Greetings from Olsson Associates
 
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Instead of just talking about "being green," we have staff members who are designing projects that meet the U.S. Green Building Council's requirements for sustainable design. Today we have 37 staff members, encompassing all of our disciplines, who are Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accredited. Many of these staff members plan to take this credential a step further through the new LEED testing process, which is rolling out now. You can learn more about the changes to the LEED accreditation process in Katie's article below. As a firm, we're committed to helping our clients achieve sustainable design.
 
As we're only days away from Thanksgiving, this seems like an appropriate time to say thank you -- thank you for your business, your friendship, or your partnership on projects. This has been a challenging year for many of us, and we've all had to make adjustments to the ways we're accustomed to doing business. Here, we've begun to enter new markets -- such as supporting wind energy projects, as described below -- and worked to find more efficient ways to help complete your projects. Thanks for your support along the way.
 
From all of us at Olsson Associates, we wish you a happy Thanksgiving.  
   
 
Louis Lamberty, PE
Omaha Region Office Leader
Chasing the Wind
 
http://oaconsulting.com/perspectives/wind-energy-photo.jpgAs communities are required to incorporate renewable energy sources, wind energy becomes a promising alternative. Olsson's engineers, scientists, and surveyors are now supporting wind energy projects, from finding the most reliable site to capture the wind to digging beneath the surface and ensuring the land can support such a project.
 
We are helping clients balance environmental regulations and prepare sites that can handle wind energy operations. We're working collaboratively with clients to set up operations for land-based wind farms, and we are available to design collection lines, distribution lines, or substations when it's time to move the power.
Changes to the LEED AP Program
By Katie Neddenriep, PE, Land Development 

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By now, I'm sure the majority of you interested in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program have at least heard about the new version of the LEED exams that started rolling out earlier this year. Although the LEED AP testing process is a little lengthier than the previous version, there are now more options for specialization, which means us "site people" won't need to memorize detailed building energy codes, for example. I'm going to attempt to describe the new LEED professional credentialing program in a nutshell. 
 
First of all, there are now three tiers to the credentialing program: READ MORE
Featured Project: Edith Abbott Memorial Library | Grand Island, Nebraska
 
More Space for Books
 
 
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Olsson Associates was a member of a design-build team that nearly doubled the size of the Edith Abbott Memorial Library in Grand Island.
 
The expansion was needed to accommodate the community's growth and increasing demands at the library. The 25,000-square-foot addition required the acquisition of nearby properties and the abandonment of a city street. Preparation of the site included utility relocations, the elevation of the grade, and new entrances to the surrounding streets.
 
Olsson provided professional services including surveying, civil engineering, structural engineering, and materials testing. READ MORE
In This Issue
Chasing the Wind
Changes to the LEED AP Program
Featured Project: Edith Abbott Memorial Library
Around the Firm 
 
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In late October, seven Blue Valley Northwest High School students came to Olsson's Overland Park office for job shadowing. They split their time between our environmental and mechanical/ electrical groups, and learned about the types of projects these two groups work on and different career opportunities within engineering.
 
 
 
Supporting
 our communities has been part of Olsson Associates for more than 50 years. Olsson held its annual pledge drive last week and will donate more than $43,000 to United Way.
 
Stay in Touch with Olsson! 
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Happy Thanksgiving! 
 
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Olsson's offices will be closed on Thursday, November 26 for Thanksgiving, but we'll be open on Friday the 27th.
 
At Olsson, everything is Elemental:  LAND | WATER | AIR | LIFE 
To learn more, please visit www.oaconsulting.com.