Tis the Season

The Christmas spirit has once again spread through all of our offices. On any given day you can walk through the offices and sample treats that someone brought in to share, see decorations adorning the lobbies and cubes, and be infected with the overall good spirit of our employees. We know that we have been truly blessed and wanted to share our good tidings with others.

As though each morning was Christmas morning, gifts appeared under the trees thanks to our very generous GBA elves. This year our gifts were earmarked for various charities in the communities where we have an office. In Lenexa and Broomfield, the Salvation Army Adopt-a-Family program was chosen. During these economic times, the number of families seeking assistance has risen and this program helps tens of thousands of people in these communities. Families were provided with gifts for children and senior citizens to open on Christmas morning as well as gift certificates to purchase food.

We want to thank Sam’s Club for their donation of a gift card that also allowed us to purchase some much needed blankets. After all the gifts were sorted, we loaded up a few employees’ vehicles and took the gifts to the Olathe branch Salvation Army. The generous donations helped several families.

We are truly grateful for our freedom and our O’Fallon office showed their appreciation to our troops who are unable to be with their families during this holiday season. Give2theTroops is an organization which supports approximately one million deployed U.S. troops with care packages. Soldiers appreciate the gifts that remind them of home as well as the necessities they do not have the opportunity to go to the store and purchase at their leisure. As of December 13, Give2theTroops had sent Holiday Care Packages to more than 8,500 troops.

Thank you to everyone that donated and supported these very worthwhile and important organizations.

Happy holidays and best wishes for peace and prosperity in the New Year from all of us at GBA!  

On This Veterans Day…

Thank you to the men and women who have served or are currently serving in the military.

 

This display is in honor of family members who have served or are currently serving in the military.

 

We are honored these men and women are our family and served to protect our freedom. Some of them made the ultimate sacrifice and for that we are truly grateful. Many of these displayed fought in wars that most of us only read about in our history books. We have a great-grandfather that was in the Civil War, an uncle who witnessed the flag being raised at Iwo Jima, a grandpa that survived kamikaze pilots sinking his ship, a dad that was a ball-turret gunner on a B-17 who flew 30 missions, a grandpa that was paratrooper, and a dad that stormed the beaches of Omaha on D-Day. These are only a few of the heroic men displayed.

We, at GBA, want to welcome back Tony Casella. He recently spent six months in Oman serving as a firefighter with the US Air Force Reserves. We are glad to have him back safely and thank him for his service.

 

To all the heroes who have served over our nation’s lifetime and those currently serving, thank you.

No Tricks, Just Treats

There were no ghosts or goblins, but we did see Mini Mouse, a dinosaur, and a watermelon. Employees brought their kids to the office for trick-or-treating on Halloween at the end of the workday. It was fun to see some of the classics like Mickey and Mini Mouse, and Cinderella. A few of the other costumes included a train conductor, a rock star, and a cow. After getting their buckets full of candy here, the kids went home to go door-to-door in their neighborhoods and get more candy. What a fun holiday. 

Happy Halloween!!

Kansas Wind Brings Energy to El Dorado

The familiar Kansas wind was exactly what the City of El Dorado was hoping for on October 23, 2012 when it held a ribbon cutting for the new 1 MW wind turbine at the Wetlands and Water Reclamation Facility. The turbine is the first of its kind in the State to help power a water treatment plant. Former Gov. Mike Hayden along with representatives from the City of El Dorado, GBA, and GBA Builders were present to dedicate the new wind turbine.

Over the next 20 years, the City could see a savings of $5 to $8 million in energy costs as a result of the project. “Cities across the United States are increasingly tasked to do more with less. The City of El Dorado has made a conscious effort to invest in green technology, so that we can do more and hold down our operational costs,” said Kurt Bookout, the City of El Dorado Public Utilities Manager.

Reducing its carbon footprint is important to the City and installing the wind turbine at the treatment plant is a positive step in that direction.

 

To see the dedication, please click on the video below.

 

GBA Welcomes Michelle Brewer as New Controller

Michelle Brewer has joined GBA as the new Controller.  As the Controller, Brewer will be responsible for day-to-day financial and accounting operations and will play a key role in developing and implementing financial and accounting strategy and policies. 

