By: Dan Schaefer, P.E. (Froehling & Robertson, Inc.)

I was born and raised in Rochester, New York. After reading the children’s book “Who Built the Highway” at an early age, I was hooked and knew that somehow, someway, I was going to be involved in construction. For my seventh birthday, I had been lobbying hard to get a sandbox and some Tonka toys. As it turned out, my dad had a friend in the sand and gravel business, and he had a dump truck full of sand delivered to our house and about half of our backyard became my sandbox. This quickly became a neighborhood gathering spot where my friends and I (and even some parents) spent endless days playing and building. As I got older, I helped out in my father’s law office during school vacations, but preferred to walk around the city and watch the different construction projects rise up out of the ground.

Another defining part of my youth was spending most summers in Canada, either at my grandparents’ summer house on an island in the St. Lawrence River, or at a wilderness canoe tripping camp in Algonquin Provincial  Park that I attended as a youth and also worked at as a counselor into my college years. My summers were filled with fishing, hiking, swimming, sailing, canoeing, camping, and many other outdoor activities with friends and family. I reflect on these summers all the time and how fortunate I was to have this opportunity and freedom to explore.

In high school, I excelled in math and loved various shop classes, especially wood shop, where I made all sorts of household items I still see every day. However, I did not have much career aspiration and thought I might want to be a math teacher someday. That was until one of my father’s clients, who owned a pre-cast concrete company, asked me what I like to do. I told him I liked construction, the outdoors and math, and he suggested I seriously consider studying civil engineering in college.

Next thing I knew, I was headed off to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering at New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire. Also at the suggestion of my father’s pre-cast concrete client, I worked as a soil and concrete testing technician at Empire Soils Investigations, Inc. in Rochester, New York during the summer of my junior year where I finally got my first chance to work on real-life construction projects and got exposure to geotechnical engineering.

After receiving my BSCE in 1985, I took a job as a staff geotechnical engineer at Empire Soils. Little did I know, I was walking into an environment rich with learning, where I would be mentored by two of the best geotechnical engineers I have come across in my career – Charlie Gaynor and Bent Thomsen. Bent was the owner of Empire Soils and actively involved with ASFE/GBA; he provided oversight and guidance to then-Executive Director John Bachner during development of the Practice Management for Design Professionals text.

During my fourth year at Empire Soils, Charlie enrolled me in one of the first ASFE Introduction to Professional Practice (IPP) courses, which were later renamed Fundamentals of Professional Practice (FOPP). The IPP class opened my eyes to many new aspects of our profession beyond the technical aspects that I had focused on until that point.

After spending five very formative years at Empire Soils, life had some changes in store for me. My girlfriend moved to North Carolina and I made one of the best decisions of my life and quickly followed her. I started working as a geotechnical engineer for Froehling & Robertson, Inc. (F&R) in their Raleigh, North Carolina office in 1990. Not long after, my girlfriend, Soleir, became my wife and she has now endured 33 years being the wife of a geoprofessional.

In 2001, ten years (and several promotions) later, I became the branch manager of F&R’s Raleigh office, taking over for Ray Whitaker, who had closely mentored me during my first decade at F&R. In 2016, I was promoted to my current position as F&R’s Carolinas Regional Vice President, where I have operation and management oversight for three offices in North Carolina. This role has given me the opportunity to administer several internal and external-facing programs geared toward improving F&R’s business practice. During my early years at F&R,

I was able to complete a master’s degree in civil engineering from North Carolina State University and have become a devoted Wolfpack fan.

During my 38-year career, I have been fortunate to receive close mentoring and be involved with all sorts of construction projects. I have honed my skills in geotechnical engineering, construction inspection and materials testing, and even some environmental consulting. In addition to my management duties, I continue to serve as a senior engineer on a wide variety of site development, building, and transportation projects with particular emphasis in foundation, retaining wall, pavement, and slope design. I feel fortunate to have been exposed to ASFE/GBA at a very early age and have been actively involved with GBA for almost 20 years now.

There are many things that have contributed to my professional success, and I list my involvement with GBA as being near the top of the list. I have made lasting relationships and learned so much about how to be a better geoprofessional and provide better service to our clients through my association with GBA.

