1. No category

SAVANNAH
POST
ISSUE
41
March 2015
In this issue . . .
02
03
page
page
04
page
05
page
E-week Highlights
SAME’s Engineering
and Construction
Camps
Building the Builders
in Afghanistan
Sustaining
Member Listings
2015 MEETING DATES
March 23
Regular Meeting at Pirates House
April 20
Regular Meeting at Pirates House
May
No regular meeting. Please attend
the JETC in Houston, TX
June 16 - 17
Golf Tournament/Small Business
Showcase & Icebreaker/Annual
Program Review
July 20
Meeting will be held jointly with
Ft. Stewart at Ft. Stewart , GA
August 17
Regular Meeting at Pirates House
September 21
Regular Meeting at Pirates House
October 19
Regular Meeting at Pirates House
November 16 (tentative)
Evening meeting with Student Post
at Georgia Southern University
December 14
Regular Meeting at Pirates House
MARCH
SPEAKER SPOTLIGHT
Antonio R. Franco
Senior Partner, PilieroMazza
Tony Franco is a senior partner with PilieroMazza and oversees the
Government Contracts and Small Business Programs Groups. His over
25 years of legal experience includes all aspects of federal government
contracting, representing clients on a wide range of complex regulatory
matters. Mr. Franco’s practice also involves representing clients with
protests and claims against the federal government and in disputes
between prime and subcontractors.
Mr. Franco primarily focuses on representing clients interested in
pursuing opportunities set aside under preferential procurement programs,
such as the small business, 8(a), HUBZone, SDV and WOSB programs. In representing these firms,
Mr. Franco provides guidance on how to team, joint venture and position their company to
successfully defend awards from size and bid protests. His practice extends to assisting firms with
compliance on solicitation requirements, the FAR, and continued eligibility to participate in different
small business contracting programs. Mr. Franco’s practice also encompasses the representation of
Tribes, Alaska Native Corporations and Native Hawaiian Organizations, including their subsidiaries,
and potential teaming and equity partners structuring transactions in a highly regulated environment.
Tony is a frequent speaker and author on various aspects of federal contracting issues. He
graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1986 and received his B.A., cum laude,
from Tulane University. He is a member of the Bars of the District of Columbia and the States of
Maryland and Florida. Tony has earned Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating, AV Preeminent®,
for legal ethics and ability.
SAME Savannah Post Scholarship Program
applications due June 5
The Savannah Post, Society of American Military Engineers may award up to five scholarships in 2015.
At least three scholarships are in the amount of $1,000 for a single year open to a high school senior or
current college student (freshman, sophomore, junior). One scholarship is a $2,500, 2 year scholarship
open to a current college student with 2 years remaining – usually entering their sophomore or junior
year this fall. The 2 year scholarship will be issued over a 2 year period and the winner will be required
to be revalidated next year to ensure they continue to meet the grade and curriculum requirements.
Last, one scholarship is a $5,000, 4 year scholarship open to a graduating high school senior. The four
year scholarship will be issued over a four year period and the winner will be required to be revalidated
each year to ensure the winner continues to meet the scholarship’s grade and major requirements.
All scholarships will be awarded to the most deserving applicants based on academic achievement,
participation in extracurricular activities, and affiliation with SAME.
The applicant must submit a completed application by June 5, 2015. To be eligible for a
scholarship the applicant must meet the following requirements: (continued on page six)
2015 SAME
Savannah Post
Officers & Committee Chairs
Col Tom Tickner
Post President
Joel Burke
Chairman of the Board
Maureen Hoke
1st Vice President
Gwen Parker
2nd Vice President
Scott Veenstra
Secretary
Gavin Carey
Treasurer
Sally Riker
FELLOW
Chris Pittman
Programs
Stephanie Dammen
Young Members
Hollie Dupes
Membership Director
Kevin Chaffin
Sustaining Members
Gordy Simmons
USACE Liaison
Frank Randon
Camps & Scholarships
Margaret Walton
Emergency Preparedness &
Infrastructure Resilience Streamer
Maureen Hoke
Student Post
Leadership & Mentoring Streamer
Beth Hilliard
Education & Training Streamer
Scott Schmidt
Relationships & Recognition
Streamer
2
Larry Christopher
Newsletter
FEBRUARY E-WEEK HIGHLIGHTS
The SAME Savannah Post E-Week Technical Training Day was an amazing
success. We hope that all of the attendees were able to gain some valuable
information and practical applications by attending the event. Please take
the time to fill out the survey that you were emailed. Below are some of the
highlights from the key pieces of the Technical Training Day:
· 12 sponsors who supported our training day
financially and with technical services
· 119 attendees
· 3 separate tracks with 19 quality sessions
with 25 speakers
· $8,000 donated to
STEM Programs
· $500 donated to
the Wounded
Warrior Project
FEBRUARY E-WEEK HIGHLIGHTS
Apply now for
SAME’s Engineering
and Construction Camps
It’s that time of the year again to help spread
the word about the great SAME engineering
camps for high school rising sophomores,
juniors and seniors! SAME Engineering
and Construction Camps are fast paced,
hands-on camps for high school students
who are interested in engineering. At the
camps, students learn engineering as well
as get the opportunity to build their designs
and see the results. To learn more about
this exciting opportunity please contact Frank
Randon at frank.randon@usace.army.mil
Got to http://samecamps.org for eligibility
and applications.
