To the ACEC Community,
I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Labor Day. As we say goodbye to Summer, it’s time to recap the month of August and review everything the team at ACEC National did to support our federation and the engineering industry.
Most notably, August marked the end of political convention season and – like the Republican Convention in Milwaukee -- ACEC was on the ground in Chicago for the Democratic Convention. ACEC leaders engaged with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR), senior leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus, the senior Democrat on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Rick Larsen (D-WA), and our Chair-elect – John Rathke – even had face time with the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. It was a memorable week of flying the ACEC flag with key party leaders.
Looking ahead, we are also hard at work preparing for the 2024 Fall Conference taking place in New Orleans, which is quickly approaching next month. With 470 attendees already signed up to attend, registration is tracking well ahead of last year’s pace, and the event is shaping up to be one not to be missed.
We just secured our Awards Lunch speaker, which rounds out an impressive roster of General Session Speakers. James Lawrence is an ultra-endurance athlete who has pushed himself beyond what many doctors previously believed to be physiologically possible. In so doing, he has redefined both mental toughness and physical endurance. His keynote address “Redefine Impossible” shares his family’s inspiring journey from rock bottom to new heights of human potential.
Join us to hear James’s incredible story and then stay to honor scholarship and Young Professional Award winners, new Fellows, Community Service Award and Distinguished Service Award winners, and more during the following Awards Program.
The early-bird deadline is Sept. 20. Register today to secure the best rates and reserve your room in the host hotel—the Hyatt Regency New Orleans.
Advocacy
In August, ACEC attended the Democratic National Convention held in Chicago, Illinois led by ACEC Chair Gary Raba, President & CEO Linda Darr and incoming chair John Rathke. ACEC Illinois President & CEO Kevin Artl held a fundraising reception for the Chair of the Illinois Senate Transportation Committee along with Cong. Raja Krishnamoorthi with over 90 people attending.
ACEC hosted a reception for US Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), chair of the Senate Finance Committee and attended several events with the House and Senate Democratic campaign committees. In addition, ACEC met with over 40 lawmakers including members and staff of the Congressional Black Caucus and an event featuring House T&I Committee ranking member, Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA).
After months of pressure from ACEC and coalition allies the Senate attempted to move forward with consideration of H.R. 7024, the bipartisan business and family tax package that includes a temporary fix for R&D amortization; the effort came up short because many Senate Republicans have concerns about the child tax credit provisions in the bill. Senate Majority Leader Schumer preserved the option to return to consideration of H.R. 7024 and ACEC is pushing for a vote during the lame duck session following the November election.
ACEC facilitated sessions on State DOT overhead audit procedures, consistency in FAR interpretation, executive compensation reviews, and other key industry topics at the annual AASHTO Audit Committee conference.
ACEC Advocacy staff participated in ACEC’s South Carolina Kick-off Membership Meeting and presented to members an overview of the legislative calendar and outlook of political campaigns, as well as a presentation of ACEC’s advocacy program at ACEC North Carolina’s summer meeting.
Minuteman Fund Grants:
In August, four Minuteman Fund grants were awarded: Washington State received a grant to fight against a November ballot initiative attempting to roll back a state law that includes infrastructure funding; Indiana received a grant to help establish a “QBS Ambassador” program to educate on, and advance, the cause of QBS; Georgia was awarded a grant to help pass an expanded QBS law; and Metropolitan Washington and Virginia received a joint grant for advocacy efforts directed to the largest class of new Virginia legislators and General Assembly leaders since Reconstruction.
Communications & Marketing:
The Communications and Marketing team hosted its latest Engineering and Public Roadshow event in Golden, CO to celebrate the Clear Creek Canyon Park Gateway Segment. This project was a 2023 EEA winner from Muller Engineering. We were pleased to be joined by Rep. Brittany Petterson at the event, as well as several aspiring engineers. Watch the livestream here.
In addition to the event in Colorado, the department is working on upcoming Roadshow events, including a presence at the North Carolina Great Trails State Conference in early September, as well as an event later in the month at the Javits Center in New York City during NYC Climate Week. Learn more at infrastructureroadshow.org.
The department also began work on the 2023-2024 ACEC annual report, which will be delivered online for the first time ever. The report is nearing completion and will be released in the coming weeks.
Membership & BRE:
The CASE Summer Meeting was hosted by ACEC Minnesota August 8-9 and featured two days of sessions, committee meetings, and networking opportunities – all designed around collaboration and knowledge-sharing to advance the structural engineering profession.
The CAMEE Coalition announced a new online education session, Enhancing Indoor Air Quality: Key Updates to ASHRAE Standard 241, which is slated for September 24 and will cover the new guidelines and changes to enhance indoor air quality in various environments. Register here.
Registration is also open for BIM Demystified: Ensuring Efficiency Accuracy and Communication throughout the Building Lifecycle, scheduled for September 26. The session is presented by the COPS Coalition and in cooperation with the U.S. Institute of Building Documentation (USIBD), a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the adoption and development of building documentation as an industry standard practice.
The Market Intelligence team released the latest market brief on the health care and science+technology sectors, which includes the top five trends, government affairs action and business development insights. Access the latest brief here and subscribe to have the briefs delivered to your inbox here.
The Market Intelligence team also hosted the third of four market live briefings featuring health care and life sciences market experts, including: Debbie Beck, Health Care Operations and Planning Executive & Principal for Perkins+Will; Jason D’Orlando, Executive Managing Director - Industrial, Life Sciences, and Mission Critical PDS Lead for Cushman & Wakefield; and Sarah Scheffel , Senior Development Manager for the HYM Investment Group, LLC. Access the recording here.
ACEC Research Institute
Released Q3 2024 Engineering Business Sentiment. Here is a link to the report and the recorded Future of Engineering Roundtable.
Launched the Design-Build Phase 2 research project, hosting a Steering Committee of a dozen industry executives representing public and private clients, concessionaires, engineers, designers, legal and insurance. The research team is led by Dr. Keith Molenaar, Dean, College of Engineering & Applied Science, University of Colorado-Boulder.
Opened the FY25 Scholarship Application platform for college engineering students, with access to over 100 scholarships nationwide, totaling nearly $1 million.
We’re looking forward to a busy season as we gear up for our Fall Conference.
Linda Bauer Darr
President & CEO
American Council of Engineering Companies | ACEC
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