QBS Soon To Be The Law In Georgia ACEC/Georgia Executive Director Tom Leslie Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue is expected to sign into law a mandate that state agencies must use Qualifications-Based Selection when procuring the services of design professionals. Georgia will be the 45th state to implement a QBS law. "This bill provides us with statutory reinforcement of the majority of state procurement practices. It is part of our strategy to embed QBS in the culture of public sector owners," said ACEC/Georgia Executive Director Tom Leslie. "Our members were instrumental in getting this done, and we certainly appreciate the strong support we received from ACEC/National." Passage of the law followed several years of aggressive advocacy by ACEC/Georgia. The bill received unanimous support in both houses of the Georgia General Assembly. The national ACEC organization supported ACEC/Georgia in this effort through a grant of $25,000 from the ACEC Minuteman Fund, and $8,000 from the QBS Grant Facilitator Program.

ACEC Members to Honor Wyoming Senator Craig Thomas At Annual Convention Senator Craig Thomas (R-WY) Senator Craig Thomas (R-WY), who spearheaded an effort in Congress to limit government competition on behalf of the A/E industry, will be joining ACEC members at a special reception during the upcoming Annual Convention in Washington, D.C. The Wyoming lawmaker was the author of the Thomas Amendment to the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2000, which placed limits on the ability of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to engage in new commercial activities in competition with the industry. Senator Thomas has also led the opposition against numerous anti-contractor amendments in the Senate over the years, including very high profile battles against union-backed amendments seeking to prevent the Department of Defense from contracting with engineering firms and other contractors, for work domestically and overseas. Senator Thomas is up for re-election in 2006, and ACEC members are being asked to support this effort. The reception will be held 5:00pm–6:00pm on Tuesday, April 12, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C. Tickets are $250 each, with checks made payable to “Friends of Craig Thomas.” For more information or to RSVP, please contact ACEC/PAC Director Corie Simmons at csimmons@acec.org.

Show Your Competitive Edge— Clough, Harbour & Associates Does Because the ACEC logo is nationally associated with excellence, integrity and quality, more and more members now use it on their business communications. Clough, Harbour & Associates features the ACEC Member Seal on every page of its website. "It sends a positive message to our clients and we feel that it offers us a competitive edge over non-ACEC members," said Larry Fairchild, a partner and chief engineer at the Albany, N.Y.-based firm. Click here to view their use of the ACEC Member Seal. The ACEC Member Seal may be used on websites, letterhead, business cards and any other communication where a demonstrated alliance with excellence can be an advantage. Click here to download the seal now.

ACEC/Oregon Members Conduct "A Day At The Capital" In Salem ACEC/Oregon members recently converged on the state capital in Salem as part of ACEC/Oregon's "Day at the Capital." Members use the annual event to advocate key issues to state legislators. At the Oregon State Capital: Front row from the left: Marshall Coba, Coba Company; Ermel Quevedo, Cornforth Consultants, Inc.; Melissa Johnson, David Evans and Associates, Inc.; Cynthia Lowe, Parsons Brinckerhoff; Merideth Webber, ACEC/Oregon; and Ken Wightman, David Evans and Associates, Inc. Second row from the left: Randy McCourt, DKS Associates; Dave Williams, Parametrix, Inc.; Dwight Hardin, GRI Geotechnical & Environmental Consultants; Martha Moore, TW Environmental, Inc.; Kevin Boyle, OBEC Consulting Engineers; and Alison Davis, ACEC/Oregon. Third row from the left: George Gross, Spencer B. Gross, Inc., Ray Miller, Miller Consulting Engineers; and Darryl Anderson, Anderson Engineering & Surveying, Inc.

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