December 2012

President's Report

“You make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give.” – Unknown

As we are now fully engaged into the holiday season, if you’re like me, your days are filled with shopping, sending Holiday cards, and listening to your kids say, “I want that for Christmas.” I’m sure a lot of you are planning meals and visits with family and loved ones. I’m personally approaching this Holiday Season with an “attitude of gratitude!” This means being thankful for the many blessings that have come my way this year and what’s to come next year. I look to enjoy and spend more time with my family, as well as enjoy 2012-2013 with my “SMPS Family.” I see SMPS Columbus as one Chapter and one family dedicated to serving each other, the organization, and the AEC industry.

What I love most about SMPS Columbus is our unwavering commitment to give back, which makes this year’s Holiday Charity Party so special. Our Membership chose this year’s charity, “Million Lego for Kids” through a member outreach campaign. The goal was to select a charity that focuses on servicing children, families, and communities in Central Ohio; allows members the option to contribute gifts or monetary donations, and compliments the values of SMPS. As you can see, “Million Lego for Kids” fit all of these categories, plus it relates to our industry! Hopefully these gifts will inspire the next generation to become great leaders in the A/E/C industry. A special thanks goes out to the Special Events and Logistics Committee for doing an awesome job organizing this year’s party.

What we’ve accomplished in such a short amount of time going into the New Year is amazing. We’ve completed three successful program luncheons, welcomed more than 15 new members at the recent New Member Breakfast, and we are very close to accomplishing our sponsorship goals. The MIX Committee has successfully kicked off its “MIX Master” offering this year, and the morning MIX programs now average more than 25 attendees. We are also recognizing SMPS member anniversaries at the Monthly Luncheon Programs. Our Chapter is in great health and none of this is even remotely possible without the continued support of our annual and monthly sponsors!

In 2013, we’re going to continue our Passionate, Personal and Positive (P3) message with a focus on serving our membership, community, and industry. This begins with our January Program, “The Future of Healthcare Facilities.” Like last year’s program, this will be a breakfast program, and we’ve extended an invitation to hospital executives, administrators and facility directors. Plans are fully underway for our 30 Year Celebration, which will be held at the North Bank Pavilion. We will celebrate the great history of our Chapter and recognize our member firms’ industry contributions showcasing high-profile projects over the past 30 years! There is so much to look forward to in 2013. Please check out the calendar of events so that you don’t miss events such as the CPSMU Classes, The Basics of InDesign, SMPS Family/ Member Appreciation Event and the 2013 SMPS Celebrity Golf Outing.

I consider it a huge blessing to serve as your 2012-2013 Chapter President! What is even more humbling is the spirit of service and support I’ve received from each committee member, Board, and membership. I thank you all for your hard work and I wish you many blessings this Holiday Season.

Peace and Blessings!
Scott A. Porter
SMPS Columbus Chapter President

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Celebrity Charity Golf Classic - Did You Know?

The SMPS Celebrity Charity Golf Classic committee is very pleased to announce that Coach Bobby Knight will be the Honorary Chairman for the 2013 SMPS Celebrity Charity Golf Classic! Coach Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men’s college basketball games and is most well known as the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers.

While at Indiana, Knight led his teams to three NCAA championships, one National Invitation Tournament championship, and 11 Big Ten Conference championships. He received the National Coach of the Year honor four times and the Big Ten Coach of the Year honor eight times. In 1984, he coached the USA men’s Olympic team to a gold medal. We are very excited to have Coach Knight be a part of our event this coming year!

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Crossroad's Mentorship Program

The Crossroads Mentorship Program echoes the mission of SMPS: to advocate, educate and connect and the namesake, “Crossroads,” expresses the idea of bringing two people together to share experiences and knowledge for personal growth and professional transformation. The program uses a formula that allows our participants to not only have a voice in their match, but also access to structured programming, tools and resources to get moving in the right direction, and networking events to keep you talking. Season 4 is officially underway and includes eight pairs. Keep reading to learn about how Kelly Zemcik and Karen Roch have benefitted from this program.

Contact Suzanne Cody, the Crossroads Committee Leader, at suzannec@ma-architects.com if you are interested in participating in 2013-2014’s Season 5!

Do you like to meet at a different location each time or do you have a favorite place you meet? Why?
We are planning to meet at different locations and we take turns selecting the spot. We thought it would be more fun and give each other the opportunity to choose.

What time of day do you find works best to meet?
We meet at 4:30 – 6:00 on Tuesdays; nice balance between work and personal time.

What is at least one of your personal goals as a mentor or protégé for this mentorship relationship?
KZ: I’m often sending out 4-6 proposals a month. I’m always revamping and refreshing my proposals, but sometimes it’s hard to see what could be shown graphically or where I need to update or make a section brief because it’s a bit wordy. I’m excited to get a fresh set of eyes on my work going into the new year. I’m also implementing a BD for technical staff at my company. I can’t think of anyone better to help me lay the ground work than Karen!
KR: One of my goals is to learn from Kelly about how she likes to work and be part of the team. It is important to me to learn about new communication skills, so that I can continue to be supportive of everyone on my team.