Another defining aspect of my career is having excellent mentors each step along the way who have taken the time to teach and nurture me. These positive experiences have been a catalyst for me to actively be a mentor to others, both at work and in my personal life. I was fortunate to have great mentors find me, and my advice to early professionals is to seek out and engage mentors … even if they do not find you, as was my experience. My mentors encouraged me to explore new things and coaxed me to the edge of my comfort zone, which is where you will really start to learn, grow, and develop a fulfilling career. Don’t be afraid to explore the boundaries of your knowledge.

Two GBA leaders contributed timely, thought-provoking articles to the  latest issue of the Geo-Institute’s GEOSTRATA magazine, which focuses on geo-business.

Helen Pappas, CHMM, ENV SP (BEM Systems), Chair of GBA’s Emerging Issues and Trends Committee, wrote an article on the key takeaways from the most recent GBA Crystal Ball Workshop held in Spring 2023.

In “What Does the Crystal Ball Say?” Helen writes how more frequent and severe extreme weather events will reshape the response of geoprofessionals to the effects of climate change. New ways of incorporating resilience and adaptability in our engineering practice must be embraced, now more than ever. The article describes challenges to successful market engagement and pathways to opportunity to geoprofessionals gaining a seat at the planning table as “resilience specialists.”

READ “WHAT DOES THE CRYSTAL BALL SAY?”

June Jewell, CPA (AEC Business Solutions, LLC), a member of GBA’s Business Practices Committee, penned a piece on commoditization of engineering services. June writes about competing on price vs. value and the pressure to lower fees while expenses are rising, and reviews  the recent economic past and bad habits that brought us to this moment. She points to GBA’s Elevate Professional Value Accord as one solution to help firms recognize their value and indicate their commitment to a set of business management principles.

READ “COMMODITIZATION OF ENGINEERING SERVICES”

GBA Awards Committee

GBA is excited to announce the 2024 Woodward L. Vogt Project Excellence Award. Applications are now open.

With this prestigious award, GBA will recognize some of the most outstanding projects by its members who live and demonstrate the vision of GBA to great accomplishment. Winners of this award will truly showcase their hard work and contributions to society in front of all their peers, clients, and other professionals from across North America.

Entries are judged based on the application of lessons learned from GBA membership; creativity and innovation; quality of deliverables; and leveraged project impact such as sustainability and community improvement.

Winners will receive a plaque, be recognized at GBA’s Annual Awards Ceremony in April 2024, and will present their project at a future GBA conference.

The deadline for applications is January 31, 2024.

SHARE YOUR EXCELLENCE

GBA Board of Directors

The GBA Board of Directors has initiated the strategic planning process as we look forward to 2027 and beyond. Every three years, the Directors seek input from members to review important industry trends in risk management and business optimization, evaluate member value, and identify objectives that are critical to the health and success of geoprofessional consulting firms. Their efforts culminate in the formation of a strategic plan that guides initiatives, programs, and resources to benefit our members.

GBA has engaged with long-time partner, Marketing General, Incorporated (MGI), a leader in association membership strategy and marketing. The first step in the strategic planning process is to gather information from members through a remote Bulletin Board Focus Group (BBFG) to gather detailed responses from a small group of participants. As this type of research is qualitative, the questions are asked in an open-ended format to extract in-depth information. Similar to a traditional focus group, the moderator will probe the participant’s responses with follow-up questions to obtain data at a more granular level.

In the next two weeks, GBA will be seeking BBFG participants to provide input that will be considered during the formation of the 2027 Strategic Plan during the Summer Board Meeting in April 2024. If you are interested in sharing your thoughts as a focus group participant, please contact Joel Carson, GBA’s Executive Director.

View GBA’s current strategic plan: 2024 Strategic Plan

GBA President Matt Moler, P.E. (S&ME)

As I continue my GBA presidency, I reflect on the role GBA has played in my life over the past 15 years.I first crossed paths with GBA back in 2007 – it was still known as ASFE at this time. My employer,S&ME, asked me to enroll in the Fundamental of Professional Practice (FOPP) course, where I was exposed to numerous business optimization and risk mitigation measures (topics I never learned in engineering school!) and I soaked up the new knowledge like a sponge.

What really hooked me was GBA’s concluding FOPP seminar held outside Denver. There, I encountered a tremendous network of fellow geoprofessionals – classmates and practitioners giving back to their profession – from across the country.  I left the seminar eager to delve further into GBA so I could continue to improve my business acumen and expand my professional network. It was exactly what I was looking for at that point in my career and served as a launchpad for the next 15 years. I had a taste of the GBA “special sauce” and I was hooked and craving more.