“We are very excited for Michelle to join our team. Her public accounting experience, CPA designation, and familiarity with our company are going to be tremendous assets to us,” said GBA's CFO, Shaun Kotwitz, CPA. 

Michelle joins GBA with 13 years of experience in the financial and accounting fields, including most recently serving as an Assurance Manager with McGladrey.  Brewer is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in Kansas and a graduate of Truman State University, where she graduated with a MS and BS degree in Accounting.  

Welcome to GBA, Michelle!

Big Dawg Open

Our hometown Great Plains SPCA had great weather and even better turn out for the Fourth Annual Big Dawg Golf tournament. The golf tournament helped to support the organization’s mission to save, protect and improve the lives of animals, while strengthening the relationship between pets and their human companions. With projected gross revenue of $228,000, the tournament raised enough money to save thousands of animals.

Tawn Nugent represented GBA’s hole sponsorship and joined 257 other golfers on the course. One of our valued partners, Trent Robinett with TREKK Design Group, joined in the fun to show his support of the organization as well.

Golden Manhole Society Inductee

No, it’s not a secret society, but it is a prestigious one. On August 29^th, Tim Schneller was awarded with the Golden Manhole Society honor at the Kansas WaterEnvironment Association (KWEA) annual awards luncheon. He joins fellow co-workers Bill Carter and Gary Beck who have won the award in past years.

 

The Golden Manhole society was founded in 1998 and recognizes top professionals for their contributions to the collection system industry through volunteerism on regional and national collection systems committees, writing of papers and articles and over all respected reputation. Tim’s reputation has definitely contributed to his induction. He is known as “The Professor” for his innovation, thought-provoking solutions and willingness to share his knowledge.

 

Congratulations, Tim! It is quite an honor.

Beautiful Day for Golf

"Challenge the Teen” is what participants were faced with on August 24 in the Rocky Mountain Chapter ISPE Golf Tournament in Brighton, Colorado. GBA sponsored Hole 11 where Michelle Marquardt and Katie McKenzie oversaw the game. Joe Winslow’s teen son is quite the golfer and teams had an opportunity to challenge him for a chance to win money.  Team participants were entered in the drawing to win in one of two ways: If participants opted to “Challenge the Teen” from the blue tees they were required to tie their score with GBA’s teen. The alternative option resulted in teams playing from the blue tees while GBA’s teen played at a longer distance from the black tees. In this event, ISPE golfers had to bring in a lower score than our teen. All teams were able to play the hole as a scramble affording them with several opportunities to tie or beat our teen. Winners were Ryan Penny, Brent Beisharr, and Jon Schlottman from Haldemann-Homme and Jeff Keckler with Amico. Congrats, gentlemen!

 

With an overall participation of 35 teams, GBA’s Life Sciences Group had two teams of four which included Mike Glasker and Becky Rivoire hosting clients from GlobeImmune and QSPEC. Joe Winslow participated on the second team with clients from Piper Electric and Aerotek Scientific.

 

As it turned out, it was a beautiful day for golf.

BBQ Battle Results

Over the June 22-23 weekend Genuswine Brisket Authority went head-to-head against 184 other BBQ teams competing for the title of best BBQ in Kansas. Although the Grand Champion title eluded them, they did very well getting 18th over all.
Thanks to everyone that came out and supported the GBA team. Great job!

Battle of the BBQ

More BBQ? You bet!

GBA’s  Genuswine Brisket Authority is staying busy. Last Friday, June 15^th, they competed in the Kansas City Metro Chapter of the APWA’s Membership BBQ contest and won 1^st place in the chicken category.   This weekend, June 22-23, they will participate in the Great Lenexa BBQ Battle at Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park where they will compete with approximately 200 other BBQ teams. If you like BBQ this is the place to be.

The City of Lenexa recently renovated Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park with a newly constructed dam and spillway. While you are sampling delicious BBQ you can take a stroll across the pedestrian bridge and have a seat in one of the new viewing areas. You can enjoy great food and great scenery in one location.
If you’re going to be at the event, please stop by the booth and say hello. For more information on the event, please visit http://www.lenexa.com/parks/festivals_bbq.html.

   

And the Winner Is...