What have you learned so far from your mentor or protégé?
KZ: Over the past year and a half I’ve taken on various roles at Miles-McClellan. I welcome the challenge but after meeting with Karen I realized that I wasn’t quite sure what my specific role was and what their expectations of me were anymore. I needed to reopen communication with my bosses, revisit my role in the company and define priorities and additional responsibilities. Now that I’ve had that discussion, I’ve set specific personal development and company oriented goals that are now achievable.
KR: It is amazing what can happen when you sit down and simply talk through ideas and situations! Kelly has great ideas and has set some really great goals for herself. The greatest thing is that when we leave our sessions, I feel a sense of pride and accomplishment.

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Welcome New Members

Daniel R. Geers, Structural Engineer
Jezerinac Geers & Associates

Jimmy Hoben, Director Central Ohio Region
Rudolph Libbe

John Kusnier, Project Developer
Davey Resource Group

Jordan Leopold, Marketing Director
The Superior Group

Thomas P. Niedhammer, Director
Thorson Baker & Associates

Antonio Robinson, CEO
King John Portable Toilets

Miraj Savla, Director of Business Development
Kabil Associates Inc.

Shashi Savla, President
Kabil Associates Inc.

Cassy Sleeper, Strategic Marketing Manager
Bruner Corporation

Megan E. Smith, Marketing Coordinator
Bruner Corporation

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Get to Know Your Board Members

Name: Julie Fountain Firm: Corna Kokosing Firm Role: Marketing Coordinator How long have you been a member of SMPS?: Since January of 2011  Education and/or Training/Qualifications: BFA Communication Design, Minor in Marketing from the University of North Texas- go Mean Green! Also studying for CPSM. Personal Industry Strengths: My passion is design, graphics, and how to most effectively communicate a consistent message through design. So more than just knowing how to use Adobe design software to make branding “look professional,” I value the concept behind what is created so that it’s effective! What do you enjoy most about SMPS? Everyone at SMPS genuinely enjoys spending time together. We know how to have fun and to truly build relationships. We are driven to keep growing professionally and to call out the strengths we see in those around us! Hobbies: Volleyball, volleyball, volleyball. I totally live vicariously through Misty May Treanor J. I love anything outdoors hiking, biking, and white water rafting. I’m involved in my church and I dabble in acoustic guitar (used to play more often so I need to get back on that!) Unique attributes: I’m from Dallas Texas; yes, I have met Chuck Norris! He wears his jeans much higher on his waist than he should.

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SMPS Member Anniversaries

9 years

John Harper - VP Business Development, Speer Mechanical
Deborah Shook - Marketing Manager
Patricia Perry - Marketing Coordinator, MKC Associates, Inc.
Stacy Cunningham - Marketing Manager, Dynamix Engineering, LTD
Steve Hermiller - Vice President, Mannik & Smith Group

8 years

Tiffany Babinsky - Area Marketing Manager, Brown and Caldwell
Mark King - Sr. Designer, Osborn Engineering
Rachel Headings - Marketing Manager, Burgess & Niple

7 years

Meredith Doppelt - Markets Specialist, NBBJ
Sarah Pilat - Marketing Manager, Bird Houk, A Division of OHM
Daniel Klecha - Business Development, GPD Group
Karen Meggyesy - Marketing Coordinator, GPD Group
Megan Strathman - Marketing Coordinator, MS Consultants
Michael Totsch - Director of Client Development, Tec Inc Engineering & Design
Hannah Kohler - Business Development Coordinator, Gilbane Building Company
Courtney Van Ostran - VP, Director of Marketing, Jobes Henderson & Associates
Raymond Stokes - Business Development Leader, Burgess & Niple

6 years

Kristen Hosni - Proposal Manager/Marketing Specialist, Resource International
Linda Dininger - Marketing and Communications Manager, Shook Construction
Jennifer Horvath - Marketing & Client Relations, DesignGroup
Katie Chiki - Marketing Manager, Elford
Susan Vosper - Marketing Manager, Turner Construction Company

5 years

Shyam Rajadhyaksha - Business Development, DLZ Corporation
Amy Morris - Marketing Coordinator, MS Consultants
David Grubbs - Director of Marketing, McDonald Cassell & Bassett
Donna Hinchman - Asst Proposal & Marketing Coordinator, Geosyntec Consultants
Tarrin Pelton - Marketing Coordinator, Burgess & Niple
Ryan Konst - Managing Director, Columbus Office, Steven Schaefer Associates
Brian Dean - Business Development Manager, Messer Construction Co.

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general

Download a copy the SMPS Winter newsletter here (in Adobe pdf format)

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