About two years later, GBA was preparing to launch its second class of Emerging Leaders, and S&ME’s then-President, Randy Neuhaus graciously nominated me for the class.

Each class of GBA Emerging Leaders chooses a project to collaborate on from inception to completion. Class 2’s project was focused on several recently launched social media platforms (such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram). GBA wanted our class to help them get engaged with this new technology. Looking back, it’s hard to imagine a time these platforms weren’t part of many people’s daily lives and a cornerstone of business communications and marketing.

Our class members bonded quickly and with our collaborative spirit and zeal, we raised awareness on these exciting new social media tools to promote our individual businesses, and to promote the many benefits of GBA. Our Emerging Leaders Class completed its tenure after two years, after which many class members became engaged with serving on GBA’s Committees.

I was immediately intrigued by and joined GBA’s Business Practices Committee, which discussed the many business-related subjects that directly impact our firms. I came away from each meeting with information to improve my own business practices, as well as ideas that could be implemented across S&ME.

At one of my first meetings, Committee members talked about creating a cell-phone-use-while-driving policy at their firms. I mentioned some things my company was doing and before you know it, I was asked to prepare a Best Practices document on the subject (funny how that works!). I was thrilled to be able to contribute to the organization that had given me so much and play a small role in creating safer practices for geoprofessionals.

I gradually stepped into leadership roles in the Committee and every experience filled me with more opportunities, challenges, and benefits from active involvement with other geoprofessionals from across the country.

Woody Vogt, GBA’s President at the time, asked me to join the GBA Board of Directors in 2018. The GBA Board is the first I’ve served on in any organization, so learning the role of a Board and how I could best serve the organization were paramount. I believe our profession is worth fighting for and worth the time and effort to make it better, so I accepted the nomination and was ready to take on new challenges.

My efforts on the Board have varied over the years, but consisted of the following:
• Board Liaison for several Committees,
• Program Committee member responsible for planning several wonderful conferences,
• Mentor to the Emerging Leaders Class 4,
• Champion of several GBA Strategic Plan objectives,
• Secretary Treasurer,
• President-elect, and now
• President.

My GBA journey has been a fulfilling experience so far and the rest of my time as President is likely to be full of rewarding opportunities, as well. I have benefited tremendously from GBA’s many resources (publications, webinars, conferences, podcasts), Committee and Board leadership opportunities, and close friendships.

Speaking of close friendships, I have developed some of the most meaningful personal connections over the past 15 years with numerous individuals across GBA. Not only have we attended conferences and worked on the Committees/Board together, we’ve fished, golfed, biked, ridden ATVs, boated, swam, honky-tonked, and visited some of the most amazing places across this great country of ours. Our family members know each other as well.

To sum things up, I love it that our members come together regularly and talk about the best practices, the wins, the scars – it’s all on the table. There is no other organization that combines such value and opportunities to help improve ourselves and our business. It’s what makes up GBA’s Special Sauce!

I’ve shared my GBA journey with you in the hope that it inspires you to get involved in GBA. Volunteer for leadership opportunities. Speak up and share your opinions. Meet others that are passionate like you. And try to make an impact!

GBA gives so much, but you’ve got to give a little. You’ve got to be willing to join a Committee or go to a conference. Take notes and ask yourself, “What’s the one cool thing I learned from this presentation that I can apply at work tomorrow?” Be active, because then you get more out of it. It’s like a cup that keeps overflowing – that’s what GBA is. They continue to fill up my cup. So, I keep giving because I know I’m getting a two- or three-fold return.

GBA has been a wonderful organization for me over the past 15 years, and I’m very grateful for those experiences.

Thank you, GBA, for this amazing GBA journey!

Editor’s note from GBA Executive Director Joel Carson:
“Having worked with Matt for several years and now more regularly as he has been GBA’s President, I admire his          sincerity and thoughtfulness as a leader. He makes sure everyone’s voices are heard and can build consensus on issues by bringing different perspectives together and focusing on the GBA’s strategic direction. He is also very creative as evidenced by his bringing GBA’s Special Sauce to reality, something none of us will forget. All that being said, Matt is simply someone everyone enjoys spending time with because he contributes positively in all situations.”

