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Greater Kansas City Post Newsletter 
Message from the President
by Colonel Roger A. Wilson, Jr., Post President

Col WilsonDear friends and members of SAME,
 

This past quarter was another very productive one for the post. In addition to the monthly board and committee meetings, the post hosted very informative luncheon meetings where those in attendance learned of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's incident command system from Ms. Diane Wilson of FEMA Region 7, and we heard from Brian Dunn, of J.E. Dunn, on progress being made at Fort Leavenworth's new Regional Corrections Facility (RCF) project. Thanks to Diane and Brian for taking the time to meet with the post and share their visions and success, and congratulations to the slate of proposed officers recently approved by the membership.
 
This quarter also afforded me an opportunity to represent the Post at the TEXOMA Regional Conference in Tulsa, OK. Hosted by the Tulsa Post, the conference was well organized and widely attended by firms and posts throughout the Midwest. I enjoyed meeting with other post presidents and sharing ideas on programs, membership, scholarships, and other initiatives. It was also great to visit with LTG Robert Van Antwerp, our National President, while in Tulsa. General Van Antwerp gave an inspiring speech on the value of SAME to the Nation, and thanked the members in attendance for their support of the Society and its mission.
 
During the past three months the post's officers and board members continued to focus on GKCP financial statements. The recent addition of Kent Dvorak as Treasurer has helped stabilize our operations accounting practices in addition to normalizing the Post's endowment financial reports. Several meetings regarding the endowment took place as we begin the complex process of ensuring the endowment investment strategy is being met. In addition, we are embarking on an endowment education and communications effort to improve the general membership's overall knowledge and understanding of the endowment, its goals, and its oversight. I would like to thank the Fellows who are assisting me with this duty, and ask that you stay tuned as we shape this effort in the next several weeks.
 
Other notable priorities ongoing are the review and revision of the Post's Education and Mentoring Scholarship Program. Ted Hartsig and his committee are hard at work giving this program a "tip to tail" review to ensure best practices are incorporated to make our process more consistent and supportive of the Post's goals. This initiative will culminate in November when the board will approve the revised program. Additionally, the post is busy in the final planning stages for this year's Skeet Shoot. Come out and test your marksmanship at this very popular event, and take advantage of an opportunity to socialize with many members of the Post. Mark Loes, Vice President, is also gearing up to receive committee work plans and proposed budgets for the 2010 operating year.
 
Finally, the Post is again listed in the Combined Federal Campaign brochure for the 2009 campaign lasting through December. I urge each Federal employee to consider the Greater Kansas City Post of SAME for your generous contributions. Each dollar donated will help us advance the Post, its programs, and its reputation as a Post of distinction.
 
Colonel Roger Wilson
President

HGL
3rd Annual SAME Sporting Clay Challenge
RESCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER 11th, 2009
Greater Kansas City Post Education & Mentoring Fundraiser
RESCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER 11, 2009
 
The Greater Kansas City Post fundraiser for the Education and Mentoring Fund has been rescheduled for Wednesday November 11th. The event is still being held at the Powder Creek Shooting Park in Lenexa. Please find a map to the facility on their website at www.powdercreek.com.
 
Plan to join us whether you are an experienced shooter or have never picked up a gun. This event is open to everyone, so bring along friends, family, cleints or coworkers and support this great cause. The event will feature:
 
Sporting Clay Challenge
  • 5 person teams (Team Sponsorship/$550, Individual Sponsorship/$100)
  • 50 clay target event
BBQ Buffet Dinner
Prizes
Cash Bar (after the shooting is over)
 
Can't take the afternoon off? Join us for dinner and drinks ~ 4 to 5 pm for $20.
 
Event Details
Powder Creek Shooting Park 
Thursday, November 11th, 2009 at 2:00 p.m.
  
For more information or questions please contact Ann.Ewy@usace.army.mil or call 816.389.3863.
 
