Considerable Fanfare And Political Impact Characterize 2008 Annual Convention Impersonators of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain entertain members and guests at the Convention kick-off dinner.

John Hennessy, partner in Hennessy & Williamson of New York, and former chairman and CEO of Syska Hennessy Group, succeeded Mac MacMurray as ACEC 2008-2009 chairman. Starting with an entertaining, politically-themed opening dinner and ending with visits to hundreds of Capitol Hill legislators, last week's ACEC Annual Convention in Washington, D.C. was considered a "big success" by members. More than 1,200 members and guests attended the Convention, highlighted by participation from Congressmen and noted political analysts. Top-notch education sessions, exciting social events, and the 42nd Annual Engineering Excellence Awards Gala, hosted by Emmy Award-winner Ross Shafer, rounded off the three-day event.

FOX News' Chris Wallace offered unique insights about the ongoing race for president. "The variety of political discussions and programs were a great learning experience," said John Spina of C&S Engineers in Syracuse. "But my favorite part of the Convention was definitely the luncheon debate between Carlson and Begala. I thought those guys were excellent." "I thoroughly enjoyed myself," said John McClellan of JDM Consultants in Anchorage, Alaska. "The concurrent sessions were impressive, especially those involving retirement investment and the (ACEC) Life/Health Trust." Convention Highlights:

Jack Schenendorf, vice chairman of the National Surface Transportation Policy Commission, discussed infrastructure funding challenges at the Board of Directors meeting. The Board of Directors discussed "drilling down deeper" into ACEC's membership base so Council programs and services can be shared by a broader range of members. The Board also heard Jack Schenendorf of the National Surface Transportation Policy Commission outline challenges in infrastructure funding amid election-year politics. More than $110,000 was raised for ACEC/PAC. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) briefed ACEC members on transportation and water infrastructure issues prior to their Capitol Hill visits.

Tucker Carlson "Citizen lobbyists" conducted nearly 200 visits to Congressional offices to support important ACEC legislative initiatives. Chris Wallace, host of FOX News Sunday provided insights on the upcoming presidential election. John Hennessy succeeded Mac MacMurray as ACEC's 2008-2009 chairman; and five new members joined the 2008-2009 Executive Committee: Tim Psomas (Chairman-elect) Terry Neimeyer, Craig M. Avery, James Duncan and Ted Williams. Candy Toler, ACEC/Tennessee executive director will serve as the NAECE representative.

Paul Begala MSNBC's Tucker Carlson and Democratic campaign advisor Paul Begala debated the election from opposite viewpoints. ACEC and the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) signed a Proclamation of Mutual Support to work cooperatively on areas of mutual benefit. Greg Cohen, of the American Highway Users Alliance and Shirley Ybarra, of the Reason Foundation, conducted a Town Hall discussion on who should own the nation's infrastructure—government or private firms.

Senior Executives Institute (SEI) alumni share experiences during the Convention's SEI reception. From left are: Ken Wightman of David Evans and Associates, Rod Hoffman of HDR, Vince Weiser and Russell Bullock of Erdman Anthony and Associates, Inc., and Cliff Simental of David Evans and Associates.

Convention Lobbying Produces Results ACEC's "citizen lobbyists" secured additional supporters for the repeal of the onerous 3 percent withholding mandate, and advocated industry priorities for transportation and water infrastructure funding.

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) greets Karen Wood of Alaniz & Schraeder, LLP, Houston, and Craig Avery (center) of Stantec, Lexington, Ky., during a visit to his Senate office. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) addresses a special ACEC/PAC Capitol Hill Luncheon.

"I love this type of direct impact—that's what makes it fun," said ACEC/Oregon President Mel Sears of Parametrix, Inc., whose visit to an Oregon House member secured a new cosponsor for the 3 percent repeal legislation. The bill, H.R. 1023, is now approaching 250 cosponsors. Members of ACEC's Capitol Club, Chairman's Club and Millennium Club enjoyed a luncheon in the Senate, at which Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and David Vitter (R-LA) offered perspectives on key issues and the presidential contest.

Magnusson Klemencic Wins Grand Conceptor During Drama-Filled EEA Gala Drew Gangnes of Seattle-based Magnusson Klemencic Associates accepts the Grand Conceptor Award for the year's best engineering achievement during the recent ACEC Engineering Excellence Awards Gala in Washington, D.C. Something new was witnessed by more than 500 attendees at this year's Engineering Excellence Awards Gala. When Master of Ceremonies Ross Shafer announced the winner of the 2008 Grand Conceptor Award for the best engineering achievement of the year, the cheers and thunderous applause reflected the fact that the winners name had been kept secret from the time the judging was completed in February. In a virtual dead-heat finale, Magnusson Klemencic Associate's Olympic Sculpture Park in downtown Seattle was chosen over Walter P Moore's University of Phoenix Stadium, site of this year's NFL Super Bowl. In accepting the Grand Conceptor Award, Drew Gangnes, Magnusson Klemencic's director of civil engineering said: "This is truly an honor, especially considering the excellence exhibited by all the projects in this year's competition." "This EEA Gala was the best ever," says Bart Patton, chief operating officer at Kleinfelder. He added that "the element of suspense for the Grand Conceptor created more focus on the winners and was much more dramatic."

