Summer Welcomes Interns

Four of the eight interns including: Allison Bruner, Cody LoMonaco, Katie Cortis and Eric Babb.

Summer brings sunshine, thoughts of lazy days and interns. We are excited to welcome eight interns this summer. The interns will work in the water/wastewater, storm water/environmental, highways/streets, life sciences, bridge and traffic groups.

We are excited to get to know our interns and their ambitions for the future. If you would like to get to know each one of them, please visit the GBA website as we feature each intern throughout the summer.

National Public Works Week: Building for Today, Planning for Tomorrow

This week is National Public Works Week. It’s a time of celebration and recognition for those who have devoted their careers and creating a higher quality of life for the residents of their communities.

We here at GBA are proud to work with several public works clients on projects that add value, safety and convenience to communities across the Midwest.

Since 1960, the American Public Works Association has sponsored National Public Works Week as a time for the organization’s 28,000 members to “energize and educate the public on the importance of the contribution of public works to their daily lives: planning, building, managing and operating the heart of our local communities.”

The theme plays into public works’ effect on communities, with “building” pointing toward the day-to-day quality of life piece, while “planning” hints at the sustainable nature of the public works mission and the hope of improving future quality of life today.

The week is observed the third full week of May.

Several GBA employees will be attending the Kansas City Metro APWA Chapter’s annual National Public Works Week Luncheon at 11 a.m., May 22^nd at the Overland Park Convention Center.

Relay for Life 2014

Each year more than four million people in 20 countries participate in a Relay for Life event, which offers an inspiring opportunity to honor cancer survivors, support caregivers, promote how individuals can reduce their cancer risk, and raise money to help end cancer.

On Saturday, May 10, the GBA Team participated in Relay for Life-Lenexa at Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park, and raised $5,373. As part of the superhero theme for 2014, we chose the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by incorporating characters and costumes into our event communications. We kicked off the campaign featuring Donatello as our hero! Because he’s depicted as the smart, quick-witted and most intelligent of the four turtles, with a natural aptitude for science and technology. And we had a Raphael look-alike serving up s’mores roasted on his signature sai during relay as an on-site fundraiser.

Following the opening ceremony and a few laps around the lake, Zach Sperry and Patrick Hilderbrandt took 2^nd and 3^rd place in the frozen t-shirt contest. Contestants were given a t-shirt frozen into a ball and had to melt, smack, and pull to get the cold shirt on their body!

After many relay laps, the sun began to set as luminarias were lit in honor of cancer survivors and in memory of those who lost the fight, including loved ones and former employees of GBA.  

We want to share a special thanks to everyone who donated to our team and participated in Relay for Life this year.

GBA Celebrates Drinking Water Week 2014

This week marks National Drinking Water Week! For more than 35 years, water utilities across the U.S. have been celebrating the important role of drinking water. Safe water systems are critical to maintaining public health, economic vitality, fire protection and quality of life.

“Water is essential to our daily lives,” said Bill Carter, PE, DBIA, Vice President and Principal. “One of the greatest threats to this precious commodity is the aging infrastructure. GBA is leading the industry by proactively designing sustainable solutions so future generations can enjoy safe water.”

Safe water is also essential to the manufacturing of everyday items such as food and clothing. According to the Value of Water Coalition:

•    40 percent of water is used in agriculture to grow foods to eat and beverages to drink

• 32 gallons of water is needed to make one glass of wine
• 19 gallons of water yields one apple
• 1,230 gallons of water is necessary for the production of one beef steak

•    46 percent of water is consumed in manufacturing products to buy

• 700 gallons of water is needed to manufacture one t-shirt
• 2,100 gallons of water produces just one pair of leather shoes
• 40,000 gallons of water is needed to manufacture a single car

This week-long event is sponsored by the American Water Works Association. Additional information about Drinking Water Week can be found here.