COPS Presentation at ACSM 2009 Conference
A COPS business-related educational session was presented during the ACSM Conference and Exhibition in Salt Lake City, Utah, February 20-23, 2009. "Making Surveying a Profitable Part of Your Business," featured a panel well seasoned experts, Tim Cawood, McKim & Creed; Ken Brown, Leading Edge Land Services, Inc.; Ed Garrigan, C.T. Male Associates, PC; and Bill Green, RBF Consulting. This session was also presented at the 2008 Annual ACEC Convention in Washington, DC .
COPS and Small Firm Council Share Winter Meeting Event
On February 27-28, 2009, a combined COPS/ACEC Small Firm Council Winter Meeting took place in Nashville, Tennessee at the Sheraton Music City Hotel. On Friday, February 27, PSMJ presented its popular Small Firm Principles' Bootcamp with David Burstein. On Saturday a Small Firms CEO Roundtable took place, which was followed by a meeting of the COPS Steering Committee.At its February 28 meeting, the COPS Steering Committee discussed many of the issues faced by members across the country. Tim Psomas, In-coming Chairman, of ACEC attended the meeting and gave insight into the role ACEC sees for the Coalitions and the importance they play for membership. Mr. Psomas also participated in the discussions from the "Executive" level position.
The Committee discussed potential educational sessions for future Conferences including preparing a business plan, teaming, MIS software, and marketing strategies in a down economy.
The next meeting of the COPS Steering Committee is being planned for Denver, CO, on August 1, 2009 and will be held in conjunction with the Business Practices Committee meeting and the Land Development Coalition meeting. All members are encouraged to attend.
COPS Events On Tap for ACEC Annual Convention Next Week
The following COPS-specific events were scheduled to take place on Tuesday, April 28, during ACEC's 2009 Annual Convention and Legislative Summit, April 26-29 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C.
| 8:00 am — 10:30 am | COPS Steering Committee Meeting All COPS members are welcome to attend. If you plan to attend please contact David Bixby at 202.682.4332 or dbixby@acec.org. |
| 10:30 am — 11:45 am | Reaching New Markets through Teaming and Joint Venturing Suzanne Lowe, Expertise Marketing LLC |
In a today's market, how can small or specialty organizations like surveying firms find new business? This session will explore developing opportunities by teaming or partnering with firms already operating in markets new to you.
Surveying The Hill
Convention Lobbying Effort To Promote ACEC's "Stimulus" AgendaACEC's "citizen lobbyists" will visit Capitol Hill during the 2009 ACEC Convention to advocate for a new economic stimulus agenda and to reinforce the key role the engineering industry plays in delivering infrastructure improvements to the public. ACEC's lobbying agenda includes:
- Prevent 50 percent Cut in Transportation Funding to the States. SAFETEA-LU expires this year. Unless Congress passes a new program with new funding, state transportation programs will face major cuts by the end of the year.
- Pass New Water Infrastructure Program. The House of Representatives has already passed a $13.8 billion wastewater bill and the Senate will introduce a much larger multi-year package in May.
- Repeal 3 Percent Withholding Mandate. ACEC and its coalition allies won a delay in the implementation of the repeal provision in the recently passed stimulus package, but the Council continues to push for full repeal.
- Maximize Private Sector Innovation. Public sector unions and their allies in Congress and the White House will try to restrict contracting out by federal and state agencies this year.
The Annual Convention will also feature education sessions with senior federal officials discussing their respective economic stimulus programs; presentations from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and the Chief of the Corps of Engineers, Lt. Gen. Robert Van Antwerp; and visits from senior congressional leaders.
ACEC Presses Congress for Student Loan Forgiveness Funding
ACEC member response is needed to assure that the Council-supported Student Loan Forgiveness Program is adequately funded. Congress approved legislation last summer that authorizes up to $10,000 in student loan forgiveness for individuals who work as engineers and surveyors and in other designated fields. Before this important program can be available to engineers, however, the Department of Education must write the program regulations and Congress must provide the funding.
COPS Business Practices Subcommittee: More Valuable Products Coming!
The COPS Business Practices Subcommittee is currently working on a revised COPS scope of services/contracts documents, disclaimer language for survey control and limitation of liability, survey field work record, managers evaluation, and other useful documents and tools. If you are interested participating on this subcommittee please contact either subcommittee chair Mike Yeoman at myeoman@perteet.com, or Heather Talbert at htalbert@acec.org.The next meeting of the COPS Business Practices Subcommittee is planned for July 31, 2009 in Denver, CO.
COPS Steering Committee
The following COPS Steering Committee members are here to serve your needs. Please feel free to contact any of the members at their email addresses shown below, or you can contact Coalitions Director Heather Talbert at htalbert@acec.org or call her at (202) 682-4377.
| Chairman: | Edward F. Garrigan, C.T. Male Associates, P.C. e.garrigan@ctmale.com |
| Vice Chairman: | Tim Cawood, McKim & Creed tcawood@mckimcreed.com |
| Secretary: | Michael Yeoman, Perteet, Inc. myeoman@perteet.com |
| Directors at Large: | J. Robert Crawford, RBF Consulting bobc@rbf.com A. Frazier Christy, Hatch Mott MacDonald frazier@paragon-eng.net Ken Brown, Leading Edge Land Services, Inc. kbrown@leadingedgels.com Larry D. Graham, Shafer, Kline & Warren, Inc. graham@skw-inc.com |
The Lighter Side
Four Corners Monument in the Wrong Place?Colorado, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico are the four states that all border one another in the legendary four corners area. At the very spot where the four corners of the states connect, the Four Corners Monument has been erected. This landmark is for many reasons a much sought after tourist location: not only does it show a historic landmark, but it also marks the only spot in the United States where four states actually connect. The initial marking of this historic spot dates back to 1912. Recently, Salt Lake City's Deseret News reported that the monument which should have been located at 37 degrees north latitude and 109 degrees west longitude is actually located at 36 59 56.31532 degrees north latitude and 109 02 42.62019 degrees west longitude. The math bears out that this means that the Four Corners Monument is actually 2.5 miles away from the four corners area where the states in point of fact intersect. There are of course no plans to relocate this marker in order to put it in harmony with the much improved surveying methods of recent decades.