 
Distiguished Post Pinning Ceremony
by Tom Poer
Last May, at the Joint Engineering and Technical Conference in Salt Lake City, the Greater Kansas City Post was among the top  posts to receive the honor of Distinguished Post. Distinguished Posts received distinction honors for each of the four written streamers and the membership streamer. The Greater Kansas City Post received the membership and the following streamers with Distinction:
  • Education & Training Streamer - includes meetings, licensure, and technical publications
  • Readiness / National Security Programs - includes the post readiness program
  • Relationships and Recognition Streamer - includes networking, meeting and awards
  • Outreach and Communications Streamer - includes mentoring, student chapter, web page, newsletters and emails

In years past, new streamers awarded were hung on the Post's flag pole. Now that the Greater Kansas City Post has received each of the streamers in prior years, we were awarded pins to be placed on the streamers to indicate streamer award and stars to indicate distinction. The Post celebrated our accomplishments by holding a pinning ceremony at our July 23rd meeting with leaders representing the post.

Pinning of the streamers was performed by Ted Hartsig Outreach & Communication streamer; Amy Lines for the Relationships and Recognition streamer; Ted Hartsig for Ann Ewy on the Education and Training streamer; Don Curtis on the Readiness and Homeland Security streamer; Mark Loes pinned the Membership streamer for Doug Dreiling and Ron McCutcheon; and Tom Poer pinned the Distinguished Post honor.  

The pinning ceremony celebrated last year's hard work from many within our Post. As this year moves ahead, we look forward to adding to the long history of great achievements illustrated in the Greater Kansas City Post's flag and streamers.

 
SAME Greater Kansas City has Linked In Page
by Amy Lines
Linked In logoIt has been approximately a year since SAME Headquarters first discussed how it could best utilize social networking tools to enhance its member outreach and communications efforts. Since then, a SAME blog was launched, a SAME Web Manager and Social Medial Specialist was hired, and many posts have used sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to improve the speed and efficiency of communications within and among Post memberships.
 
The Greater Kansas SAME Communications Committee welcomes members to the age of Social Networking by creating a Linked In page for their use. You are invited to become a member of the group, communicate with other post members and stay current on events.  Also check out the SAME National Linked In page for a broader view of Post happenings.
 
What is Social Networking? Social networking is the grouping of individuals into specific groups or organizations and connecting them with millions of people who wish to gather and share information or build upon professional relationships. One of the key benefits of networking on line includes diversity with access to individuals from all over the world. Having a Linked In page, the Greater Kansas City Post is able to exchange best practices with other Posts in the United States all with the simple click of a mouse. SAME Headquarters views social media as invaluable additions to a broad and diverse communications strategy. Due to their agility and efficiency, social networks allow critical pieces of information to be disseminated through several channels instaneously.
 
Other SAME Posts with Linked In:
SAME National
Atlanta
Kittyhawk
Omaha
SanAntonio
 
A current listing of all SAME-related social media channels currently active are posted to the SAME.org homepage which will itself be undergoing a complete redesign and relaunch in the next two months.
 
Greater Kansas City SAME Post Awards Scholarships
by Ted Hartsig
Keeping with its long tradition of supporting higher education, the GKC Post of SAME awarded $1,000 scholarships to two outstanding students in engineering. Ms. Kayla Kukuk of Overland Park, Kansas and Ms. Lauren Todd of Raytown, Missouri, were selected by the Post's Mentoring and Education Committee.
 
KaylaThe scholarship chairman, Jason Meyers, introduced the winners at the GKC Post July luncheon meeting. Kayla is a junior majoring in civil engineering at the University of Kansas where she is serving as president and leading the effort to re-establish the student chapter of the SAME. She is active in her sorority as vice president of Kappa Kappa Gamma.
 
LaurenLauren graduated from Raytown South High School this past year and will be starting her college education at Missouri University of Engineering and Technology where she will be majoring in environmental engineering and playing soccer for the Lady Miners. At Raytown South, she was a member of the National Honor Society, on the Presidential Honor Roll, played varsity soccer, and was Homecoming princess and queen, among many other honors.
 
