Welcome to Our New Website!
By Joel G. Carson, GBA Executive Director

I am pleased that you are visiting GBA’s newly-completed website!

GBA’s website is an essential tool for delivering value to GBA Member Firms and for sharing information about our group with those that are not members. It acts as a platform for making Member Firm information accessible to those searching for a geoprofessional consultant, sharing important news, planning future events, enhancing the communication of councils and committees, and storing our vast library of reference materials that geoprofessionals rely on to confront risk and optimize business performance.

Our old website was at the end of its expected life. Fortunately, we started planning for its replacement more than two years ago. In November 2015, GBA issued an RFP to more than a dozen qualified website developers and completed a multi-step selection process to make sure we selected the best-qualified consultant to design, construct, and implement our next website. A team of GBA volunteers and employeeshave worked many hours with consultants since February 2016. We are now finished with the initial implementation.

Our goals from the beginning were to provide a new website that allows Member Firms to access valuable information quickly and to showcase the value of membership to those that are not yet part of GBA. The user experience, in the office or on mobile devices, was critical to the success of this project, and I am confident our consultant nailed it!

Contrary to many of the projects we work on in our daily business, construction of a website is never actually finished. It is a living platform that reflects the constant efforts of our board, councils, committees, and task forces. We expect to refresh and update the content & format of our website regularly to maintain its value.

We all owe a debt of gratitude to the Board of Directors for its support of this project, and to the volunteers and staff who are bringing this major undertaking to a successful conclusion. I also want to extend a special thanks to all the Member Firms that “rounded-up” their dues this year to help support this costly undertaking. We are truly fortunate to have such generous members!

Joel G. Carson
Executive Director

The newest GBA Business Brief — available only to members and free of charge – comprises the GBA Business Practices Committee’s 2015-16 Financial-Performance Survey report, covering key financial-performance issues surveyed firms reported. These include predistribution profit, discretionary-profit distribution, net multiplier, utilization rate, predistribution overhead, marketing costs, group insurance, collections, and fee backlog. Download your copy of GBA Business Brief: Financial-Performance Survey 2015-16 now.

Also consider watching Lee James’ 2013 presentation about the importance of the survey to you and others.

By Laura Reinbold, GBA President (Terracon)

“Let’s Work Together. GBA and Geo-Institute are collaborating for our profession.” That was the message GBA President Laura Reinbold took to the first-ever Geo-Institute (G-I) Summit for Local Chapter Leaders a few weeks ago. Attending at the request of G-I President Kord Wissman, Laura put a face to GBA that connected those in the room to our association in a personal way, some for the first time.

Laura began her address to the G-I group with a question: “How many of you know that GBA and G-I have a Memorandum of Understanding?” The same question could also be asked of our GBA members. The MOU has been in effect for over a year and it pledges that the two organizations will explore ways to work together to serve our geoprofessional constituents, promote each other’s organizations, and collaboratively support the goals that we strive to accomplish.

So what has this collaboration looked like this past year? GBA/G-I co-branded presentations at local G-I chapter meetings, which were facilitated by a GBA speaker. GBA’s External Relations Committee (ERC) has spearheaded two test runs, providing “Contract Negotiations” in Seattle and “The Importance of Culture on Ethics” in San Antonio. ERC now has five presentations in GBA’s developing library of co-branded presentations and is developing more. Feedback on the presentations has been overwhelmingly positive, as illustrated by this quote from Joseph A. Waxse, PE, D.GE.

“This Spring, Phil King, P.E., D.GE delivered one of the best ‘Ethics’ qualified lectures we’ve ever had at our Geo-San Antonio conference. Hats off to the GBA for developing and sharing that presentation. Highly entertaining and relevant – KUDOS!”

Regionally and nationally, G-I and GBA will have attendees at our respective conferences, speakers and panels at conventions, and will promote conversations between our two Boards of Directors.

Working on a local, regional, and national level with G-I will greatly expand GBA’s mission: to be the essential business resource to geoprofessionals and a resource to our member-firms; helping our firms, our employees, and our clients confront risk and optimize performance. It is yet another opportunity to showcase GBA and the four decades of educational materials we have developed for the business needs of our members.

Working together we can do more.

Kurt R. Fraese, L.G. and Mark K. Kramer, P.E. have been appointed to the prestigious Council of Fellows of the Geoprofessional Business Association (GBA). The organization established the Council in 1975 to provide guidance for GBA’s direction and to pursue other activities its members deemed appropriate. W. Jerrold Samford, P.G., chair of GBA’s Council of Fellows, announced the appointments. A past president of GBA (2001-02), Mr. Samford is an environmental-compliance specialist with Troutman Sanders, a 600-person law firm with offices throughout the United States and China.