U.S. Army Camp
Vicksburg, MS June 7 - 13, 2015
Applications are due NLT March 20, 2015
to Henry Dulaney, 4155 Clay St.,
Vicksburg, MS 39183 or
e-mail to henry.a.dulaney@usace.army.mil
US Air Force Academy Camp
Colorado Springs, CO June 25 - July 1, 2015
Applications are due to
Frank.Randon@USACE .Army. MIL
by March 27, 2015
SAME Posts: selected applications due to
National Registrar by April 14, 2015
US Marine Corps Camp
Camp Lejeune, NC June 21 - 27, 2015
Applications are due to
Frank.Randon@USACE .Army. MIL
by March 27, 2015
SAME Posts: selected applications due to
National Registrar by April 14, 2015
3
Building the Builders in Afghanistan
By Gordon Simmons, USACE Transatlantic Afghanistan District Engineering Chief
The SAME Savannah Post teamed up with the USACE Transatlantic Afghanistan District (TAA) on an effort that will directly contribute to a more secure
Afghanistan. Both organizations made it possible for Afghanistan govern its own construction standardization to further enable its ability to self-govern.
Gordon Simmons, (left) Chief of Engineering and Construction for USACE
Transatlantic Afghanistan District (TAA); Ahad Wahad, (center) Deputy
Mayor of Kabul City, and Col. Pete Helmlinger, TAA Commander, discuss
engineering challenges in the rapid expansion of Kabul City.
Gordon Simmons, (center) Chief of Engineering and
Construction for USACE Transatlantic Afghanistan District,
presents a SAME Certificate of Appreciation to Mr. Naeem
Yassin, President of Afghanistan Builders Association.
What if you had to make a choice in which the outcome of that choice
could impact the Gross Domestic Product of an entire country? Who would
you be? The Chief of the Federal Reserve? A national leader? How about
a SAME Post? There was such a choice, and the Savannah Post opted to
team up with the USACE Transatlantic Afghanistan District (TAA) on an
action that could well shape the development of construction procedures
and material testing in Afghanistan from this point forward.
One of the key tenets that USACE is focused on in Afghanistan is
capacity building of the country to further enable its ability to self govern
and promote business - in particular capacity building of engineering and
construction skills. Currently, the Gross Domestic Product of Afghanistan is
approximately $22B – in the bottom 5 percent of all countries in the world
on a per capita basis. Of that GDP, however, approximately 15 to 20 percent
is attributed to construction. That’s a significant figure considering that this
sector of the economy is increasing in large thanks to international aid geared
toward developing economic growth and strengthening the government.
Afghanistan currently has very few governing building codes or processes
and practices allowing for consistent known quality in the construction products executed. This could impact this growth industry and stymie development.
The Transatlantic Afghanistan District is entering into a capacity
development partnership with a recently developed non-profit organization
called the Afghanistan Business Association. This group was stood up
via a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development in 2004
and has been promoting economic development in the construction
industry. The very purpose of ABA is to support Afghan companies in
the reconstruction of Afghanistan in the aftermath of war. The organization
also serves as a bridge between construction companies and policy
makers in the government.
In the last few years, ABA has been instrumental in developing processes for adding order, standardization, and consistency to construction
practices in Afghanistan. This year, TAA engaged ABA by accrediting them
Col. Pete Helmlinger, (left) Transatlantic Afghanistan
District commander, and Engineer Zafar Khan, Afghanistan Builders Association /Pasaar, discuss the need for
national standards for material manufacturing.
to teach the Construction Quality Management course required for contractors working on the $8.4 billion infrastructure build program being executed
by TAA. Because of the professional manner in which ABA demonstrated
their capability for this training mission, USACE has now enacted a further
agreement with ABA to assign to them the responsibility for a laboratory
verification program. Material testing on soil properties, concrete, water
purity, and asphalt quality are key factors in successfully completing construction contracts. This testing is so important that only labs validated to
perform in accordance with nationally recognized standards are permitted
these tasks on USACE contracts. The overall goal of this partnership is to help
the Afghanis develop a common standard of acceptance for all government
and commercial construction in country. In addition to this partnership with
USACE, the ABA is working with other organizations in the country to develop
a professional certification program for engineers and architects, as well as
the development of Afghani Construction Standards. However, those Afghani
Construction Standards are still years in the development, and until such time
as there are valid country specific standards in place, there is a void in the
ability to produce consistent quality construction products.
