Former ACEC Presidents George Barnes, Andrew Parker Pass Away George Barnes, 1979-1980 ACEC President Two popular ACEC leaders, George Barnes, ACEC president from 1979-1980 and Andrew Parker, ACEC president from 1991-92, have died. Barnes, 80, who died April 25, spent most of his engineering career with Wright-Pierce in Topsham, Maine. During his tenure as ACEC president, he led a delegation of 10 Member Firms on a ground-breaking mission to the People's Republic of China. "George was a remarkable man," said William Brown, president of Wright-Pierce. "He gave freely of his time to ACEC and other professional organizations and lived life to the fullest." Andrew Parker, 1991-92 ACEC President Parker, 76, who died May 16, was the environmental control group engineer on the Gemini Launch Vehicle project for Martin Marietta Corp. in 1960. He later joined Hittman Associates Inc., and Mueller Associates, where he served as president and CEO for more than two decades. He was with Edwards & Kelsey from 1997 until he retired in 2005. As ACEC President, Parker was best known for promoting basic business practices as a primary mission of the Council. He called it "Back to Business Basics." "Andy always had boundless energy, was constantly smiling and had a 'can do' attitude that pulled you in and made you want to work twice as hard on a project," said Jim Thomas, ACEC's 1997-98 president and a long-time friend of Parker's.

ACEC/Georgia and ACEC/PAC Host Fundraiser For Senate Leader Senator Isakson (R-GA) and ACEC/Georgia President Doris Willmer at the ACEC/PAC fundraiser. Members of ACEC/Georgia turned out in strong numbers this week to honor Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA), a key industry supporter and member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Isakson, also the senior Republican on the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, has played important roles in a number of industry priorities, including passage of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) and the override of the President's veto. At the request of ACEC members, Isakson recently agreed to cosponsor Senate legislation to overturn the 3 percent withholding mandate slated to go into effect in 2011. "Johnny Isakson is a businessman who understands the vital role that infrastructure plays in a growing economy," said ACEC/Georgia President Doris Willmer of Willmer Engineering in Atlanta. Added ACEC/PAC Champion Jay Wolverton of Wolverton & Associates in Duluth, Ga., "Isakson's one of the reasons we need to raise money for ACEC/PAC—we need to keep good people in Congress." For more information on ACEC/PAC and the Council's political program, contact Greg Knopp, executive director of Political Affairs at gknopp@acec.org or ACEC/PAC Director Elizabeth Coit at ecoit@acec.org.

Time Almost Up To Take Part In ACEC Professional Liability Insurance Survey There is still time to participate in the 2008 ACEC Professional Liability Insurance Survey of Member Firms for Fiscal Year 2007, which continues online through Friday, May 23. This annual survey collects information on Member Firms' professional liability insurance experience, including claims and the threat of litigation. Member Firms responding to the survey will receive a free copy of the complete results upon request. The survey results will also be available for purchase through the ACEC Bookstore. To access the survey, please click on the URL below or copy and paste it into your Web browser: www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx? sm=KcZsqU5Nn_2blGY1mJ3F3Gcw_3d_3d. It is critical that ACEC receives only one response from each Member Firm. Therefore, only the key principal, risk manager, or another member of the firm designated by the key principal should fill out this survey. In order to preserve the confidential nature of this survey, the form does not request your firm's name or other contact information. A summary of the survey results will be published in the July/August 2008 issue of Engineering Inc.

Networking With Annual Convention Exhibitors Pays Off In $1,000 Gift Card Ronald Petering Ronald Petering's keen interest in exhibitors at the recent Annual Convention in Washington, D.C. produced more than great prospects on improving his firm's operations. It also netted him a $1,000 gift card to Best Buy. Petering, president of Shafer, Kline & Warren, Inc., in Lenexa, Kan., had his name drawn from a list of 115 Convention attendees submitted by exhibitors who demonstrated the most interest in exhibitor products and services. He says he talked at length with exhibitors from Deltek, Victor O. Schinnerer and Engineering Ministries International. "It just proves that it pays to network, in more ways than one," Petering said. "To run your business responsibly, you must always look for ways to maintain and improve your network."

Business of Design Consulting Offers Expertise "Not Taught In Engineering School" Business of Design Consulting June 18-21, Washington, D.C. A perennially popular ACEC course for COOs, CFOs, executives, business administrators, principals and managers, The Business of Design Consulting is an intensive cutting-edge presentation of the collective expertise of leading industry practitioners and business experts. The four-day course will be presented June 18-21, in Washington, D.C., with curriculum custom-tailored to the A/E work environment and focused on eight key areas: leadership, human resources, contracts, risk management, information technology, finance, business management and marketing. The course earns 28 PDHs. For details and to register, click here.

Does BIM Reality Match Expectations? Course Features Innovators, Users Building Information Modeling (BIM): The Promise and the Reality for A/E/C Firrms June 19-20, Chicago Attendees of Building Information Modeling (BIM): The Promise and the Reality for A/E/C Firrms will get a unique look into this new technology during an information-packed, one-and-a-half-day encore presentation, June 19-20, Chicago. Faculty will discuss how BIM is being put into practice by the collaborative teams involved, present real-life case studies, examine BIM technology—currently available and in development—outline associated legal issues and new risks, and more. The course earns 11 PDHs. Click here for details and to register.

ACEC/CAMEE Course On BIM for M/E/Ps Debuts BIM: The Promise and the Reality for M/E/P Professionals June 20, Salt Lake City M/E/P engineers are invited to join colleagues on June 20 in Salt Lake City for Building Information Modeling (BIM): The Promise and the Reality for M/E/P Professionals, featuring insider views and experiences with BIM. In this one-day course, leading software designers and users will examine the concept of BIM, how it is being put into practice by M/E/P engineers, interoperability and limitation issues, "what's coming and when," transition planning, and lessons learned. The course takes place one day before the annual meeting of ASHRAE, but requires separate registration. Click here for details and to register. (Members of ACEC, CAMEE and ASHRAE receive a special discounted rate, so forward this information to your M/E/P associates.)

Next ACEC Green Infrastructure and Sustainable Communities Course Set Green Infrastructure and Sustainable Communities July 14-17, Denver ACEC brings together a faculty of leading practitioners, academics and government experts in every phase of the sustainable design and construction process in an encore of the popular Green Infrastructure and Sustainable Communities, a sell-out course in previous presentations. The July 14-17 event will be held on the Denver campus of Colorado State University. Segments of the four-day program comprise a practical and systematic examination of the complex interdisciplinary challenges of real world sustainability, including: Sustainable development: the business context Sustainable design tools and techniques Field trip to visit award-winning sustainable projects Sustainable design for specific engineering markets The faculty of practitioners, academics and government experts is led by well-known authority, Bill Wallace, Wallace Futures Group. The course earns 28 PDHs. For agenda and faculty information and to register, click here.

Dates Set for Fall Finance Forum, HR Forum Plan ahead, register early and mark your calendars for the fall meetings of two of ACEC's most popular professional Forums. The Finance Forum will meet September 15-16, Chicago, and the HR Forum will be held October 27-28, Kansas City, MO. These one-and-a-half day workshops are dedicated to topics of current and future interest to the engineering firm's non-engineer specialists. To register for the Finance Forum, click here. To register for the HR Forum, click here.

The American Council of Engineering Companies 1015 15th St., NW, 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20005-2605 Phone: 202-347-7474 - Fax: 202-898-0068 www.acec.org - E-mail:acec@acec.org Alan D. Crockett, Director, PR • Ann Brandstadter, Editor/Designer