Cassandra Langley, GBA Communications Specialist

Broadcast events may seem like the holy grail for multitaskers – you can theoretically maintain your regular, full workload, while also soaking up new information from speakers. You can keep one eye on your emails,  one ear on the current conference speaker, and one foot out the door for your next on-site meeting.

However, fragmenting your focus doesn’t do yourself or your firm any favors. Conference organizers and event venues go to great lengths to ensure meetings can take place with minimal interruption, but broadcast events lack the spatial control to do so. It’s important to implement a few best practices for attending a broadcast event so you can make the best use of your time and get the most out of the conference. Here are some ideas:

Make a pre-event plan. What are your goals for the event? Do you want to make connections? Get new ideas to present to your firm? How do your personal goals for the event fit with your career aspirations?

Tell your supervisor, coworkers, and/or mentor you’re attending a broadcast event and show them the agenda. Your supervisor can help you align your event goals to your career path. They may encourage other employees to register to attend with you.

Consider leaving your office to go to a favorite local remote working spot. A quiet corner of your local library will have minimal distractions and will take you out of your familiar setting (without having to completely leave town) just enough for you to remember what you’re supposed to be focusing on.

Set busy time on your calendar so no one requests meetings. In many cases, event platforms will integrate with your work calendar so you can add sessions seamlessly, but you can also do this manually by blocking out the entire day or just the times you will be actively attending a session.

Share on social media that you’re attending the event, along with a link to the event’s webpage for more information. Ask event organizers if they have a graphic they can send you or if you can use the event logo to go along with your post. Not only will this help support the organization and event, but it will also make it easier to connect with others in attendance and strengthen your professional network.

Explore the event platform or website before the event begins. Get familiar with where to find speaker information, session descriptions, the agenda, discussion groups, and resources. Many times, we plan to circle back to resources after the event but quickly get swept away with other duties and demands.

Close your office door and place a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the outside, or at the entrance to your cubicle or workstation. An open door invites visitors and allows outside noise and activity to pull your focus.

Here’s a sign we made for GBA Fall Conference attendees.

Use headphones. Even if your surroundings are quiet, headphones help narrow your focus and stay engaged during the broadcast event.

Take notes during sessions. You can write down notes in a notebook (plan this beforehand so you’re not scrambling for sticky notes as a speaker is presenting). Start with a fresh, blank page and pen ready to go. Studies have shown that we remember things better when holding a writing utensil!

However, with handwriting going the way of the mechanical pencil sharpener, taking notes on your laptop or other device is better than not taking notes at all, so type away.

Create a new Word document dedicated to your event notes and list out the sessions you’re attending in advance, along with the speakers. This makes it easy to follow up with questions or comments during or after the presentation. You can also use the built-in notes apps on macOS and Windows for easy recordkeeping. If you have dual monitors at your workstation, have one screen dedicated to your event notes and the other dedicated to the presentations and sessions.

Silence notifications. You can silence all notifications on your phone or select apps. Here’s how to do this on an iPhone and an Android. You can set a schedule or set them to remain silent until you turn them back on.

Get up and walk around between sessions. Many broadcast events leave time between sessions, like in-person events do. Take this time to pop out of your office and do a lap around the building or your home. Grab a snack. Getting your blood flowing will help restore your zeal for the next session. Both broadcast and in-person events can be draining as you try to retain so much new information.

After the day or each session, make a note about your favorite thing from the day – what was most relevant to your job? What’s one thing you can take away and start using immediately? What’s something you need to tell a coworker about that may help them? How can you apply the new insights gained within your firm?

Participate in the chat sessions so other people see your name and can connect with you, too. Treat the event like the interactive experience that it is.

Don’t shortchange yourself because you’re attending an event online rather than in-person. You can get just as much value out of the educational sessions, group discussions, and networking opportunities as you can attending an event in a physical location in the company of others. Use a few or all of these ideas to maximize your time and financial investment.

GBA’s Fall Conference – a broadcast event –begins October 17 and it’s not too late to register! Learn more.

GBA is committed to promoting the value of geoprofessionals and for our 2023 photo contest we asked members to share: “How do you depict a day in the life of a geoprofessional?”