Mr. Fraese is president of GeoEngineers, Inc.

a 360-person earth-science and technology firm based in Seattle, Washington, with 14 offices nationwide. A graduate of Humboldt State University, Mr. Fraese began his career in 1983 with Woodward-Clyde Consultants. He joined GeoEngineers in 1988 and became CEO in March 2007, serving in that role until March 2016. He has led more than 1,200 projects and has served extensively as a regulatory liaison and client representative. A past president of GBA (2013-14), he is president of the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, a leading nonprofit land-conservation group based in the Puget Sound Region.

Mr. Kramer is CEO of SME

a 200-person engineering-consulting firm specializing in the geosciences, building materials, and the environment. Headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan, SME is ranked among the top 500 U.S. design firms byEngineering News-Record. Mark has built a strong following for his ability to translate technical project information into language client representatives can understand, allowing them to make informed decisions that save time and money while confronting risk. A “veteran” of the GBA board of directors, he is president-elect of ACEC Michigan and serves on the Board of Directors of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) Motor City Chapter.

Established in 1969, GBA serves to “help its geoprofessional-member firms and their clients confront risk and optimize performance.” Geoprofessional firms provide geotechnical, geologic, environmental, construction-materials engineering and testing, and related professional services. (Refer to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoprofessions.) All GBA Member Firms’ technical activities are under the full-time control of an individual who is legally and/or ethically bound to hold paramount public health, safety, and welfare. GBA’s associate membership comprises geoconstructors; geoprofessional educators and students; geoprofessionals employed by government agencies, not-for-profit organizations, and industry; and attorneys and other consultants to GBA Member Firms.

Laura R. Reinbold, P.E. (Terracon)  is the new president of the Geoprofessional Business Association (GBA), a not-for-profit association of geoprofessional firms. Accepting office during ceremonies at GBA’s annual meeting in Dallas, Texas, Ms. Reinbold is the 46th individual to serve as GBA’s president and chair the group’s board of directors.

Other directors who will serve during GBA’s 2016-17 fiscal year are:

• President-Elect Charles L. Head, P.E., P.G. (Sanborn, Head & Associates, Inc.);
• Secretary/Treasurer Woodward L. Vogt, P.E., D.GE, F.ACI, F.ASCE, F.ASTM (Paradigm Consultants, Inc.);
• Thomas W. “Tom” Blackburn, P.E., G.E., F.ASCE (Blackburn Consulting);
• Arthur G. “Art” Hoffmann, P.E., D.GE (Gannett Fleming, Inc.);
• Kenneth R. “Ken” Johnston (GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc.);
• Kimberly F. Morrison, P.E., R.G. (Morrison Geotechnical Solutions, Inc.); and
• Alex Sy, Ph.D., P. Eng. (Klohn Crippen Berger, Ltd.)

Laura Reinbold, P.E. is Director of Client Development for Terracon Consulting, Inc., which specializes in geotechnical and environmental engineering, facility assessment and asset management, construction monitoring, and materials testing.

Terracon has 150 offices nationwide. Laura has been in the engineering industry for more than 30 years, and has experience in operational management, project management, professional development and business development. In February 2016, Laura received the Nashville Business Journal’s 2016 Women of Influence Trailblazer Award, and she is a 2016 nominee for the Nashville ATHENA Award, a recognition from the professional group Cable that honors women worldwide who inspire others to achieve excellence in their professional and personal lives.

In 2013, she was appointed by Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam as the first female engineer or architect ever to serve on the State’s Architects and Engineers Licensing Board. Laura received her Bachelor of Engineering degree in civil engineering from Vanderbilt University. She is a registered Professional Engineer in Tennessee and a LEED-accredited professional.

It has been a tremendous honor to have been President of GBA for the past year. I had a very fulfilling experience and have enjoyed working with the Board, Committees and staff. This past year has been a time of major change for GBA. The transition from an externally-managed organization to an internally-managed organization has been a monumental effort that has taken the time efforts of many individuals.

I want to again express GBA’s appreciation for the years of service that Bachner Communications provided to ASFE/GBA and in particular John Bachner, Sarah Lanning, Sara Menase, Phil Pettway, and Barb Nappy.

We are very fortunate to have Sara, Phil, and Barb remaining with GBA and Sarah as a part-time consultant helping us with the new website that is under development. John Bachner is also providing creative services for GBA.

We also need to recognize Joel Carson, our Executive Director, who is celebrating his 6-month anniversary with GBA! Joel has worked tirelessly to get the new organization up and running effectively.

Finally, I want to recognize Schnabel Engineering who supported me in all my years with the Board and provided support to GBA by sharing office space in Rockville, Maryland to help GBA be successful through the transition.

The transition is behind us. It is now time to look forward and continue to enhance the services and products that GBA provides its member firms. To this end, we have been hard at work updating materials that is useful to member firms.