Accepting the 1st Place Award from Dave Mennenga
is Jennifer Gunby and Molly Oller.

The Genuswine Brisket Authority (GBA) BBQ team took first place at the APWA Membership BBQ in the chicken category. A total of 16 teams competed.
Although the team did not take first in all the categories, GBA endured the heat and came away with 7th place overall. Way to go team!

APWA Membership BBQ

The Genuswine Brisket Authority (GBA) BBQ team is returning to the American Public Works Association (APWA) Membership BBQ contest on June 15. Each year the BBQ is hosted by the Kansas City Chapter of APWA to raise awareness about the organization and try to recruit new members.
This is a friendly one-day contest consisting of approximately 15 teams competing in various categories such as ribs, pork, chicken, and sausage. GBA's team includes Jennifer Gunby, Clint Loumaster, Molly Oller, Josh Tedder, and Jon Karst. The team is returning in order to defend their first place medal in the sausage category from 2011.
If you're interested in becoming an APWA member and eating some great BBQ, you can get more details at http://kcmetro.apwa.net/events/chapter/.
Good Luck, GBA!!

Enjoy Retirement, Roy!!

We knew the day was coming, but it seems as though it arrived too soon. Roy Wilson is retiring after 34 years with GBA. During his time with GBA he was a mentor to many and he will be missed. He served on the Board of Directors and was a Principal in our Buildings Group since 1987. The company owes much of its success to him. Thanks Roy!

It will not be the same around here without Roy, but we are very excited for him. Good luck and we hope you enjoy retirement.

The following are some well wishes from those who have worked with Roy over the years.

Since the day Roy hired me he has been my mentor and has provided his unwavering support. He gave me an opportunity, provided a foundation on which to base my career, and been a great friend. He has provided his unwavering support for our group, and has always been available to listen to our gripes, help us with the hard decisions and celebrate with our successes. We could not have asked for a better leader and there are not enough words to thank him. I wish him all the best in his new career with his family. – Alan Lehman

 
I have enjoyed getting an opportunity to work with you, and I appreciate your tutelage. Best wishes in retirement! – Katie McKenzie

Good luck Roy, thanks for all your coaching and your level-headed and calm approach to all situations. - Steve C.

Hey Roy, its “Old Wood” here talking at you. Man, it’s been a long haul but you’ve made it. I will always remember those awesome eggroll’s you brought in on special occasions and the bacon-burger-dogs at our cookouts – you are the master. Thanks for all the good times we’ve had together at GBA. Enjoy your retirement and keep in touch!   - Gale Starman

Congratulations and best of luck as you enjoy your retirement years.  Your organizational skills and constant attention to detail made us a good team and improved the quality of our documents.  You were my teacher, mentor and dear friend, and I miss you very much.  Thank you for all of your help and guidance.  I hope you will stay in touch and let me know how your family grows.  Aloha, E Hui Ho, Malama Pono… - Pat Cotter

Roy, thanks for all you have taught me in my time at GBA, it is greatly appreciated. I look forward to updates on your new endeavors and know we will stay in touch. - Brian Steiner

Roy, I have really enjoyed working with you over the last 14 years and have learned a lot from you. Enjoy retirement and best of luck in all future endeavors! - Dennis Eisenbarth

Memorial Day

During this Memorial Day, we at GBA want to acknowledge all of those who have died while serving in our military. We truly appreciate their sacrifice and know that our freedom is due to their courageous service. They will always be remembered.

Teaching Students about Public Works

Prior to National Public Works Week (NPWW) which is May 20-26, the APWA K-12 Outreach Committee visited two elementary schools in an effort to promote public works and help students understand it. GBA employees Waldo Margheim, Cory Clark, and Heidi Thummel were a part of the visits.

The activities included coloring pages from the P.W. Paws Works for Our City book, a video produced by American Public Works Association (APWA) titled “Everday Heroes”, and completing exercises in Discovering the World of Public Works workbook. The students also created the centerpieces used at the NPWW Luncheon on May 23.

Waldo Margheim teaching the
students about Public Works.

