Rockin' Roadside Results

Thanks to the determination of our volunteers despite the cold and rain, and the generosity of our community partners, our Rockin' Roadside Clean-up this past Saturday was a success.  Over 50 volunteers came out and removed truckloads of bags of garbage from along the roadside, making the community a much more attractive place.  You can read the newspaper coverage here.  The winner of the Michigan International Speedway tickets plus pit passes was Marilyn Deverell.  Marilyn, who has lived in Jackson for 30 years, never thought she'd win anything, so you can imagine how she felt when her name was drawn.  Congratulations to Marilyn!

Clean-up sponsors included:

Michigan International Speedway

Lowe's 

PNC Bank

Pizza Hut

Jimmy Johns

Panera

Qdoba

Bob Evans

Sercombe Trucking

Northwest Refuse

Libra Industries

Blackman Township

K105.3 WKHM

Just one truckload of debris volunteers removed during the Rockin' Roadside Cleanup on 4/28.

These tires were also cleaned up from along the road.

Despite the weather, this outstanding group worked hard and made a difference !

ELECTRIC POWER 2012 Registration Discount

Planning to register for ELECTRIC POWER 2012 May 15-17 in Baltimore, Maryland?  If so, Commonwealth's Vice President of Power Generation & Energy, Sam Barnes, would like to extend a special discount to you.  Simply click here and enter VIP code SBARNES to save $100 on your full conference registration.  Please feel free to share this information with your friends and colleagues.

Sam will be speaking at the conference on Wednesday, May 16th in Session 8B - Water and Wastewater Issues.

If you have any questions or need assistance registering, please contact the ELECTRIC POWER registration team at registration@tradefairgroup.com or (713) 343-1876.  Please be sure to provide them your VIP code so that you receive your discount.  

Rockin' Roadside Clean-Up Revs Up

Attention race fans!  How would you like to win 2 free tickets, plus pit passes, to a 2012 NASCAR race at the Michigan International Speedway?  Then, come on out this Saturday, April 28th from 9:30 to 11:30AM to Commonwealth's Rockin' Roadside Clean-Up of Boardman Road in Jackson, Michigan where someone will win!  Not into racing?  How about boating?  Jackson's Hit Music, 105.3 WKHM, will be broadcasting LIVE and volunteers will also have the opportunity to register to win a one year lease of a pontoon boat.

Commonwealth Soars in Top 500 Ranking

What an exciting way to end the week!

Influential industry authority, Engineering News-Record, has released its highly-respected 2012 Top 500 Design Firms list and Commonwealth has secured a coveted spot again this year, as determined by annual revenue.  Even more exciting is that we've moved up 61 spots from last year's ranking!

Commonwealth President, Dennis F. DeCosta released the following statement today:

Power projects -- who benefits, who pays?

Yesterday, an article came out suggesting that Wisconsin ratepayers are upset with potentially paying for a power line project which, if authorized by the Midwest system operator, they assert will benefit Michigan and which came about in response to a blackout which took place last year in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (U.P.).

"It appears that customers in Wisconsin may be paying for the project, and most of the benefits go to the U.P., to customers in another state," said Charlie Higley, executive director of the Citizens' Utility Board.

Recently, we posted about Commonwealth's Steve Miller presenting a paper on the potential for MISO multi-value projects to provide a benefit to Michigan as one of the featured speakers at the Michigan Forum on Economic Regulatory Policy put on by Michigan State University's Institute of Public Utilities.  Given its relation to the conversation taking place in Wisconsin, we present the paper again here.

Easter Break and New Videos Released

Welcome back!  Hope your Easter break was enjoyable.  Can you believe the temperatures we've been having recently?  Of course, some have experienced more Midwestern storms wrecking havoc.  Our thoughts are certainly with those impacted.

Around Commonwealth, things have been exciting!  We've brought in a number of talented new folks to join the expanding team, are overhauling our website, and have created a series of videos to help tell the great story that is Commonwealth.

Here's a first look at Connect With Confidence:

If you are an engineer searching for that next job, or know someone who is, you'll want to watch this sneak peek of Working at Commonwealth:

You can view all of our new videos on our YouTube channel here.