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.