In previous years, the GKC Post has awarded numerous scholarships to deserving families of SAME members. This year the scholarship program is in transition, and selection was delayed as the application process was amended. In 2010, the Post hopes to award additional scholarships focused on students in the engineering, science, math, and technology fields.
 
 
SAME 3rd Annual
Small and Large Business Networking Event
All SAME members are invited to attend this FREE event to network with Government and large Prime Contractors, United States Corps of Engineers representatives and other small and large businesses for an evening of relationship building. 
 
Sponsorships avalable. Contact Joe Davis at (816) 350-1473.
 
"THE OPPOSITE OF NETWORKING IS NOT WORKING"
 
Event Details
Date: November 5th, 2009
Time: 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Place: BDY Architects
7780 West 119th Street
Overland Park, Kansas 66213
RSVP: Connie Goetz, 816.350.1473, cgoetz@customengr.com.
BDY 
Greater Kansas City Post Sponsors SAME Engineering Camp Attendee
by Ted Hartsig
Each summer, the GKC Post sponsors a high school student for SAME Summer Engineering Camp. This year the selected attendee was Caleb Brewer, a junior at Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in Overland Park, Kansas. Caleb chose to attend the Engineering Summer Camp held at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs this past June.
 
The selection of Caleb this year was very difficult, as several very strong candidates applied for selection to the camp. Also, because the summer camp has become so popular, competition for selection to attend the camp is extremely intense. The GKC Post was able to sponsor only one student, whereas in years past the Post could sponsor up to two attendees.

AECOM

SAVE THE DATE - THE 2ND ANNUAL
SAME INDUSTRY DAY IS COMINIG SOON!
 
 
The Greater Kansas City Post is hosting the 2nd Annual Industry Day held at the University of Missouri, Kansas City Campus Wednesday, February 3rd. Directions and a local street map can be found at www.umkc.edu/maps/directions.asp. The event will be kicked off with a social program held the evening of Tuesday, February 2nd.
  
This is an excellent opportunity to build personal relationships, expand individual knowledge, or increase company visibility. Look forward to a full educational and technical program offering Professional Development Hours (PDHs). 
 
Sponsorships and Exhibit Space
Sponsorship opportunities and exhibit spaces will soon be available. This year registration for the event and booth space will be available using a new service called Regonline. Please visit the Greater Kansas City Post website at www.samekc.org
to register and look for future event details, or contact: Jason Meyers, Burns & McDonnell, 816-349-6814, jmeyers@burnsmcd.com 

Event Information
2nd Annual Greater Kansas City Post
Industry Day Education & Training Workshop
February 2nd & 3rd, 2010
More details to follow 
 
Thomopolis Elected President of International Engineering Association
by Mary Jo Finchum - Stanley Consultants 

Gregs G. Thomopulos, PE, Chairman & CEO of Stanley Consultants, was elected President of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers at its annual conference held Sept. 13-16 in London, England for a two-year term. Referred to as FIDIC, (the acronym stands for the French version of the name) the organization represents globally the consulting engineering industry.
 
This marks the first time in over a decade that a U.S. citizen was elected president of the organization. It is a position that only three other Americans have held in FIDIC's nearly 100-year history. Thomopulos, who was elected President-Elect at FIDIC's annual conference last year, has been on the organization's Executive Committee the past six years.
 
FIDIC is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Its membership includes member associations from 81 countries representing over one million professionals worldwide. The U.S. member association of FIDIC is the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). Thomopulos recently completed a term as the Senior Vice Chairman of ACEC.
 
 "Since ACEC joined FIDIC almost 50 years ago, we have used the organization to establish best practices in the international market," said ACEC President Dave Raymond. "Gregs Thomopulos' ascension to the FIDIC presidency will give us new opportunities in this important organization."

