North Dakota Reaches ACEC/PAC Goal; Seeks to Have "Voice Heard In Congress" PAC Champion Jeffry Volk cited support from the M.O.’s Executive Committee as the key to reaching the fundraising goal. ACEC/North Dakota reached its 2009 ACEC/PAC annual goal this week—the fifth consecutive year that the Member Organization has made its fundraising target. The Peace Garden State becomes the 10th M.O. to meet its ACEC/PAC objective this year, joining Oregon, Tennessee, South Dakota, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Hawaii, Indiana, Nebraska and Alaska. Many more states are closing in on their annual goals. “We went about our effort in a very organized way, using our state leadership to help drive home the message that we need to be politically engaged if we want our voice heard in Congress,” said North Dakota PAC Champion Jeffry Volk of Moore Engineering in West Fargo. “Once we put the plan into place, it was surprising how quickly we were able to get it done.” Click here to see the progress of each state in achieving its ACEC/PAC goal for 2009 and information on the PAC Champions leading their state fundraising efforts. For more information about ACEC’s political programs, contact Greg Knopp, ACEC’s executive director for political affairs at gknopp@acec.org or Elizabeth Coit, ACEC/PAC director at ecoit@acec.org.

ACEC Member Firms Eye Huge Infrastructure Opportunities in Qatar Co-hosted by the American Embassy in Qatar and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the conference featured briefings by the Qatari Public Works Authority and other senior officials. Several ACEC Member Firms participated this week in a conference in Washington, D.C. focusing on infrastructure opportunities in Qatar. The Persian Gulf nation plans to spend nearly $25 billion through 2014 to upgrade its infrastructure. ACEC’s International Committee promoted the conference, which was co-hosted by the American Embassy in Qatar and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Qatar has planned a series of “megaprojects,” including an airport expansion, a new container port, a causeway connecting to the nearby island state of Bahrain, railroad expansion, new highways, and a massive urban revitalization project called "Heart of Doha", a project by Dohaland, a subsidiary of Qatar Foundation As the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas in the world, Qatar has the financial strength to fund these projects, said Dao Le, senior commercial officer at the American Embassy in Qatar. Aseel Saqer, deputy director of the Bilateral U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce, said that U.S. firms “need to take advantage of these opportunities and get there before the Chinese do.” Click here for more information on how to pursue opportunities in Qatar, including an updated 2009 Country Commercial Guide. For more information on ACEC’s International Committee and future sessions, contact Melissa Thompson at 202-347-7474 or mthompson@acec.org.

ACEC and NSPE Present Three Municipalities with 2009 QBS Awards Ventura County, Calif., St. Joseph, Mo., and Austin, Texas received 2009 QBS Merit Awards, recognizing their commitment to Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS) in the procurement of A/E services. The QBS Awards Program, which is a joint initiative of ACEC and NSPE, recognizes public and private entities that effectively use and promote QBS methods to procure professional services of consulting engineers at the state and local levels. Ventura County, St. Joseph, and Austin will be honored in their states in presentations co-hosted by their ACEC Member Organizations and NSPE State Societies. Applications for the 2010 QBS Awards Program will be available in early 2010.

Engineering Inc. to Highlight Successful Storm Water Treatment Projects ACEC will highlight four Member Firms and their storm water treatment projects in the March/April 2010 issue of Engineering Inc. If your firm has been or is currently involved in a storm water treatment and retention project, and you think your project would be of interest to Engineering Inc. readers, ACEC would like to hear from you. The project can be in an on-going phase or recently completed. To submit a project for consideration, please e-mail the following information to Engineering Inc. Staff Editor Andrea Keeney at akeeney@acec.org by Thursday, December 17: Project name and location (firm may submit up to two projects); Brief project overview, including any unique aspects (limited to one page); and Name, title and phone number of the Member Firm executive who will be interviewed for the profile. If your project is selected, a reporter will interview the Member Firm executive to discuss original project goals, what challenges were faced and how these issues were overcome. The firm also will need to submit a formal, color headshot of the executive interviewed (hi-resolution – 300 dpi), as well as project photo(s) for inclusion in the magazine. If you have any questions, please contact Andrea Keeney at akeeney@acec.org.

New Orleans Course Examines Green Opportunities and Emerging Markets Green Infrastructure and Sustainable Communities: Opportunities in New Markets Feb. 23-26, New Orleans ACEC presents Green Infrastructure and Sustainable Communities: Opportunities in New Markets, February 23-26, 2010, New Orleans. Participants will examine sustainable development within a business context; sustainability audits, assessments and other design tools and techniques; and sustainable design specific to emerging engineering markets in urban water management, transportation projects, and state-of-the-art buildings. Engineers and planners looking for a course that showcases applications of sustainable engineering by some of the leading practitioners in the U.S. will particularly benefit from this unique certificate program. Click here for the course brochure with full agenda and faculty details. Click here for details and to register at the lowest advance price.

H1N1 Pandemic Update: Maintain Firm Preparedness or Relax? H1N1 (Swine Flu) Pandemic: An Update Jan. 12, 1:30-3 p.m. Dr. Daniel J. Barnett, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, updates his insider discussion to assess the progression and status of the H1N1 (Swine Flu) pandemic in the U.S. Focusing on relevant issues for business planning and continuity of operations considerations, Barnett will review preparedness levels and strategies, including current best-practice guidance for proactive business management of this unique and evolving public health emergency. The presentation will include an update on the pandemic’s physical and psychosocial impacts, and their relevance to business operations, along with prevention and mitigation strategies for occupational settings applicable in a pandemic environment. For details and to register, click here.

Manage Your Personal Professional Development: Online, Free Available with a free basic subscription, RCEP, the one-stop site for online recordkeeping and registry of education opportunities, is attracting a growing number of individual users. Developed by ACEC’s Institute for Business Management and the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), the system allows subscribers to manage their personal continuing education activities and view their PDH history, search a Master Calendar for continuing education offerings nationwide, and download certificates for completed education activities through the system’s Registered Education Providers. For those interested in additional features and flexibility, the Power Professional Subscription is available to individuals for a nominal annual fee, and as a firm subscription for individual professional staff at a special group price. To explore RCEP’s benefits and possibilities and to choose a subscription that works for you personally or as a benefit for your professional staff, click here.

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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 • Gerry Donohue, Designer