This message was sent to ##Email## September 11, 2019 Vol. 49 No. 36          Home  |   About Us  |   Membership  |   Resources  |   Events  |   Contact Us Subscribe  |   Archive    GBA NEWS First Responder Recalls 9-11 Clarkson University Alumni Magazine On the morning of September 11, 2001, Leo Titus, P.E. received an important call summoning him to the Pentagon. An hour earlier, at 9:37 a.m., American Airlines flight 77, which had taken off from Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., en route to Los Angeles, had crashed into the west side of the Pentagon. The Boeing 757 carried 64 people (including five terrorists) and was loaded with 10,000 gallons of fuel when it hit the west side of the Pentagon at more than 350 mph. “Walking into the burning, devastated building was very frightening and very eerie,” he recalls. “Flaming wreckage and victims’ bodies were everywhere. We were climbing over debris and the heat was unimaginable. It was so dark that I could not see more than a few inches in front of me. Scalding hot water was dripping from the ceiling. I really had no idea what I was in for.” Leo J. Titus, Jr. P.E. is President of ECS Mid-Atlantic, LLC. A subsidiary of ECS, Ltd. And a member of the GBA Board of Directors. Read More NEW! GBA Guide to Teaming Agreements and Joint Ventures GBA Legal Affairs Committee As a valued member of a design team, geoprofessionals should play a very important role in the pursuit of projects, particularly large projects with significant potential costs associated with soil-related design issues. These pursuit relationships are often defined in Teaming Agreements or even a more formal relationship, known as a Joint Venture. This GBA Best Practices document discusses the most common types of project-pursuit agreements identifying what you should and should not do, elements of complete Teaming Agreements and Joint Ventures with a complete sample agreement for your use. GBA Best Practices are Free to all members. Download GBA’s Guide to Teaming Agreements and Joint Ventures Here NEW! GBA Case History: Practice Management Related to FMLA and ADA GBA Publications Committee After terminating an employee for poor attendance and inadequate job performance, a member firm is faced with alleged violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ATDA). This Case History emphasized Project Managers must be trained in basic human resources (HR) issues and the importance of documentation when dealing with employee performance management. Learn from others. Don’t repeat the mistakes of the past! GBA Case Histories are being used by our members for loss prevention discussions in support of professional development and mentoring. That is why GBA case histories are so valuable, and why GBA continues to produce new ones. GBA Case Histories are FREE to all Members. Download GBA’s Case History #107 HERE GBA Fall Conference in One Month - Register Now! GBA Program Committee Please join us as we continue a yearlong celebration of GBA’s 50th Anniversary and explore the opportunities of BIG DATA at the Fall Conference at the Omni Louisville Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. The agenda has been finalized and you won’t want to miss this one. Please Join Us – October 3-5, 2019 Conference Theme: BIG DATA Means Big Opportunities Conference Details and Registration IN CASE YOU MISSED IT GBA The most Popular Article from our last issue of GBA NEWSlog: Watch the Ridgecrest earthquake shatter the desert floor in stunning before-and-after images. A Look Back: NEWSlog Published After September 11, 2001 GBA's 50th Anniversary Task Force We enter the NEWSlog archive to review the issue published just after September 11, 2001. The issue includes an article entitled “The Show Must Go On” in which that explains why ASFE did not cancel the 2001 Fall Meeting in the wake of the attacks. Download Here  EVENTS Future GBA Events: Mark Your Calendars Now Fall Conference 2019: October 3-5, 2019 at the Omni Louisville Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky Winter Leadership Summit 2020: January 25-26, 2020 in Denver, Colorado Spring Conference 2020: April 23-25, 2020 at the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort and Spa in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida Fall Conference 2020: October 22-24, 2020 at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis Hotel, in Minneapolis, MN For more information: GBA EVENTS CALENDAR  MEMBER NEWS HART CROWSER PROMOTIONS AND NEW HIRES Hart Crowser Hart Crowser recently announced the promotion and addition of new staff members. Read More KLEINFELDER ANNOUNCES CEO SUCCESSION Kleinfelder The Kleinfelder Group, Inc., a leading engineering, construction management, design, and environmental professional services firm, announced that its Board of Directors has approved a planned succession for the appointment of Louis Armstrong, President, to the positions of Chief Executive Officer and President, effective September 30, 2019. Armstrong will succeed current Chief Executive Officer George J. Pierson, who will become Kleinfelder’s Executive Chairman. Read More New NOVA Office in Augusta, Georgia NOVA More exciting things are happening at NOVA! Their operations have now expanded to include a new office opening in Augusta, Georgia. Read More Terracon Names Russell Clark as National Manager of Construction Consulting Services Terracon Terracon, a nationally known and respected consulting engineering firm, has named Russell Clark, AIA, National Manager of Construction Consulting Services. “Terracon is a fantastic environment to continue my career as a building consultant — I especially enjoy working with talented professionals who are