One student from Prairie Ridge wrote a thank you letter that said, "Yesterday I learned about public works. I learned about Mr. Margheim's job, he makes water clean. If we didn't have him we wouldn't have clean water. If we didn't have him we might be sick. I could think of a lot more - that is why public works is so important."



Upcoming Conferences We’re Attending

GBA employees will be attending the following conferences in June and hope to see you at the conference programs or the social events.

WEF Collections Systems Conference

• June 3-6
• St. Louis, MO
• Attending: Bill Carter, Gary Beck, Waldo Margheim, Dennis Cantrell, and Jim Dunajcik
• Hope to see you at the MWEA opening social event that starts at 6:30 p.m. on June 3 at the Anheuser Busch Brewery.

AWEAWindpower 2012

• June 3-6
• Atlanta, GA
• Attendign: Alex Garr

7x24 Exchange

• June 10-13
• Orlando, FL
• Attending: Alan Lehman

MWCC (Missouri Waste Control Coalition)

• June 17-19
• Lake of the Ozarks, MO
• Stop by and see us at Booth #9
• Attending: Jennifer Gunby
• Jennifer will also co-present with James Price of Spencer, Fane and Britt & Browne, LLP. The topic is Renewable Energy at Remediation Sites: Legal, Technical, and Financing Considerations

KSPE Annual Conference

• June 27-29
• Overland Park, KS
• Attending: Tim Ross, Clarence Munsch, Adam Stodola, Andy Floy, and Tawn Nugent

Congratulations Waldo Margheim

Waldo Margheim, an Associate with GBA’s Water Environment Group, was recognized for serving as co-chair of the Missouri Water Environment Association’s Government Affairs committee.  Presenting the award to Waldo is Jeff Clarke, past president of MWEA. Waldo has been a MWEA member for six years. Congratulations, Waldo!

MWEA is a non-profit organization focused on the preservation and enhancement of water quality and water resources that was formed in 1928.

Lea Murray – US Citizen

Congratulations to Lea Murray! She is officially a US Citizen. Lea is an administrative assistant in our O’Fallon, MO office and is originally from the Philippines.

“I am very excited that I finally became an American Citizen after 10 years of living here in the US as a Permanent Resident. Few of the privileges that I am excited about are The Right to Vote for Federal Government, get a U.S. passport and I can sponsor my mom and my sister to come to the United States and that is one of my biggest dreams is to reunite with them finally after ten long years of waiting.”

On May 7, 2012 Lea participated in the Oath Ceremony at the Ulysses S. Grant National Park in St. Louis, MO. The ceremony was administered by the Honorable May Ann L. Medler, Chief United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri. Christopher W. Dempsey, Senior Litigation Counsel for National Security of U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division was the guest speaker. Lea was one of 96 petitioners from 42 different countries who became US Citizens at the ceremony.

We are so excited for Lea and hope all of her dreams come true!

Nathan Johnson Awarded the 2012 KCASA Engineer of the Year

Congratulations to Nathan for being recognized as the Engineer of the Year through the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the American Subcontractor Association (KCASA). On April 19, Nathan attended the 2012 KCASA Industry Awards Dinner where he received his award. This was the first time in the 16-year history of the awards that an individual engineer was recognized. Way to go Nathan for being the inaugural winner!

Nathan is a structural engineer at GBA and works on a variety of structures including steel, masonry, concrete, and timber. With this work he is in contact with many general contractors and subcontractors and obviously made a good impression on them. Over 200 ballots were sent and Nathan received the top vote in his category.

KCASA is a non-profit organization that represents construction subcontractors, specialty trade contractors, and suppliers.

2012 Concrete Canoe Luncheon

A concrete canoe? And it floats? Doesn’t seem possible, does it? 

On Saturday April 20, GBA sponsored a luncheon for the 25th Annual ASCE Concrete Canoe Competition. Students from the Mid-Continent Conference gathered at Holmes Lake Park in Lincoln, Neb. to test their engineering skills and paddled their concrete canoes. The canoes were a concrete mixture that was light enough to float and strong enough to carry two engineering students.

Nine volunteers from GBA made the trip to Lincoln and provided a Bar-B-Que lunch for the 250 students, volunteers, and professors. Lunch included pulled pork made by the GBA BBQ team, brats, baked beans, chips, and cookies. The weather didn’t seem like it was going to cooperate at the beginning of the day, but the sun finally broke through the clouds and the wind died down. It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon.

