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| Greater Kansas City Post SAME Newsletter |
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Winter Newsletter
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January 2016
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Upcoming Events
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Annual Industry Day March 28-29, 2016
UMKC
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Dear Greater Kansas City Post Members,
Happy New Year to all the members of the Post! We have completed another successful year, and I am pleased to report that the Post has expanded its service to its members and conducted additional events all while maintaining fiscal responsibility. In 2015 we expanded services in Education and Mentoring for our members through additional scholarships and professional credentialing stipends, added training opportunities for development of the Post's future leaders, established the named Gift Fund as the "Continuing Journey Grant" in the Merrill Watt Education and Mentoring Endowment, and established a new field chapter at the Command and General Staff College. If not for the extraordinary contributions by the Officers, Board Directors, Committee members and volunteers throughout the year this would not have been possible.
The 4th quarter has been the busiest I have seen in my 12 years as a member of the Post! October was the most active month with the Vice President's Dinner, a Veteran's Outreach and exhibition at University of Central Missouri, Post Bylaws review and rewrite, Investment meetings with Merrill Lynch regarding our Education and Mentoring Endowment, a K-State Student Chapter Meeting, the Small Business Training Event, the Annual Sporting Clays Challenge and the Joint Engineering Council President's meeting.
The schedule calmed down a bit in November with only a Ft. Riley Warrior Transition panel and a Joint Programs Meeting with ASCE. As our last official event we completed the year in December with a Holiday Party hosted by Henderson Engineers.
Although the year is technically over we still have to wrap up the loose ends with the streamer write-ups so we can once again compete for distinguished post in 2016. This is no small effort; Committee Chairs and Post leadership will be busy crafting the message that the Greater Kansas City Post is most worthy of recognition by HQ at the National Conference in Phoenix next May.
This past year has been an extraordinary experience with all the exceptional individuals who have contributed to the betterment of the Post. The number of hours preparing and conducting officer & board meetings, program luncheons, student chapter meetings, Industry Day, VP Dinner, Sporting Clays Challenge, Small Business Training, Warrior Transition Panels, Fellows Council meetings, Endowment meetings etc., is most commendable. I have learned a great amount about the dedication and professionalism of the superb members who make our Post run and I am thankful for their assistance this past year in leading the Post to success.
I am proud to have been able to serve you as your Post President, and I thank you all very much for that opportunity. In 2016 the Post will be in great hands with Melissa Kelley as she assumes the Post Presidency in January. She and her team are most qualified and ready to tackle the year with great vigor! I only see great things for the Post this upcoming year, and I highly recommend that all take part in making it an exciting and rewarding experience.
Very Respectfully,
Al Osborne
Post President
Greater Kansas City Post SAME
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Annual Sponsors
AECOM
Affinis Corp
Burns & McDonnell
Cabrera Services
Ecology and Environment
HDR
HNTB
IEC
Insight Environmental
JE Dunn Construction
The Louis Berger Group Inc.
Poole Fire Protection
Sevenson Environmental Services
SM Wilson
Stantec
Tehama
Terracon
Tetra Tech
TREKK Design Group
Yaeger Architecture
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ANNUAL SPONSOR SPOTLIGHTS
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E & E is a recognized leader in environmental management with the depth of knowledge, breadth of experience, and multidisciplinary resources to provide clients with smart, tailored solutions based on solid science and innovation. We have worked closely with government and industry clients for more than 40 years to solve problems and overcome challenges as if they were our own. E & E has a strong culture that values communication and knowledge sharing. It infuses the way we work internally in E & E networks, and externally with clients and as a valued part of a project team. Our strategy is to attract top talent and put them to work on issues that matter. In the last year, we have added 96 technical experts to our team, giving us a deep bench of nearly 1,000 talented professional in more than 85 scientific and engineering disciplines who work seamlessly from 30 offices across the U.S. to deliver results.
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Yaeger Architecture has been committed to providing our clients with "best value for budget" design solutions on multiple project types since 1973. Our philosophy is to work with clients to establish a clear understanding of their goals for projects. Whether those goals are driven by design, function, schedule, economics, or a combination, Yaeger will provide the best design solutions to satisfy those goals within the budget.
Yaeger Architecture's qualifications and experience include:
- New construction, renovation, and adaptive reuse projects
- Historic Preservation
- Sustainable Design - including LEED and Energy Star projects
- Building Information Modeling
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SAVE THE DATE
No Luncheon Meeting in February. Please join us for E Week Activities
Save the Date! 8th Annual Industry Day, March 28-29
The Greater Kansas City (GKC) Post of the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) is pleased to invite you to participate in our 8th Annual Industry Day Education & Training Workshop. This year's event will be held at the University of Missouri - Kansas City (UMKC) Union on March 28-29, 2016. We're happy to say we're putting together a program for everyone, with a broad selection of topics to choose from. Registration will open January 19th, 2016.