In fact, 18 of the top 25 member-downloads of our materials were produced since 2014. So we have been, and will continue to, actively update our materials so that our members will be able to manage their risk and enhance their firm’s performance.

We have a few other things in the pipeline that will benefit members.

First, we developed a formal relationship with the Geo-Institute where we will collaborate on developing joint programs with the ultimate goal of developing GBA Chapters. This is something we have talked about for many years and we want to thank Kord Wissmann for his hard work to make this possible.

We are also developing an on-line PowerPoint program on the Fundamentals of Effective Project Management. This is being developed by Business Practices and under a sub-group lead by Susan Martin. It is based off an internal program developed by Klohn Crippen and provided by Alex Sy. When complete this year, you will be able to use it for a complete day-long program or break it into a series of “lunch and learns” and customize it for your firm.

A third effort is a new GBA website that is scheduled to debut later this year that will enhance all our experiences with GBA.

Laura Reinbold is taking over for me today. I have known Laura for about 10 years. She is a great leader, very energetic, and a very strategic thinker. She is going to do a great job and really rev things up in the coming year.

In closing, I want to thank the entire Board as well as the committees, who have really made my job easy.

I also cannot conclude without recognition of Steve Thorne and Kurt Fraese, our two past Presidents most involved in the transition to self-management and all the Presidents before them whose time and efforts during their tenure have made GBA the really fine organization it is today!

Thanks everyone for all your hard work and dedication to GBA. The future looks bright for the organization, the industry, and our member firms!

Gordon M. Matheson, Ph.D., P.E., P.G., D.GE

“Initiating a lawsuit to collect a fee may be the most common trigger to professional-negligence claims filed against geoprofessionals. The slow- and no-pay clients involved all too often use a portion of the amount they owe to fund a counter-claim” accusing the geoprofessional of negligence. The high cost of defending such claims, and the uncertainty of the outcome, explain

“why so many geoprofessionals choose to simply write off the money owed.”

So begins the newest of the Geoprofessional Business Association’s (GBA’s) Best Practices series of “how-to” business monographs. Developed by GBA’s Business Practices Committee and titled Giving Credit When Credit Is Due, it counsels that the best way of avoiding counterclaims filed by slow- and no-pay clients is to avoid such clients to begin with. It provides guidance about performing a basic credit check and otherwise qualifying prospective new clients. It addresses the topic of “risk credit,” which usually is far more substantial than the fee credit also given. And it also counsels about the dangers associated with small projects. In this respect, according to GBA Executive Director Joel G. Carson,

“Almost counterintuitively, GBA research points out that project risk is inversely proportional to project size and complexity. The smaller and simpler a project, the more likely it is to create problems.”

The new Best Practices provides a variety of “how-to” guidance, including the potential for offering credit-card acceptance when the firm deals with many small-fee projects.

GBA Best Practices monographs are available only to GBA members, without charge. Members can order Giving Credit When Credit Is Due from the GBA website.

Established in 1969, the Geoprofessional Business Association is widely regarded as the best source of comprehensive business guidance for geoprofessionals: geotechnical engineers, geologists, environmental scientists, civil engineers engaged in a variety of specialties, and construction-materials engineering and testing professionals, among others. GBA is well known for its innovation. It was the force behind the limitation-of-liability contract provision, alternative dispute resolution, and organizational peer review, among other concepts it developed to help its member firms thrive by confronting risk and optimizing performance.

All GBA Member Firms’ technical activities are under the full-time control of an individual who is legally and/or ethically bound to hold paramount public health, safety, and welfare. GBA’s associate membership comprises geoprofessional constructors; geoprofessional educators; geoprofessionals employed by government agencies, not-for-profit organizations, and industry; and attorneys and other consultants to GBA Member Firms.

Obtain more information about GBA at its website (www.geoprofessional.org) or by contacting the organization at info@geoprofessional.org or 301-565-2733.

President Elect, Laura Reinbold, PE
Remarks to Geoprofessional Business Association
2016 Winter Leadership Conference

Welcome to the GBA Winter Leadership Conference. At this annual event our senior leadership of GBA, committees, and councils come together to complete the objectives of our current fiscal year and strategically set the course for next year. Thank you all for coming, donating a part of your weekend, and supporting our association.  I especially appreciate our Council and Committee Chairs and Vice-Chairs.  Thank you for your leadership.

As we bring to a close 2015/16, we reflect back on a successful year. We effectively navigated the biggest change to GBA in its 48-year history: a transition from association management to self-management. This included the search and selection of our Executive Director, Joel Carson and the transition of BCI staff to GBA.  We are happy to have Barb Nappy, Sara Menase, and Phil Pettway on our staff and I would like to recognize their enthusiastic commitment to ushering GBA into a new era.

The past year has been successful for our committees and councils. You have accomplished what we do best, producing high quality materials and programs that are the signature of GBA.

