GBA is heading to the Great Plains Waste Management Conference

For the past 57 years, professionals from across the country have converged upon LaVista, Neb. to learn about the newest trends, technologies and regulations in the water environment and solid waste management professions. The Great Plains Waste Management Conference includes more than 40 presentations, posters and tours.

Take a look at the schedule of events and be sure to attend as many as you can. Registration is still open.

In fact, make plans to stop at Waldo Margheim’s talk. He is presenting his paper “Private Service Lateral Rehabilitation Design Challenges: Johnson County Wastewater Nelson Pilot I/I Project.” Waldo, who is a GBA associate, will be speaking at 9 a.m., April 18 at the Embassy Suites. The lessons learned from this project will have national implications to how other municipalities will address I/I and rehabilitation issues.

World Water Day, March 22

Today GBA celebrates World Water Day.  Twenty years ago, the United Nations set aside this day to reflect on critical water issues. The 2013 theme is the International Year of Water Cooperation. It raises awareness for the need for increased cooperation and on the challenges facing water management and the demand for access, allocation and services.   

 

We are grateful for this precious resource and for the opportunities we have to be its steward.  

 

If you're interested in learning some great water conservation tips, visit theecologist.org.

The Need to Bowl



GBA team from left to right: Scott Moeder, Jon Karst,
Dustin Tregnago, Will Barkman, and Rob Kline.

A good time was had by all. Although the GBA team of Scott Moeder, Jon Karst, Dustin Tregnago, Will Barkman, and Rob Kline didn’t walk away with a trophy, they know the real reason they bowled was for a good cause.

For the third year, Johnson County Government hosted the ‘Feed the Need Strike Out Hunger Bowling Bash’ on March 8. The tournament raised $2,125 for local food pantries.  Poverty level in Johnson County is unfortunately increasing and Johnson County Government has found a way to help combat this by holding a bowling tournament. Members of the community are asked to form a team and the money raised goes to support local food pantries serving the County.

GBA was glad to be a part of this effort and looking forward to next year.

Engineer of the Year Award

Adam Stodola with KSPE Eastern Chapter President, Todd Black.



Adam Stodola, P.E., was awarded the 2013 Kansas Society of Professional Engineers (KSPE) Eastern Chapter ‘Engineer of the Year’.  Stodola was recognized at the annual Engineers Week Luncheon on March 7. The award recognizes Stodola’s exceptional service to the organization and the profession. 

 

An active member of KSPE since 2001, Stodola currently serves on the State Board of Directors as treasurer.  His involvement in KSPE also includes board of director committee chairmanships, membership on state committees, and community outreach through the organization's Bridge Building, MathCounts, and community service programs. Stodola was recognized as the KSPE Outstanding Engineer Intern of the Year in 2003 and Outstanding Young Engineer in 2008.

 

Stodola, who joined GBA in 2005, is an engineer with the Highways and Streets Group where he provides planning, design, and construction supervision for highway, interchange, and roadway projects for state and local agencies. 

 

Congratulations, Adam! This is quite an honor.

National Engineers Week, February 17 - 23

As an engineering firm we are excited to celebrate Engineers Week. EWeek was founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) in 1951 to ensure our nation maintains a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers.

In the Kansas City Metro there will be a luncheon for local engineers on Thursday, February 21 in celebration of this week. The luncheon is hosted by the Eastern Chapter of the Kansas Society of Professional Engineers (KSPE) and the Western Chapter of the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers (WSPE). Top students who participated in and were part of the winning teams in MATHCOUNTS, Bridge Building, and Future Cities competitions will be acknowledged. Along with these awards, KSPE and MSPE will honor engineers from their chapters.

Thank you to all of the engineers and the hard work they do to make all the systems and infrastructure in our world safe, dependable and affordable.

Ribbon Cutting in Platte County

To celebrate the new NW Cross Road Bridge in Platte County, Mo a ribbon cutting was held on January 11. Taking part in the celebration was GBA’s Jon Karst along with Platte County’s Public Works Director, Planning and Zoning, Special Roads District, County Commissioner and County Engineer. Several residents who live nearby were also present for the ribbon cutting.

GBA was selected to provide design and critical point construction inspection for Parkville Special Road District’s only bridge. The bridge is a single span steel girder 60 foot crossing. Many of the residents were excited for the new bridge because the previous bridge was a low water crossing and presented a safety hazard during rain events. The new bridge is designed to carry traffic over the 100 year flood elevation. The only concrete in the bridge is in the deck and barrier railing, and the girders are constructed from weathering steel to minimize future maintenance.

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!