In order for TAA to turn over responsibilities for the lab validation, the
ABA needed a set of ASTMs to be able to gauge and validate each test
being performed by the laboratories. Consistent and accurate procedures
for testing of construction materials are paramount to the quality expected
by USACE. Without results that have been obtained by following a known
standard of testing, the technical sufficiency of construction materials cannot
be guaranteed. The professionals at the ABA are familiar with the ASTM
requirements, but unfortunately the cost of obtaining the standards is beyond
reasonable means for this group and they could not obtain a copy allowing
them to properly validate laboratories. There are over 3,600 standards that
apply to building codes and construction materials testing needed for this
operation. USACE could not reasonably turn over the responsibility of lab
validation to the ABA if they did not have a copy of (continued on page six)
4
SUSTAINING MEMBER BRIEFINGS 2015
The Savannah Post SAME is offering Sustaining Member firms the opportunity to submit
an article on their company for the monthly newsletter and to have a two-minute briefing to
discuss their firm at the monthly SAME meeting. Each firm will be asked to bring a gift to raffle.
A list of all sustaining members is below with each member’s assigned month. Please contact
Kevin Chafin at kchafin@cemsengineering.com or 843-875-3637 for more information.
JANUARY
AECOM
Alliant Corporation
AMEC
American Structurepoint
ARCADIS
Atkins
Barge Waggoner Sumner and Cannon Inc.
Basha Services LLC.
Bechtel National Inc.
Bhate Environmental Assoc. Inc.
FEBRUARY
Black & Veach Special Project Corp.
Brasfield & Gorrie General Contractors
Bristol Industries
BRPH Companies Inc.
Building & Earth Sciences Inc.
Burns & McDonnell
Caddell Construction Co. Inc.
Cardno, Inc.
Carolinas Concrete Masonry Association
CB&I Federal Services, LLC
MARCH
CDM Smith
CEMS Engineering Inc.
CH2MHILL
CHA Consulting, Inc.
Clark Nexsen
Croft & Associates
Crowder Construction Company
CTI and Associates, Inc.
Davis & Floyd, Inc.
Dewberry
APRIL
Dulohery, Weeks & Gagliano Inc.
EA Engineering, Science & Technology, Inc.
ECC
EXP Federal
Farnsworth Group
GEL Geophysics, LLC
Goodwyn Mills & Cawood, Inc.
HDR
Howard W. Pence, Inc.
Hussey, Gay Bell & DeYoung
MAY
JETC Conference
JUNE
J2 Engineering, Inc.
Jacobs
Kaiser Kane, Inc.
Knight Architects
KBR North American Government & Defense
Kennedy Engineering & Associates Group LLC
LBYD, Inc.
Leidos
Leo A Daly
Lowe Engineers
LS3P Associates Ltd.
JULY
M3 Construction Services Inc.
Mason & Hanger
Merrick & Company
Micah Group Energy & Environmental
Michael Baker Corporation
Moffatt & Nichol
North Wind Group
O’Brien & Gere
Parsons
PES Structural Engineers
AUGUST
SA/SC/Carolinas JETS Conference
NOTE: If you missed an opportunity to place
a sustaining member article from a previous
month, please remember you can still submit
your article over the next three months.
SEPTEMBER
Plexus Scientific Corp.
Pond & Company
POWER Engineers, Inc.
Q Solutions, Inc.
Reynolds, Smith & Hills, Inc.
Rosser International
Schenkel Shultz
Sherlock, Smith & Adams
Siemens Industries Inc
Spatial Engineering Inc.
OCTOBER
SpecPro Environmental Services LLC
Stanley Consultants Inc.
Stantec Inc.
STOA Architects
Sundt Construction, Inc.
TAB Services
TEPA, LLC
Tetra Tech, Inc.
The Polote Corporation
The Whiting Turner Contracting Co.
Thomas & Hutton Engineering, Co.
NOVEMBER
Thompson Engineering Inc.
3E Consultants, Inc.
Tidewater Environmental Services, Inc.
Trinty Analysis & Development Corp
URS Corporation
Versar
Volkert, Inc.
WB Interiors
Weston Solutions, Inc.
Woolpert, Inc.