Questions? Contact Melissa Kelley
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VICE PRESIDENT'S DINNER
by Al Osborne
The 2015 Vice Presidents Dinner was a huge success and well attended by members and Post Annual Sponsors! This year it was held at the downtown KC Public Library in their event space on the top floor with a great view of the KC skyline. With both an indoor area and an outdoor veranda, socializing was fun with all enjoying the great venue. Catering was by Pierpont's and the exceptional cuisine and drink added that extra special ingredient, making VP Dinner the top social event of the year!
In addition to the dinner the event is our best opportunity to recognize so many members of our post by presenting Post Awards. Congratulations to the following individuals who have given a tremendous amount of their time and energy to make the Post successful:
Post Achievement Award: Presented to LTC Kevin Casey USA for his extraordinary service to the Post
as
Education and Mentoring Committee Chair and Mentor to CGSC Students.
Post Service Certificates: Merrill Watt, Melissa Kelley, Scott Opie, Jackie Hacker, Ann Ewy, Jason Sweet, Matt Turner, Kile Morrison, Tim Kurgan and Matt Metcalf. Earlier in the week, I also presented a Service Certificate to Nick Patch our K-State Student Chapter President. Congrats to all awardees!
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SMALL BUSINESS WORKSHOP
by Al Osborne and Amy McCurdy
The SAME Small Business Committee hosted its third annual morning workshop on October 22nd at the Grand Street Café in Kansas City, Missouri to provide small business owners with an opportunity to network, learn more about small business opportunities, and discuss ways of improving business.
The post organized the event and provided coffee and breakfast before the workshop. Three presentations were given with a focus on small businesses issues.
- Joshua Frank, RSM Federal, Founder and Managing Partner
- Jim Schaefer, Stantec, Federal Small Business Lead
- Al Osborne, Ascentra Group, President
The event received great feedback from the attendees.
Also at the workshop Amy McCudy received a Regional Vice President's Medal for her sustained superior performance as Post Secretary, Board Director, Annual Sponsors Membership Drive Coordinator, Small Business Training Event Coordinator and Ronald McDonald House Volunteer Coordinator.
The Small Business Workshop was followed by the GKC Post October Luncheon featuring Joshua Frank from RSM Federal speaking on Advanced Teaming Strategies.
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9th ANNUAL SPORTING CLAYS CHALLENGE
by Ann Ewy
This past October, the Greater Kansas City Post Society of American Military Engineers hosted the 9th annual Sporting Clays Challenge. We have been fortunate to work with Powder Creek Shooting Park in Lenexa, Kansas, over the years to continue this popular event. The event has maintained its popularity and was a sellout of 12 teams again this year. We structure the Sporting Clays Challenge as a mid-week afternoon event that allows for networking and socializing in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Each 5-person team completes the 50 target, 12 station course, followed by a BBQ dinner.
  The money raised from this event supports the Post's education and mentoring mission. This isn't a huge money maker for the Post, but it's sure to be in the plans for years to come because of its popularity. Teams are always a mix of beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Some firms sign up teams for client appreciation, co-worker teambuilding, and some are just friends pulling a team together. In 2014 the Yeager Architecture team came in second place by just one point, and this year came back to claim the prize as the highest scoring team. Thank you to all the teams that joined us this year, and we look forward to seeing you in the fall of 2016!
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL MISSOURI VETERANS' RESOURCE FAIR AND SUMMIT
by Al Osborne
Jackie Hacker, Merrill Watt and Al Osborne participated and exhibited at the event on October 9th at the Student Activities Center. The event focused on needs that are shared by military service members and veterans related to reintegration, refocus, and resiliency in the civilian sector. In addition to the scheduled speakers and panel discussions, our SAME team held one-on-one discussions with individuals who were planning on separating and those in secondary education about to enter the workforce. Information discussed varied from SAME education assistance to financial planning, government benefits, and employment research and preparation.
 
In the future the Greater Kansas City Post is planning Warrior Transition panels at Whiteman AFB similar to the panels currently being conducted at Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth (see following article). These panels allow for small groups and personal assistance to the transitioning warrior with tailored advice that meets the needs of each individual.
The Warrior Transition Committee is always in need of extra assistance from veteran members who can advise during our quarterly panel sessions. If any veteran is interested and not already participating please contact Tony Hofmann at
tony.hofmann@opkansas.org
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WARRIOR TRANSITION UPDATE
by Tony Hoffman
2015 has been a great year our Post supporting Warrior Transition! We've continued to build stronger relationships at Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth. This has resulted in Fort Riley allowing our Post members to participate in transition panels on a quarterly basis--likely the only organization to be invited to do this. Likewise, our GREAT panel volunteers (all Veterans) have been instrumental in completing three panel sessions at Fort Riley and one panel session at Fort Leavenworth this past year. Awesome!