This was the fifth time GBA sponsored the luncheon at the event and the students that ate the food on Saturday hoped it would not be the last.

Volunteers from l to r: Adam Stodola, Keri McGill, Jennifer Gunby, Kiel Johnson, Cheri Schoenhals, Matt Fowler, Molly Oller, Erin Moeder, and Scott Moeder

East Village Parking Structure - Opening for Business

Construction has been completed on the 340-stall parking structure located between 9th and 10th Streets on Cherry, which serves the needs of the adjacent building leased to the FAA and other nearby tenants.

The structure, built within a budget of $5.1 million, adds a great amenity to East Village with a design as aesthetically appealing as it is practical and cost-effective. GBA’s economical design reduced the overall pricetag of $15,000 per stall.

“Compared with other recently constructed parking garages in the vicinity for more than $20,000 per stall, we were very happy to deliver this project to our client within their budget,” according to Craig Rogge, AIA, LEED AP, GBA’s project manager.

Design features include cast-in-place, post-tensioned concrete, decorative architectural precast and anodized aluminum perforated panels for screening. The single-threaded helix design contributes greatly to the cost efficiency on the project. Particular attention also has been paid to streetscaping and landscape around the entire perimeter next to the downtown streets.

GBA was selected by GF Properties, a subsidiary of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, to provide architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, and traffic studies.

"Working with the GBA team was a key factor in the success of the East Village Parking Structure. The exterior appearance, efficient design, and cost of the structure exceeded our expectations. It is also nice to work with people who have such a professional attitude. Throughout the design and construction process, I always knew GBA was looking out for our best interests. We hope to work with GBA again in the future." - Linda Kaboth, Vice President - National Division, GF Properties

GBA Opens Office in Broomfield, Colorado

GBA has opened an office at 12303 Airport Way, Suite 105 in Broomfield, Colorado.  The office will focus on providing GBA’s multi-disciplined services for building projects in the life sciences industry, as well as data centers and telecommunications to clients in the region. 

GBA's Life Sciences Group has been serving clients in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries for over 20 years and will be expanding services in this office with the addition of Joe Winslo on staff. Winslow, who has more than 20 years of experience in the industry, will oversee the GBA Colorado operations. "We are very excited. For the past several years our Life Sciences Group has been working with clients in Colorado. To allow us to better serve that market, we have opened an office in Broomfield," says Dan Abitz, PE, Senior Vice President and Principal.

Progress on El Dorado Wind Turbine

The foundation for the 1 MW Nordic wind turbine that will be providing clean renewable energy to the Wetlands and Water Reclamation Facility in El Dorado, KS is being poured today. The installation is expected to be complete by May of this year.  The hub height of this Nordic wind turbine is 70 meters (approximately 230 feet) above the ground.

 

GBA engineers completed permitting and all necessary design work, while GBA Builders is providing construction management. The foundation is 50’ in diameter by 10.5’ deep octagonal footing. There will be enough concrete poured to build a 4’ wide sidewalk almost two-miles long. With that concrete is approximately 91,000 lbs of rebar.

We’ll keep you updated on the progress so keep checking back!

Striking Out for a Good Cause

The GBA team shown in the picture includes (l to r) Doug Carpenter, Rob Kline, Geoff Vohs, and Jim Jarrett along with his daughter Abriel Jarrett. Geoff is with Johnson County Public Works. The team came in first place (B-Flight) with a total pin count of 1,835. According to Rob Kline it was truly a team effort. Way to go team!

Although first place is always nice, the real reason behind playing the game was even nicer. This was the Second Annual ‘Feed the Need to Strike Out Hunger Bowling Bash’ hosted by Johnson County Government. The poverty level in Johnson County is unfortunately increasing and Johnson County has found a way to help combat this by inviting all departments to host events to 'Feed the Need'. Members of the community are asked to form a team and the money raised goes to support 10 local food pantries serving the County.

The Strike Out Hunger Bowling Bash 2012 was a great event, raising a total of $3,200 for the pantries. GBA was glad to be a part of this effort and looks forward to another victory next year.

