ACEC’s upcoming 2010 Fall Conference in Puerto Rico, Oct. 17-20, will provide important opportunities for industry peer groups to network and discuss business concerns.

In the always popular CEO Roundtables—and the new Joint CEO/CIO Roundtable—firm leaders have the opportunity to share the challenges and problems they face and to garner solutions.

ACEC Coalitions also have a full Conference agenda, including several CASE educational programs, CAMEE’s Roundtable on Critical Issues Facing MEP Firms, a joint meeting of COPS and the Land Development Coalition, and the Small Firms Council CEO Roundtable.

For information and to register for the 2010 ACEC Fall Conference, click here.

Member Organizations and Member Firms seeking to recognize the achievements of a young engineer must submit their entry for ACEC’s 2011 Young Engineer of the Year Award by October 11, 2010.

The Award acknowledges engineers just beginning their careers who have already made significant contributions to the profession.

Award winners will be recognized at the 2011 ACEC Fall Conference and in Engineering Inc. and will automatically compete for the 2011 New Faces of Engineering Awards, which are coordinated through National Engineers Week.

For more information on the awards and to enter, click here.

September 23, 1:30-3 p.m.

Jim Hatter, Federal Highway Administration, presents Private Partnerships for Public Needs: PPPs and Surface Transportation, an online seminar from an inside perspective on Thursday, Sept. 23.

Hatter will update the status of the PPP concept; define PPPs and why some governments are considering them; identify key USDOT project finance tools that work in conjunction with innovative procurement; describe PPP models and risk transfer; and look at actual PPP case studies.

For firms engaged in government transportation work, this seminar is an important insight into these market partnerships.

Click here for details and to register.

November 4-5, Phoenix, AZ

In Essentials of A/E Financial Management and Firm Valuation David Cohen, finance expert and principal, Matheson Financial Advisors, Inc., explores the impact that a volatile economy has on financial management above and beyond revenue, profits, backlog, and staff size.

Participants will learn to effectively extract and apply key financial measures such as break-even overhead rate, target billing multiplier and labor utilization percentage; how to examine various performance, liquidity and leverage ratios; and ways to benchmark these results to positively affect firm performance and shareholder value.

Click here for agenda details and to register.

September 29-October 2, Atlanta, GA

Led by an all-star faculty of business experts and successful A/E industry practitioners, The Business of Design Consulting, Sept. 29-Oct. 2, Atlanta, is a comprehensive update and analysis of the key business practices that drive the successful A/E firm.

Experts on best-practices include Rod Hoffman, S & H Consulting LLC; Colvin Matheson, Matheson Financial Advisors; Tom Bongi, Catlin Design Professional; Matt Hirst, Caldwell Richard Sorensen; and David Stone, Stone and Company.

For details and to register, click here.

November 11-12, Orlando, FL

Litigation is a fact-of-life in the A/E industry. Firms need professionals who are knowledgeable on courtroom procedures to effectively serve the firm (or clients) as an expert witness. Applying Expertise as an Engineering Expert Witness, ACEC’s one-of-a-kind course, is being offered November 11-12, in Orlando.

Topics include deposition behavior, permissible out-of-court statements, ethics, pre-courtroom testimony preparation, courtroom demeanor, how to maintain credibility, the differences between a fact witness and an expert witness, and agreement and compensation for taking on an outside assignment.

Click here for details and to register.

September 28, 1:30-3 p.m.

A/E firms face important bottom-line challenges in moving ahead with the technology and practices of implementing Building Information Modeling (BIM).

In BIM for Bosses, Eric Wing, C&S Companies, will present a detailed explanation of the benefits and end goals of using BIM firm-wide; the processes needed for a seamless implementation; and the steps and changes in hardware, software and network, plus new training and workflow practices for getting your firm up-to-speed.

Click here for details and to register.

HR Forum, October 7-8, Cambridge, Mass.
Sales and Marketing Forum, October 17, Puerto Rico

The HR Forum agenda is being finalized, with the focus on updating issues of current interest, including employee communication and retention; legal, medical and benefits discussions; and recognition and rewards practices. Click here to register.

The Sales and Marketing Forum meets on October 17 during the ACEC 2010 Fall Conference in Puerto Rico. Conference registrants can attend at no additional fee or participants can register only for the Forum. A/E industry marketing maven David Stone will walk attendees through a self-appraisal of their overall marketing function, and introduce new ideas for re-purposing and re-energizing sales efforts firm-wide to step-up to today’s intensely competitive environment. Click here to register.