We've also communicated our program to SAME National, promoting our success and educating other Posts on our best practices. This included participating in a SAME Webinar in August, as well as presenting our program in September to the Post Leader's Workshop in Washington, DC. Our Warrior Transition Program nests nicely with SAME's newly established Credentialing Committee as an initial "first step" of a Veteran's transition to the civilian sector.
Our Committee Goals for 2016 are:
- Add Whiteman Air Force Base to the list of installations to hold panel sessions (already scheduled for March 8, 2016)
- Continue to work closely with each installation in order to increase transitioning Veteran attendance
- Work with the Department of Defense's Soldier For Life Transition Assistance Program leadership to educate them on the benefits of our Warrior Transition Program
- Continue outreach to SAME National and other Posts interested in replicating our best practices
Special thanks to Jackie Hacker and all Greater Kansas City Post members who continue to volunteer to participate in our transition panels! These efforts are absolutely essential to the success of our Program.
2016 looks to be another great year-all with the goal of supporting transitioning Veterans.
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ANNUAL RONALD McDONALD HOUSE DINNER
by Amy McCurdy
The Greater Kansas City chapter of SAME organized a dinner at the Ronald McDonald House on October 16th. The Ronald McDonald House provides housing and meals for families of children who are seriously ill and receiving treatment at Children's Mercy in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri. The housing is available to families who
don't live within sixty miles of the hospital and, depending on need, the cost of the accommodations range from $10 per day to free. Nine members of SAME served a dinner of Swedish meatballs, mac & cheese, salad, and assorted desserts to 20 families.
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KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY SAME STUDENT CHAPTER INDUSTRY SPEAKER
by Jade Edmunds
The KSU SAME student chapter was lucky enough to have Mark Zimmerman and
Amy Clement, representatives from Burns & McDonnell, present for our Industry Speaker event on October 13th. Mr. Zimmerman and Ms. Clement shared with us their invaluable experiences as top professionals in their respective fields. Allen Osborne was able to join us and presented Nick Patch, KSU's chapter president, with an award for his outstanding involvement with the SAME student chapter.
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HOLIDAY PARTY
The SAME GKC Post Holiday Party was held on December 15th at Henderson Engineers, Inc. in Lenexa, Kansas, following the Post Board Meeting.
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NEW MEMBERS - GKC POST
September-December 2015
Sustaining Memberships
Brad Schleeter, Affinis Corp.
Dave Anderson, Bay West
Matt Helwig, Bibb Engineers
Brian Norris, Bibb Engineers
Steve Cline, Burns & McDonnell
Tim Taton, CoverSix Shelters, a Division of Redguard
Lori Mathews, Envirocon, Inc.
Shannon Stafford, TSI Geotechnical, Inc.
Individual Memberships
MAJ Steven Lanni, USA
Doug Dietrich, Tubelite, Inc.
COL Arthur Bottorff, USA
Tiffany Lederle, Inspection Experts, Inc.
Brian Armbrust, Bayshore Contractors, LLC
MAJ Steve Albritton, USA
James Miller
Arthur Bottorff
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| TME Editorial Calendar The editorial calendar for The Military Engineer (TME) can be found here. Each issue has a main theme and a special report. Deadlines for content also are included. |
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TREASURER'S REPORT: JANUARY-NOVEMBER 2015
| Total Income: |
$ 133,731.56 |
| Total Expenses: |
$ 82,283.87* |
| Net Income: |
$ (51,226.75) |
*$102,674.44 transferred to Endowment's Planned Gift Fund |
| Al Osborne |
President ('15) |
Ascentra Group |
| Melissa Kelley |
Vice President ('15) |
Henderson Engineers |
| Amy McCurdy |
Secretary ('15-'16) |
McCurdy Engineers |
| Matt Turner |
Treasurer ('15-'16) |
Yaeger Architecture |
| Ann Ewy |
Immediate Past President ('14) |
USACE |
| LTC Kevin Casey |
Director ('13-'15) |
US Army |
| Kim Pemberton |
Director ('13-'15) |
TREKK Design Group |
| Bill Yord |
Director ('13-'15) |
RIC Infrastructure |
| Jason Davis |
Director ('14-'16) |
Affinis Corp |
| Jason Sweet |
Director ('14-'16) |