2008 Grand Award Winners University of Phoenix Stadium— Glendale, Ariz. Walter P Moore, Houston, Texas Tacoma Narrows Suspension Bridge—Tacoma, Wash. Parsons/ HNTB (Joint Venture), Bellevue, Wash. Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin—Milwaukee, Wis. Graef, Anhalt, Schloemer & Associates, Inc. and HGA, Milwaukee, Wis. US-24 Bridge Rehabilitation Over Rouge River—Dearborn, Mich. Wade Trim, Taylor, Mich. Cobble Mountain Reservoir Dam Project—Springfield, Mass. CDM, Wethersfield, Conn. I-95/ I-395/ I-495 Springfield Interchange—Springfield, Va. HNTB, Arlington, Va. Spallation Neutron Source Target Hot Cell—Oak Ridge, Tenn. Merrick & Company, Aurora, Colo. 2008 Honor Award Winners Large Animal Housing & Training Facility—Ames, Iowa Merrick & Company, Aurora, Colo. Dr. Hudspeth Ear Cell Laboratory—New York, N.Y. AKF Engineers, New York, N.Y. National Armed Forces for the Intrepid—Fort Sam Houston, Texas Syska Hennessy Group, Inc., Fairfax, Va. Eleanor Schonell Bridge—Brisbane, Australia International Bridge Technologies, Inc., San Diego, Calif. Penobscot Narrows Bridge & Observatory—Waldo/Hancock Counties, Maine FIGG, Denver, Colo. Frederick Douglass—Susan B. Anthony Memorial Bridge—Rochester, N.Y. Erdman Anthony, Rochester, N.Y. Chao Phraya River Bridge—Bangkok, Thailand PB, New York, N.Y. Overflow Controls For New Jersey Gold Coast—Hoboken, N.J. CH2M HILL, Parsippany, N.J. Gozzer Ranch Wastewater Treatment System—Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Welch Comer & Associates, Inc., Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Facilities—El Paso, Texas CDM, Cambridge, Mass. & Moreno Cardenas, El Paso, Texas Bradford Woods Wastewater Treatment System—Bloomington, Ind. Natural Concepts Water Quality Engineering/American Structurepoint, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind. Saving St. Anne's—Grand Forks, N.D. Stanley Consultants, Minneapolis, Minn. Lake Brazos Labyrinth Weir—Waco, Texas Freese and Nichols, Inc., Austin, Texas First Avenue District School—Newark, N.J. Paulus, Sokolowski and Sartor, LLC, Warren, N.J. Tule River Fish Return System—Sequoia National Forest Blair, Church & Flynn Consulting Engineers, Clovis, Calif. Project FROG Prototype—San Francisco, Calif. Degenkolb Engineers, San Francisco, Calif.

Fourteen States Achieve Membership Goals Fourteen ACEC Member Organizations were recognized at the Convention for achieving at least a 2 percent growth in the number of member firms and at least a 3 percent growth in the number of Member Firm employees in 2007. States that achieved membership goals were: ACEC/Arizona; CELSOC/California; ACEC/Connecticut; ACEC/Idaho; ACEC/Kentucky; ACEC/Maine; ACEC/Maryland; ACEC/Missouri; ACEC/new Hampshire; ACEC/North Carolina; ACEC/Tennessee; CEC/Texas; ACEC/Utah and ACEC/Vermont. David Wright, chairman of the ACEC Membership Committee, said achieving growth in membership is vital to the future health of ACEC, both on the state and national levels. "ACEC is extremely pleased in the success of 14 states in achieving the 2 percent firm growth and 3 percent employee growth goals as set forth in the Strategic Plan," Wright said. "We also see progress throughout the organization in many of the other states in achieving those goals in the future. "Given today's challenging economic conditions, the effort that resulted in reaching membership growth goals is worthy of recognition."

18 Legal Counsel Forum Attorneys Sworn In To Practice Before U.S. Supreme Court ACEC Legal Counsel Forum attorneys admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court Bar: (Front Row) Joe Dennis, Rich Bedell, Lee Novich, Kristi Powers, Beth Andrus, Charles Kim, Erin Austin, Glenn Purdue, Anne Awsumb, Dale Kortze, Peter Coote, Michael Vardaro; (Back Row) Steve Niparko, Terry Scanlan, Dennis Stryker, Howard Ashcraft, Mike Yost, Ken Strong, and Henry Marquard. Eighteen attorneys of the ACEC Legal Counsel Forum (LCF) were sworn in to the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court during the Convention, enabling them to argue cases before the highest court in the land. Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, John Paul Stevens, and Clarence Thomas were on the bench for the swearing-in ceremony. Beth Andrus, the current chair of the Legal Counsel Forum and a member of the Supreme Court Bar, formally made a motion for the admission of LCF participants from 10 states. Chief Justice Roberts immediately granted the motion, and all were sworn in. "This was a wonderful and moving experience for all of us," said Andrus after the ceremony. "It was a great privilege to make a motion in the High Court for the admission of my colleagues. I also want to express the Forum's thanks to our former Chair, Erin Austin, who organized this event on our behalf." The Legal Counsel Forum meets at each ACEC Convention and brings together attorneys from across the country who represent member firms to discuss major legal issues affecting the engineering industry.