With over 40 years of experience in the engineering and construction industry, Thomopulos is well suited to lead the organization. He joined Stanley Consultants in 1965, was elected president in 1987, became CEO in 1998, and Chairman of the Board in 2007. Thomopulos is a licensed professional engineer in 14 states and Puerto Rico, and is a Fellow of ACEC and the American Society of Civil Engineers.
 
"It is a great honor to be elected President of FIDIC, a recognition by my peers that is most gratifying. I look forward to the opportunity to promote not only best practices in our professional undertakings worldwide, but also sustainable development, quality and integrity in the work that engineers do that have great impacts on human life," said Thomopulos.
 
FIDIC's construction contracts are widely known and used on major international construction projects worldwide. The organization is widely recognized in its efforts to establish best-practices in engineering and construction to ensure sustainable design, and promote ethics, integrity and transparency in international engineering and construction practices. 

 
 
Treasurer's Report
by Kent Dvorak


                                                         01/31/09      08-31-09          Change

Endowment Balance Summary   $187,853       $251,243            $63,390        Operations Account Balance       $26,254         $18,124               $8,130

 
New Kleinfelder ad
2009 Greater Kansas City Post
Sustaining Members
 
ABS Support Services ■ AECOM ■ ARCADIS ■ Argus Consulting Inc. ■ Arrowhead Contracting Inc. ■  Ayars & Ayars, Inc. ■ Balance Point Federal Services  ■ B&A, Inc. ■ Barr Engineering Co. ■ Berger Devine Yaeger ■ Black& Veatch Special Project Corp. ■ Bucher, Willis & Ratliff Corporation ■ Burns & McDonnell ■ CAPE ■ CDM ■ CH2MHILL ■ Conti Federal Services Inc. ■ CTI Associates Inc ■ EA Engineering Science & Technology Inc. ■ Ecology and Environment Inc. ■ Environmental Chemical Corp ■ EMR Inc. ■ Faith Technologies ■ Geotechnical Services, Inc.  ■ Gossen Livingston Associates ■ HDR ■ HNTB ■ HydroGeoLogic Inc. ■ Innovative Technical Solutions ■ JE Dunn Construction ■ Kingston Environmental Services ■ Kleinfelder ■ LMG Construction Services LLC ■ Mark One Electric Company Inc. ■ Mason & Hanger ■ Massman Construction ■ McCownGordon Construction, LLC ■ McTech Corporation ■ McKinzie Construction Inc. ■ ME Group Inc. ■ MKEC Engineering Consultants Inc. ■ MWH ■ Olsson Associates ■ P/Strada LLC ■ Paragon Business Solutions, Inc. ■ Parsons ■ PBS&J ■ Poole Fire Protection, Inc. ■  Rosemann & Associates PC ■ Sabatini Architects Inc. ■ SAIC ■ Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. (SEH) ■ SCS Engineers ■ Seneca Environmental Services ■ Sevenson Environmental Services Inc ■ Siemens ■ Sorella Group, Inc ■ Stanley Consultants Inc. ■ Stantec Consulting Services  ■   Straub Construction Company ■ TapanAm Associates ■ Terracon Consultants Inc. ■ Testamerica Laboratories Inc. ■ Tetra Tech Inc. ■ The Louis Berger Group Inc. ■ The Ross Group Construction Corp. ■ The Shaw Group Inc. ■ Tidewater Inc. ■ TranSystems Corporation ■ Tug Hill Construction ■ United Excel Corporation ■ URS Corporation ■ Walter P. Moore and Associates ■ Walton Construction  ■ Western Air Maps Inc. ■ Weston Solutions, Inc.
In This Issue
Message from the President
Linked In
Scholarship Awards
Engineering Camp
Welcome New Sustaining Members!
 
Walton Construction
Seneca Environmental Services
Geotechnical Services, Inc. 
Do you have an article you would like published in The Miltarty Engineer or SAME News? 
 
