GBA Board Member Spotlight – Matt Moler’s Road to Becoming a Geoprofessional
I think most young boys imagined growing up to be a firefighter or a major league baseball player. I took a different track, and thought the greatest job would be a big rig truck driver.That’s right – driving an 18 wheeler across the country, seeing beautiful places , delivering loads of goods to folks – sure sounded like a great career to me! I can remember driving down to the Interstate in the back of the family car, watching the big rig trucks roll by. If I was lucky, I could even get them to honk their horns. Man that was cool!
The Smokey and the Bandit movie and the country band Alabama may have been key influences on my initial career selection. I’m not sure when the 18-wheeler dream was replaced by other career choices, but at some point I thought of ‘cooler things’ to do as a career. For a while in high school, I was thinking about being a golf course 
superintendent. I liked to play golf and I was working on the grounds crew of the local course, so becoming the course superintendent seemed logical. I then learned that a golf course maintenance career meant that every weekend required my services from dawn to dusk. I’m not afraid of long hours, but I wanted to have weekends available for something other than work.
In my senior year in high school, I took an aptitude test that indicated I was good in math and problem solving. A career choice that seemed to fit these strengths was engineering. I heard that civil engineers got to spend a lot of time in the field, and I liked the sound of that – no boring office job for me! I enrolled in West Virginia University with a focus in civil engineering the following fall, and from there I have never looked back.
I am thankful I arrived at my current career choice so early in life. I enjoy getting up each day, heading to work, meeting with existing and new clients, solving problems, and generally making a difference in the world in which I live. My biggest career reward is relationships I am making along the way. As I think back to my initial career choice of a truck driver, I am thankful I didn’t go down that path. While driving a big shiny truck all the way across the country would have been enjoyable, it would not have allowed me to build as many relationships as civil engineering has over the years. It is quite amazing how things work out for the best.
Learn from others. Don’t repeat the mistakes of the past! GBA Case Histories are being used by our members for loss prevention discussions in support of professional development and mentoring. That is why GBA case histories are so valuable, and why GBA is updating them all, while adding new ones, too. We are more than halfway done as five more case histories have been re-issued.
g subcontractor relied on an outdated site map, which resulted in unsuitable organic fill beneath 100 of 250 housing lots.
discussion platform where small groups of Member-Firm executive leaders meet to candidly address their most pressing issues and draw on the experience of others who’ve faced similar situations. The first Peer Group held their second meeting at Geotechnology’s office on April 25-26 in St. Louis.
Those that attended GBA’s 2019 Spring Conference in Wailea, Hawaii agreed that the presentations were educational, entertaining, and inspiring. Now you can watch, listen to, and learn from these speakers, too, on your own schedule, and without leaving your office.
Eric Saperston has spent the last 25 years cold calling and taking the most powerful people in the world out for a cup of coffee (all from a VW bus with his dog tagging along). Eric’s wisdom, humor, and inspiration will wow you while you learn the common traits, motivating factors, and guiding principles he discovered in these people, and how they can enable everyday people to produce extraordinary results.
Dinner, exceptional member firms and volunteer leaders were recognized for their engagement, support, and volunteer efforts. In total, over 40 individuals were recognized and four Member Firms.
association the opportunity to prepare for the future by replenishing in our reserve fund. Our growing financial strength is underscored by the positive view our members have of the current economy. An instant poll of the participants on the topic of business climate described the overall feeling of members as “optimistic” and “busy,” with 60 percent anticipating increases in revenue over the next year. Members expressed that their biggest 2019 challenge was the recruiting and retention of staff.
In a panel discussion, Past President’s and GBA Fellows Laura Reinbold (2016-2017), Gerry Salontai (2004-2005), Rich Millet (1997-1998) and Ed Wilson (1989-1990) reflected on GBA leadership accomplishments and the way we get things done. Highlights included descriptions of the origin of limitation of liability, peer review and alternative dispute resolution. It was noted that all of these powerful tools were individual ideas that were brought to the organization and perfected by committees. GBA has a great tradition of honoring individual thought and making the best ideas actionable. We were reminded that no other professional association has as much collegiality as GBA because at our core we have demonstrated decades of trust and delivering value.
Who says geoprofessionals aren’t funny? We were taught powerful communications techniques through the lessons of improvisational comedy by Nancy Watt, a Second City Conservatory Graduate. The session included audience participation in demonstrating that anyone can learn these techniques of effective communication and collaboration. It all starts with speaking and listening from a “Yes, and…” rather than a “Yes, but…” perspective. It also proved we have some real comedians among our members.
to many variables, including environmental condition (e.g. temperature, barometric pressure, wind, and precipitation), and building conditions (e.g., heating and cooling system operations, door and window positions). Another complicating factor of VI assessments is understanding whether indoor air contamination is a result background sources such as stored chemicals in the building, or even building materials. Thus, it is difficult to collect a single sample and draw conclusions about VI risk.
potential background vapor concerns in discrete areas of the building without the added costs of a mobile laboratory.
potential as consultants and business leaders. Our goal is to provide those future leaders with tools to accelerate their growth and unleash their potential through education, networking, and collaboration. While networking with other similar emerging leaders, each emerging leader will expand their knowledge through GBA’s unique business-education resources associated with risk management and business performance optimization.
GBA President-Elect Arthur G. “Art” Hoffmann, P.E., D.GE (Gannett Fleming, Inc.) will become President and Chair of the GBA Board of Directors. 
and instead told the Member Firm that they would provide title information for review.
has a tradition of collaborating on issues that impact the geoprofessions through GBA Case Histories. GBA Case Histories provide unprecedented real-world learning examples related to project and business management. Learn where others went wrong, how they handled their problems, and how you can learn from their experiences to avoid the same problems in the future.