Stantec |
| Hillary Weber |
Director ('15-'16) |
Insight Environmental |
| Tim Kurgan |
Director ('15-'17) |
USACE |
| Scott Opie |
Director ('15-'17) |
Hanson Professional Services |
| Scott Perkins |
Director ('15-'17) |
Survey & Mapping LLC |
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| Annual Sponsorship |
Amy McCurdy |
| Architectural Practices |
Christina Przygoda |
| Auditing |
Mark Loes |
| Awards |
Scott Perkins |
| Communications |
Deborah English |
| Council of Fellows |
Jerry Adams |
| Education & Mentoring |
LTC Kevin Casey |
| E&M - Scholarships |
Bill Yord |
| E&M - K-12 Outreach |
Hilary Weber |
| E&M - Credentialing |
TBD |
| College Outreach - KSU |
Jason Sweet |
| College Outreach - UMKC |
Vince Zink |
| Emergency Readiness |
Robert Crain |
| Historian |
Matt Metcalf |
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Joint Engineering Council
(JEC)
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TBD |
| Memberships |
Jackie Hacker |
| Nominating |
Chris Prinslow |
| Programs |
Kile Morrison |
| Small Business |
Amy McCurdy |
| Strategic Planning |
Melissa Kelly |
| Warrior Transition |
Tony Hoffmann |
| Young Members |
Bryanna Aldridge |
| Fort Riley Field Chapter |
Rex Ostrander |
| Whiteman AFB Field Chapter |
Christopher Prinslow |
| Senior Advisor |
John Brake COL (Ret.) |
| Senior Advisor |
Merrill Watt |
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| Advertise in the SAME Newsletter and Web site!
The Greater Kansas City Post offers advertising space for quarterly newsletters and on the home page of the Web site. Your business card size advertisement or company logo can be added for a cost of $250.00 per year. Please send your artwork and check to:
Jason Sweet, GISP, PMP, CFM
Stantec
Once your check is received your ad will begin in the following issue.
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| Place your article in the newsletter!
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Sustaining Members
5H Technologies · A Better Earth · Advanced Drainage Systems · AECOM · Affinis Corp. · Alpha Energy and Electric, Inc. · AMEC Foster Wheeler · American Legacy/Rand Construction · ARCADIS U.S., Inc. · Argus Consulting · Arrowhead Contracting, Inc. · Barr Engineering Co. · Battelle · Bay West, LLC · Bechtel National, Inc. · Bhate Environmental Associates, Inc. · Bibb Engineers · Black & Veatch Special Projects Corp. · BlueScope Construction, Inc. · Burns & McDonnell · Cabrera Services, Inc. · CAPE · CB&I Federal Services, LLC · CDM Smith · CH2MHILL · Coastal Environmental Group, Inc. · Conti Federal Services, Inc. · CoverSix Shelters, a Division of RedGuard · CTI and Associates, Inc. · Cyntergy AEC · DLR Group · EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc. · Eaton Corporation · ECC · Ecology & Environment, Inc. · EMR, Inc. · Environmental Quality Management, Inc. · GLMV Architecture, Inc. · Hanson Professional Service, Inc. · HDR · Health Facilities Group, LLC · HNTB · HydroGeoLogic Inc. · Infinite Energy Construction · JE Dunn Construction · Kleinfelder · Lamp, Rynearson & Associates, Inc. · Leidos · LEO A DALY · Los Alamos Technical Associates, Inc. (LATA) · LRS Federal, LLC · Mark One Electric Co., Inc. · Mason & Hanger · Massman Construction Co. · McTech Corporation · M.E. Group, Inc. · Mead & Hunt, Inc. · Midland Surveying, Inc. · O'Brien & Gere · Olsson Assoicates · Paragon Business Solutions, Inc. · Patti Banks Associates dba Vireo · Poole Fire Protection, Inc. · Professional Environmental Engineers Inc. · Professional Services Industries, Inc. · Remediation Services, Inc. · RLC, LLC, dba Renaissance Infrastructure Consulting · RVP · S.M. Wilson & Co · SCS Engineers · SEH · Sevenson Environmental Services Inc. · Shafer, Kline & Warren, Inc. · Siemens Industries, Inc. · Spur Design, LLC · Stanley Consultants Inc. · Stantec Consulting · Stell Environmental Enterprises, Inc. · Strategic Value Solutions, Inc. · Surveying and Mapping, LLC · Taliaferro & Browne, Inc. · Tehama, LLC · Tepa, LLC · Terracon Consultants, Inc. · TerranearPMC, LLC · Tetra Tech, Inc. · The Louis Berger Group, Inc. · The Walsh Group · Tidewater, Inc. · Tompkins Architects · TREKK Design Group · Tremco Commercial Sealants and Waterproofing · TSI Engineering, Inc. · Tunista Construction, LLC · United Excel Corporation · URS Corporation · Vireo · Wilson & Company, Inc. · Woolpert, Inc. · Yaeger Architecture
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