dedicated to delivering quality service to our clients in the construction lending sector,” Clark said. Read More US Department of Energy Contract Extension for Atkins Nuclear Secured at Hanford SNC Lavalin Atkins Nuclear Secured Holdings Corporation, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group (TSX:SNC), is pleased to announce the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of River Protection in Richland, Washington, intends to extend the current tank operations contract with Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS). The contract extension could run up to 12 months, from October 1, 2019, to September 30, 2020, with an approximate value of $725 million. WRPS is a partnership that includes AECOM and Atkins. For SNC-Lavalin, this contract is under SNCL Engineering Services. Read More Blackburn Employees Compete in the 2019 Great American Triathlon Blackburn Consulting Recently, Blackburn sent two teams to compete in the Great American Triathlon, the Sacramento region’s premier summertime outdoor sporting event set on the stunning American River Parkway in Rancho Cordova, California. Following the same course as the final Eppie’s The Great Race, The Great American Triathlon included a 5.82-mile run, a 12.5-mile bike and a 6.10-mile paddle. Read More  BOARD OF DIRECTORS President: Arthur “Art” Hoffmann, P.E., D.GE (Gannett Fleming, Inc./ Harrisburg, PA), 717/763-7211 President-Elect: Kenneth R. "Ken" Johnston, (GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. / Norwood, MA), 781/278-3700 Secretary/Treasurer: Thomas W. "Tom" Blackburn, P.E., G.E., F.ASCE (Blackburn Consulting / Auburn, CA), 530/887-1494 Directors: Saiid Behboodi, P.E., G.E., (PBS Engineering + Environmental / Portland, OR), 503/417-7707 Chuck A. Gregory, P.E. (Terracon / San Antonio, TX), 210/641-2112 Christopher Matthew "Matt" Moler, P.E. (S&ME, Inc. / Greensboro, NC), 336/553-1245 Leo J. Titus, Jr. P.E., (ECS, Ltd. / Chantilly, VA), 703/471-8400 Martin LaRoche, P. Eng, M.Sc. (SNC-Lavalin / Montreal, Canada) Matthew "Matt" R. Poirier, P.E. (Sanborn Head & Associates, Inc. Concord, NH)  INDUSTRY NEWS September 11th - A National Day of Service and Remembrance in the U.S. National & Community Service Today is Patriot Day, September 11, a National Day of Service and Remembrance. On this day Americans across the country are called to volunteer in their local communities in tribute to the individuals lost and injured in the attacks, first responders, and the many who have risen in service to defend freedom. Find a Volunteer Opportunity Here Operations Feature: Prepare Your Business for an Emergency Department of Homeland Security MTI is fortunate to be celebrating 25 amazing years of service to communities throughout the Northwest. In lieu of our annual King of the Barbie competition, this year please join us as we celebrate 25 years and look forward to our exciting Atlas future. Read More Science Feature: Hot Rocks, A Geological History of NYC Parks NYC Parks Although New York City is known around the world for its manmade wonders, the region has its own interesting geologic features that are no less monumental. Read More Technology Feature: Top 6 Fears About Future Technology BigThink Many of our greatest fears stem from uncertainty about the future, and technology has made the future very uncertain indeed. Read More How to Survive a Recession and Thrive Afterward HBR There is a growing concern that the next recession may be on the horizon. Most firms suffer during a recession, primarily because demand (and revenue) falls and uncertainty about the future increases. But research shows that there are ways to mitigate the damage. It may be good timing to consider what kept some firms not only surviving but thriving during the last recession. Read More Groundbreaking Earthquake Catalog May Have Just Solved a Seismic Mystery National Geographic Lab-made quakes suggested that we should see hints of activity before a big event, but this pattern has been elusive in nature—until now. The only possible precursors that stood out were foreshocks, the tiny temblors that can occur before a larger main event. In lab experiments, foreshocks have been observed leading up to almost all simulated earthquakes. But this pattern has been missing in real earthquake data, vexing seismologists. Now, though, a high-resolution catalog of millions of earthquakes in Southern California may have cracked the mystery. Read More Developing Positive Workplace Cultures HR News As the world of work and business continues to evolve, attracting, retaining and developing the right employees has always been an important factor for business success, but why has it become the latest “trend” in the HR world? Positive culture – positive employees? Read More Words of Wisdom “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.” -John Wayne NEWSlog Connect with GBA Recent Issues | Subscribe | Unsubscribe | Web Version  GBA Staff: Joel G. Carson, Executive Director, 301-565-2733 (office) | 402-517-1819 (cell) Sara Menase, Program Manager, 301-565-2733  Phillip D. Pettway, Controller, 301-565-2733  Barbara A. Nappy, Program Director, 301-565-2733 (office) | 727-457-2272 (cell) Geoprofessional Business Association 15800 Crabbs Branch Way, Suite 300  | Rockville, MD 20855 | 301-565-2733 | Contact Us  About GBA The Geoprofessional Business Association (GBA) helps its members and their clients confront risk and optimize business performance by delivering unique professional resources, programs, and services that make them stronger, smarter and more successful. Learn how to add us to your safe-sender list so our e-mails get to your inbox. 7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063