As part of the Education and Training Streamer, submitting articles to these publications is a principal criteria. If you have an article you would like to submit, contact Amy Lines at alines@kleinfelder.com or 913.647.5008.
 
The next deadline for article inclusion into The Military Engineer is November 1st. 

Upcoming Dates & Events

3rd Annual Sporting Clay Challenge
Wednesday, November 11th - 2:00pm 
 
3rd Annual Small and Large Business Networking
November 5th - 5:30pm - 8:30pm
 
2nd Annual
Industry Day
February 2nd & 3rd
 
SAME MEETINGS
10/22: 11:30am - Hilton Garden Inn
11/30: 12:30pm - CGSC Meeting with Students
11/19: 11:30am - TBD Joint Luncheon with ASCE

Do you have an article idea to be published in Military Engineer or SAME News?

As a principal criterial for the Education and Training Streamer, the Post needs to submit articles to the Military Engineer and SAME News.
If you would like to submit an article please contact Amy Lines at alines@kleinfelder.com or 913.647.5008.
 
The deadline for the submittal is November 1st.

2009 Officers

President
COL Roger Wilson, Jr., USACE
 
Vice President
Mark Loes, Kleinfelder
 
Secretary
Ann Ewy, USACE
 
Treasurer
Kent Dvorak, Terracon
 
Past President
Tom Poer, HNTB
 
Chaplain
Larry Myers, USACE
 
Board of Directors
Chris Prinslow, USACE
 
David Howe, Black & Veatch
 
Matt Metcalf, Tug Hill Construction
  
Jeff Cambell, JE Dunn
 
Ted Harsig, Olsson Associates
 
Al Osborne
 
Jason Meyers, Burns & McDonnell
 
Rosana Privitera Biondo, Mark One Electric Company
 
Jackie Hacker, Combined Effort
 
Missouri River Regional Vice President
Jerry Adams, BDY
 
Senior Advisor
Don Curtis COL (Ret), HDR
 
Council of Fellows Chairman
John Brake COL (Ret), JE Dunn 
Coming Soon!
 
The  
Communications Committee is in the process of revamping the Post's Website.
 
We hope to have it up and running soon!

2009 Committees

Individual Membership
Ron McCutcheon, Mc Kinzie Construction
 
Sustaining Membership
Doug Dreiling, BWR
 
Programs
Al Osborne
Garrett Cross, HNTB 
  
Young Members
Kyle Kukuk, HNTB
Nick Busalacchi, HNTB 
 
Education & Mentoring
Ted Hartsig, Olsson Associates
 
Scholarship/PE Refresher
Jason Meyers, Burns & McDonnell
 
K-12 Outreach
Jeff Campbell, JE Dunn
 
Mathcounts
Jason Kling, Burns & McDonnell
 
Student Chapter
UMKC Kyle Kukuk 
KU - Christy Cooper 
 
Strategic Planning
Mark Loes, Kleinfelder
 
Design & Construction
Chris Prinslow, USACE
 
Small Business
Jackie Hacker, Combined Effort
 
Nominating
Tom Kirkwood
 
Auditing
Jim Feikert, Henderson Engineers
 
Awards
Tom Poer, HNTB
 
Communications
Amy Lines, Kleinfelder
  
Historian
Phil Dula, HydroGeologic, Inc.
 
Endowment
Merrill Watt, Consultant
  
Readiness & Homeland Security
LTC Mike Fitzgerald, USACE
 
Joint Engineering Council
Joe Davis, Custom Engineering 
Advertize
in the Newsletter
 
The Greater Kansas City Post offers advertizing space for quarterly newsletters. Your business card size advertisement or company logo can be added for a cost of $150.00 per year.
 
Please send your artwork and check to: Amy Lines 
Kleinfelder, 7802 Barton
Lenexa, KS 66214. Once your check is received your advertizement will begin in the following issue.
 
The Post is now collecting advertising expenses for 2009. If your firm has not paid please remit payment to Amy Lines.