Sixty photographs were submitted this year and through the images captured, the pride of geoprofessionals was on full display. We think you’ll agree: These vibrant photos capture members in field activities, meeting with colleagues and clients, and observing safety in some amazing locations.

All winners’ photos will be featured during the 2023 Fall Conference in October.

Thank you to everyone who submitted photos this year!

                                                                                                   Grand Prize Winner

Photographer: Jack Powell, PBS Engineering and Environmental Inc.

Location: Salt Creek Falls, Lane County, OR

Caption: PBS Engineering and Environmental Inc. (PBS) teamed with Bratslavsky Consulting Engineers, Inc. to support the US Forest Service in evaluating and designing improvements to the Salt Creek Falls day-use area. This included characterizing subsurface conditions to develop recommendations for anchoring new handrail posts at the main waterfall viewpoint area as some of the existing, wooden posts had begun to decay. PBS also helped develop recommendations for mitigation of localized erosion beneath the pedestrian railing just beyond the waterfall overlook. Due to the late season snow and limited access, PBS subcontracted with PLI Systems of Hillsboro, Oregon to use a small drill rig capable of maneuvering in tight spaces that was able to collect rock core.

                                                                                                  Overall Runner-Up

Photographer: Gyan Bade, Hillis-Carnes Engineering Associates

Location: Frederick, MD

Caption: This is a picture from The Frederick News-Post job site. Early morning concrete pour; 370 cubic yards.

                                                                                                       Category Winners

                                                                                                            Safety Category

Photographer: Sam Venable, P.E., Earth Systems

Location: Santa Barbara Airport, Santa Barbara, CA
Caption: Geotechnical engineering investigation and recommendations provided for development of project plans and specifications for the planned improvements of Santa Barbara Airport taxiways.

Client Collaboration Category

Photographer: Will Jones, G.I.T., ENV SP, ANS Geo, Inc.

Location: West Camp Wind Farm, Holbrook, AZ
Caption: Discussing the day’s work as the sun sets

 CoMET Category

Photographer: Luke Morrell, P.E., Blackburn Consulting

Location: Folsom Lake EID Intake Project, Folsom Lake, CA
Caption: Installing drilled shaft piles through rock to support a new intake pipeline.

                                                                                               Environmental Category

Photographer: Torre Davy, Sanborn, Head & Associates, Inc.

Location: Hoosic River, Adams, MA
Caption: Surface water sampling in the Hoosic River

                                                                                         Geotechnical Category

Photographer: Bruce Jackson, Jorgensen Geotechnical

Location: Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Rendezvous Mountain, Jackson, WY
Caption: Geotechnical drilling to assess rock quality at the top of the aerial tram at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

Cassandra Langley, GBA Communications Specialist

No matter the level of AI adoption in your firm, you’re likely encountering it on a day-to-day basis, whether you know it or not.
With more AI-written content feeding online news sources, it’s become important to distinguish between what’s written by something like ChatGPT and what’s created by humans.

This is not to say that AI-written content can’t be educational and useful – only that it’s important to know the source of information you’re digesting, especially if you plan to disseminate it to a wider audience of industry experts, like we do with NEWSlog. When content makes our AI-detecting “spidey sense” tingle, we use a free online AI detector tool to contribute to the decision-making process of which articles to include in the newsletter.

Using this article as an example, SEE A VIDEO DEMONSTRATION OF  HOW WE DO IT. (*Not an endorsement of copyleaks.com)

Multimedia Delivery Committee

As geoprofessionals, owners rely on our oversight to ensure that projects go according to plan. But too often, we encounter obstacles that can potentially derail operations, jeopardizing partnerships and public safety in the process.

In the latest installment of the GBA Podcast – the Audio Education Series – hosts Tiffany Vorhies, NACE CIP2 (SME) and Ryan White, P.E., G.E., F.ASCE (PBS Engineering + Environmental) address some of the most challenging aspects of field representation. From navigating business relationships to forming prudent field reporting habits, this series contains helpful insights for the novice and seasoned pro.

Episodes in the Audio Education series include:
• Briefing and Being Briefed
• Safety
• Personal Diplomacy
• Effective Reporting
• The Duty of Care
• Field Representatives and the Law

Beyond the Audio Education series, GBA Podcast episodes also include fresh looks at Case Histories, a series on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and other important topics for geoprofessionals presented in an accessible, portable, and engaging format.

START LISTENING NOW