Some of these include:

• Publishing new CoMET tales and Case Histories,
• Delivering exceptional Conference Programs,
• Planning our Spring Crystal Ball Workshop
• Developing our Council identity brochures
• Creating web-based Project Management training,
• Finalizing abundant Business Briefs and Best Practices, and
• Refreshing and rebranding favorite documents, including the newly-popular “In-House Guide to Geoprofessional Report Review”.

We have seen unique local outreach as our External Relations Committee acted upon our Memorandum of Understanding with ASCE’s Geo-Institute in delivering GBA-branded business presentations to geoprofessionals in several locations around the United States.  This collaborative effort is making GBA a visible, personal experience for member-firm employees and non-members alike.  Ultimately, this is an effective and efficient effort which spotlights GBA and its benefits to all geoprofessionals.

It has been a very successful year.

In one sense, going forward will be business as usual.  Our focus on the production of materials and programs that provide high value to all member-firms remains constant.

Unique to 2016/17 is the context for this work: member growth and engagement.  As you plan together in your committees and councils, ask yourselves: “How does the work we do directly provide opportunity for member firms to more deeply and broadly engage with GBA and attract new members to our association?”

GBA’s Board of Directors is focused on growth.  We will build broader engagement of our member firms and make sure every employee of member-firms understands they are a member of GBA.  We are engaged in an aggressive campaign to attract other great geoprofessional firms to our association.  We are blessed to have an executive director with the passion and commitment to growth that began even before he assumed that role.  Joel has initiated an energetic outreach effort through personal and face-to-face contact that has produced, in a few short months, eight new member firms. It’s a strong start and a solid framework for growth that works.

And now, I’ve saved the best for last.  Our commitment to deeper engagement and growth is represented in the emergence of GBA’s third New Leaders Class. During this Winter Leadership Conference we ushered in a new class of high potential, future geoprofessional leaders under the guidance of Matt Poirier and Dan Cassidy.

I’d like to recognize these New Leaders and thank their firms for the investment in the future leadership of GBA.

• Victor Barchers (Kleinfelder, Inc.)
• Bryan Field, PE (Braun Intertec Corporation)
• Michael Hutchinson, LG, LHG (GeoEngineers, Inc.)
• EJ Barben (Gannett Fleming, Inc.)
• Christopher Clarke, PE (Schnabel Engineering, Inc.)
• Jeremy Cox (Strata, Inc.)
• Scott Young (S&ME, Inc.)
• Stephen F. Patt, PE (ECS, Ltd.)
• Marcel Scheeff, PE (TTL, Inc.)
• Paul J. Schmeisl, PE (SME)
• Jessica Klein (DOWL)

On behalf of the GBA Board of Directors, I want to thank each of you for your hard work, dedication, and service.  We look forward to working with you today as we plan the future of GBA.  Together we will grow and have a more significant impact on geoprofessionals worldwide.  The future is bright!

Don V. Roberts, P.E., Dist. M., ASCE and past President of the GBA (ASFE) and World Engineering Partnership for Sustainable Development, passed away peacefully at his home in Denver, Colorado on January 31, 2016.

Roberts received a BS degree in Civil Engineering from Stanford in 1950 with a strong minor in geological engineering. He then conducted post-graduate studies in geotechnical engineering at the Imperial College, University of London. He also completed post-graduate studies in engineering geology at the Royal School of Mines in England and at the University of Southern California.

With over 60 years’ experience as a consulting civil and environmental engineer, Roberts was responsible for major geotechnical investigations and environmental studies for 500 projects located in 20 countries. He was a pioneer in developing methods to analyze the environmental impacts of projects prior to the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). He also managed programs to investigate and clean up nuclear waste sites for the US Department of Energy.

Roberts began his career with Dames & Moore and left, as a senior partner, to become vice-president of CH2M Hill. After his retirement in 1994, Roberts held senior positions in several professional engineering societies including Engineers Without Borders, WFEO, HWAC, and FIDIC. He was president of GBA (ASFE) from 1985-1986.

Roberts received several awards for his contributions to engineering including WFEO’s Gold Medal in 2003 for “outstanding service to humanity”, the AAES Joan Hodges Queneau Palladium Medal in 2004 for “outstanding achievement in environmental conservation as one of the engineering profession’s most eloquent spokespersons for sustainable development” and the ASCE Presidents’ Award in 2005 “for his advocacy for the engineering community’s engagement in the dialog on sustainability issues internationally, his leadership in WFEO and his tireless efforts to serve civil society by incorporating the tenants of sustainable development into engineering practice.” In 2009, Roberts was elected a “Distinguished Member” of ASCE.

Roberts will be fondly remembered for his creativity, wisdom, vision, and professional and personal kindness to many engineers. Charleen, his wife of 64 years, has asked that all donations in his memory go to the ASCE Sustainability Fund.