Testifying in Favor of Commercial Net Metering

Jennifer Gunby, PE, LEED AP

Jennifer Gunby, an engineer in GBA’s Wind Energy group, testified in favor of Senate Bill No. 383 on Monday February 13. She was not alone in this endeavor. Jennifer, along with Michael Wenger, Chief of Energy Operations with the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC); Kurt Bookout, Director of Public Utilities with the City of El Dorado; and Brad Estes with BTI Wind Energy in Greensburg.  Jennifer Jenkins, Executive Director of Distributed Wind Energy Association (DWEA) and Phillip Dickinson, Director of Sales & Marketing Nordic Windpower also submitted written testimony in favor of the Bill.

Senate Bill No. 383 would amend the current net metering policy, increasing the net metered project cap from 200 kW to 3 MW for commercial, industrial, school, local government, state government, federal government, agricultural and intuitional customers.  

Michael Wenger opened the proponents testimony stating, “When the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) issued its 2011 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard it was disheartening to learn that Kansas was ranked 48 out of 51.  The Commission Staff was asked ‘What can Kansas do to improve this ranking?’ A simple change would be to increase the net metering limit for commercial and industrial customers from 200kW to 3MW.”

Not everyone is in favor of Bill No. 383. Mark Schreiber with Westar Energy, who was also representing KCP&L and Empire District Electric, testified against the bill while David Springe with Citizens’ Utility Ratepayer Board (CURB) submitted written testimony against it. They are opposed to the Bill because it increases the cap to 15 times the limit they agreed to three years ago.  They feel that integrating a 3MW wind turbine into their distribution system would be a challenge and would also be expensive.  They also feel that this creates a greater cross-subsidization of net-metered power.

The proponents of SB 383 pointed out in their testimony that distributed renewable energy (i.e., behind-the-meter installations) generates local economic activity, increases tax revenues, improves fuel diversity, promotes energy independence, lowers consumer energy costs, reduces the need for expensive long-distance transmission projects and visibly demonstrates a commitment to environmental conservation.  To counter Westar’s concern, since net metered customers would size their generation to their expected load, it was stated that a utility could handle 3 MW moving across their lines as they are able to provide a customer with 3 MW of energy coming into the facility.

If you would like more information regarding Senate Bill No. 383, please contact Jennifer Gunby at jgunby@gbateam.com.

Record Crowd Gathers to Participate in Resourceful Kansas Seminar

Public officials throughout the State of Kansas attend one-day session demonstrating benefits on energy efficiency, renewable energy and energy conservation.

A record-breaking number of participants, including 28 people from 18 organizations attended a full-day of training and education as Resourceful Kansas launched its fifth seminar on January 25. GBA’s Energy Studio, in partnership with Riley County Public Works and Kansas State University, hosted the event which provides an in-depth tutorial on energy saving technologies, public and private financing, incentives and installations of renewable energy systems.

Resourceful Kansas is funded by a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and is intended to engage communities throughout Kansas in making a fundamental shift towards a more energy efficient economy. Cities, counties, and state agencies; public schools, unified school districts, and private schools; public colleges, universities, and technical schools; agribusinesses; and non-profit organizations are all eligible to apply for the program. Once selected, organizations have an opportunity to attend the one-day seminar in Riley County, Kansas at no cost.

By the conclusion of the program in 2013, eight seminars will have been held at Riley County Public Works, an award-winning facility demonstrating the benefits of wind, solar and other renewable energy sources. A tour of facility grounds provides a glance at these installations, some of which include, a 100kW wind turbine, solar energy systems, a 200,000 BTU waste oil heater, and a 30-ton geothermal heating and cooling system.

After attending the seminar, GBA’s technical staff provides on-site assistance to selected participating organizations to promote energy efficiency, energy conservation and renewable energy generation projects. The program is also designed to provide more than 80 energy assessments which will be conducted across the state to participating organizations, free of charge, as funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

To date, 74 participants have successfully completed the program. Three more Resourceful Kansas seminars will be held in the coming months and more than 45 organizations will receive an opportunity to attend these remaining sessions. Find out if your organization is eligible to apply for Resourceful Kansas by visiting http://www.resourcefulkansas.org./