procurement Program and Design Build Program. Members were able to provide feedback directly to VDOT on their experiences with both programs.

#BuildYourBusiness #BuildYourBusiness

Making Business Decisions The Virginia Engineers Conference kick started the past year with education tracks including professional, civil, project management and a new track on innovative technology. It featured a tour of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT) HVAC system and a question and answer session with a CBBT engineer. Looking forward, this year’s conference will feature Dr. Marc Edwards to review the ethical lessons learned from the Flint water crisis. Registration is open for this educational opportunity at www.VirginiaEngineersConference.com. The 2017 Winter Meeting at the Greenbrier featured Dr. Robert Holsworth and Danielle Aaronson. Holsworth pinpointed major economic, demographic, and political trends that are reshaping Virginia and what this means for the future. Aaronson discussed the importance of hiring the right people, the struggle to keep good employees, and how to embed your firm’s expectations in your day-to-day practices with your team.

Throughout the Spring, Regional Vice Presidents hosted luncheons to cover topics like developing your young engineers into stars, municipal contracts, and knowing when a deal is not right. These regional events gave member firms the opportunity to learn from their peers and exchange best practices. Collaborating with VDOT again in June, we hosted a webinar on VDOT’s Title VI Evaluation Form with the goal of helping member firms understand, prepare, and respond more effectively to the questions on the form. The webinar was presented by Corina Herrera, Title VI Program Specialist for VDOT. She reviewed tips and key items for a successful submittal. To round out the year, members convened in June for the Annual Conference at the Tides Inn. Joseph Bolton, of KelleyMason, guided attendees through the linkage between an A/E firms culture and its client/sales success. Bolton went on to discuss client selection and team engagement.

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Engineering excellence awards Recognizes Extraordinary Engineering Feats

And the people behind the scenes

The 2017 Engineering Excellence Award winners embody breathtaking advances in our built environment; to put it simply, they were extraordinary. Two collaborating firms, Dunbar Milby Williams Pittman & Vaughan (DMWPV) and Schnabel Engineering won the 2017 Pinnacle Award for the VCU Health Children’s Hospital of Richmond Pavilion. DMWPV provided the structural engineering while Schnabel Engineering performed the geotechnical and geostructural engineering for this challenging and breathtaking project. The 11-story facility was constructed atop an existing hospital building by using a system of vertical and battered micropiles to underpin the existing pavilion. To complicate the project, it had to be completed without interrupting ongoing hospital services to patients. With the completion of the Pavilion, the Children’s Hospital consolidated pediatric services into one location and is touted as the region’s largest and most advanced outpatient facility for children. Competing against DMWPV and Schnabel Engineering were three other firms, each taking home a Grand Award: Froehling & Robertson for their work on The National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC; Moffatt & Nichol for the design and replacement of Ship Repair Pier 5 at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, VA; WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff and SKW Constructors for the Elizabeth River Tunnels Project in the Cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth, VA. Two projects received Honor Awards for their innovative projects including: A. Morton Thomas & Associates and Atkins for the Virginia Capital Trail – New Market Heights and Varina Phases in Richmond, VA; Draper Aden Associates for Stone Brewing’s East Coast Distribution Center in Richmond, VA. The following engineering firms received Merit Awards for displaying design professionalism and engineering excellence on the following projects: AECOM for the Route 35 Bridge Replacement project in Southhampton County, VA; Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson for the Route 61 over New River, Route 460 and Old Virginia Avenue Bridge Replacement in the Town of Narrows, VA; Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson received a second award for the Master Plan & Site Access Improvements project of the Virginia Railway Express Station Parking Lot in Spotsylvania County, VA; VHB for the Busch Gardens Overflow Parking Expansion in Williamsburg, VA; VHB also received another Merit Award for their work on the T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge in Richmond, VA. 8

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Legislators of the Year One of our major duties is to serve as the legislative watchdog for the Virginia engineering industry. To help raise awareness of engineering issues, each year we recognize a legislator in the House and the Senate for their efforts to help strengthen the Virginia engineering profession. This helps Virginia maintain a competitive environment, gives citizens a better built environment and quality of life, and strengthens our state’s ability to compete and thrive in the 21st Century. The 2017 Legislators of the Year were Senator Richard Stuart, representing Virginia’s 28th District and Delegate Betsy Carr, representing Virginia’s 69th District.

Senator Stuart was elected in 2007 and has been a part of several General Assembly committees during his career, including serving as Chairman of the Agriculture, Conservation, and Natural Resources Committee, and as ViceChair of the Courts of Justice Committee. Delegate Carr was elected to represent parts of the City of Richmond and the County of Chesterfield. She serves on the Appropriations, Transportation, Rules, and General Laws Committees, as well as the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules and the Virginia Housing Commission. Carr is also Treasurer of the House Democratic Caucus.

Our Rising Stars Recognizing and encouraging future leaders in the Virginia engineering profession is an important part of our leadership initiative. The Next Generation Committee presented the Rising Star Awards at the Engineering Excellence Awards Gala at the Jefferson Hotel. The 2017 recipients became key players early on in their careers and both continue a path of leadership in their firms. Congratulations to the following two outstanding young professionals who significantly contribute to their companies’ success. Rising Star Jessica Ewald, a graduate of Clarkson University with a BS in Civil Engineering and Interdisciplinary Engineering and Management, was named “Rookie of the Year” in 2013 by Draper Aden Associates’ Board of Directors. Joining the firm as a Geotechnical Design Engineer, she was promoted to Team Leader of the Geotechnical Engineering and Construction Material Testing Team. Just five years after joining the firm, Ewald was invited to become an associate shareholder. Rising Star Michelle Martin, a graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a BS in Civil Engineering, became a Project Manager at WSP I Parsons Brinckerhoff in 2013. From there she worked her way up to become the project and civil department manager and now serves as part of the firm’s leadership team in the Virginia Beach office. Elected to the Board of Directors for the American Society of Highway Engineers (ASHE), Martin became Secretary of the organization, and in 2015 was elected to serve as President.

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ACEC Virginia | 804-447-2057 | www.acecva.org

2017 Engineering Excellence Grand Award Winner Moffatt & Nichol Ship Repair Pier 5 at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard Portsmouth, Virginia

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