DECEMBER
SAME Savannah Post Christmas Party
5
SAVANNAH
POST
(Building the Builders in Afghanistan continued from page four)
these ASTMs to assure work was being performed in accordance with the
appropriate standards.
USACE looked for ways to fund this effort, but fiscal constraints on the
use of taxpayer funds prevented TAA from purchasing these standards for
the ABA. TAA then reached out to the Savannah Post who quickly agreed
to purchase these ASTMs and then gift them to the ABA.
TAA Commander Col. Pete Helmlinger, praised the gesture as great
news. “We appreciate the generosity of the Savannah SAME post!” he
wrote in an email. “Your post is making a difference building partner capacity through the Afghan Builders Association by donating this ASTM set.”
Brig. Gen. Donald Jackson, Transatlantic Division Forward Commander,
also applauded the contribution. “The Savannah Post support in this effort
helps make possible the prosperity of an entire nation-state,” he said.
“Their eagerness to provide resources where a pressing need exists
is a reflection on the character of their organization.”
Throughout the world, the Society of American Military Engineers
works hand-in-hand with government and private design firms and
construction contractors to provide education and support to the
engineering communities within the military and other government
agencies. Their goal is to advance the partnership between government
and the architectural, engineering and construction industry. When the
Savannah Post heard that the ABA was in need of these ASTM Standards,
they immediately saw the value of this endeavor and the way that it fit
perfectly within their goal of advancing this type of partnership.
Sally Riker, SAME Fellow with the Savannah Post responded,
“I’m so glad that this will work out. It fits in perfectly with SAME’s mission
and objectives. This way our members will know that all their support and
their companies’ support goes to something [worthwhile].” Joel Burke,
Chairman of the Board of Directors added, “Everyone involved … was
excited that our post will be instrumental in helping to stand up this lab”
With the proven skills of the staff of the ABA, and now with these
standards as the tools needed to perform the work, TAA has the greatest
confidence that the delegation of this important laboratory validation
program to the ABA will be a success. Once the group has been in
operation for a while, they have a business plan and legislative support to
increase this type of service and become self sustaining. They plan to
expand the lab verification program and several other construction
related services into the common construction marketplace, establishing
new business practice for Afghanistan, and helping the country to
gain self sufficiency.
(SAME Savannah Post Scholarship Program continued from page one)
1. For the $1,000 scholarship: Be a high school senior planning to
5. Meet at least one of the following:
enroll in, or a college student enrolled in, an engineering, science,
a. Be a Savannah Post SAME member or a sustaining firm member.
math, or related curriculum at an accredited college or university. b. A dependent of a Savannah Post SAME member or a sustaining firm member.
c. Be sponsored by a Savannah Post SAME member or a sustaining firm member.
Enrollment must be planned for the 2015/2016 school year.
6. Provide a completed application form to include: letters of recommendation
2. For the $2,500 scholarship: Be a current college student
(maximum of 3) from high school or college advisor, academic instructors
(freshman, sophomore or junior) enrolled in and engineering,
or immediate supervisor, copy of high school or college transcript, copy
science, math, or related curriculum at an accredited college or
of SAT/ACT results, and a 2-page, double-spaced essay that discusses
university. Enrollment must be planned for the 2015/2016 school
why you should be a recipient of an SAME scholarship.
year. Revalidation will consist of resubmitting the scholarship
application and meeting the B average in an engineering, math or 7. Along with your application please submit a headshot photo and a short
BIO including the name of your high school, or college, your parent’s
related major.
names, your extracurricular activities and interests, and your contact
3. For the $5,000 scholarship: Be a high school senior planning to
information (email and cell phone).
enroll in an engineering, science, math or related curriculum at an
accredited college or university. Enrollment must be planned for
the 2015/2016 school year. Revalidation will consist of resubmitting After a review by the Scholarship Committee, the Post will announce the
winners in early July 2015. The winners will be presented the scholarship
the scholarship application and meeting the B average and an
checks at the July 2015 membership meeting or by mail if the winner cannot
engineering, math or related major.
4. Have a minimum of a B average (3.0 on 4.0 scale), whether college attend. Questions can be directed to Frank Randon at (202) 368-6150 or
or high school. Higher grade point averages will greater preference. e-mail at frank.randon@usace.army.mil
LINKS TO KNOW
WE WANT YOUR INPUT
http://www.same.org/
If you have an article or announcement you want to include in future issues of the newsletter,
please submit them by the end of the previous month to Larry Christopher with Brasfield & Gorrie
General Contractors at lchristopher@brasfieldgorrie.com
http://samesavannahpost.org/
http://www.sas.usace.army.mil/
All newsletters are posted on the Savannah SAME Post’s website
6