An Event to Remember....

Sure, we're a Top 30 Design Firm and we work hard to get there.  That said, we also have a fun side.  As you may have read in last month's post, October was our "Fall Fun Month." It was chock full of activities designed to bring employees together for a time of fun, fellowship, and good food.  Our talented team works hard to bring world-class solutions to our clients' toughest challenges, and a bit of levity helps to maintain the balance that keeps us at our very best.  We are committed to being an Employer of Choice and this is just one way that we work at it every day. 

Here's the story in pictures:



Oktoberfest was a blast with festive music, freshly-grilled brats, homemade potato salad, soft pretzels with
choice of toppings, and a keg of ice-cold root beer.

Data Management's Diane Wilkie, won first place
in the Oktoberfest homemade potato salad contest,
securing the coveted "Golden Potato Award."



Entries arrive in advance of lunchtime voting in
our 2012 Pumpkin Decorating/Carving Contest.

No pumpkin decorating contest would be complete
without yummy pie with which to feed our employee-judges.

 

Employees were invited to participate and vote in a Halloween
Hallway & Office/Cube Decorating Contest.  Team Lower Level
welcomed visitors downstairs with fun pictures of team members.

 

Having previously inhabited the lower level before relocation
to the East Building, the Electrical Systems Department's
presence could still be felt in the Haunted Forest.
 

If visitors survived the other creatures in the Haunted Forest,
this fierce animatronic feline was just waiting to pounce on his next meal.
 

The East Building's Haunted Hallway completely transformed
this Substation cube farm into a spooktacularly fun place for
employees and kids alike with a haunted hay ride and treats.

 

Of course, the whole experience would not be complete without
a good old fashioned scare from Substation's Pat Keene.
 

Visitors to the Haunted Forest for the annual Marketing Department
Halloween Party enjoyed delicious and nutrious treats.
 

Folks lined up waiting for the party to start and the food to flow.

 

Who knows who one might meet in the Haunted Forest?
Substation's Bob Uddin made it out just in the nick of time.

 

Someone wasn't so fortunate.  She apparently flew straight
into Purchasing's wall.  This is a shot of the fresh crime scene.

This week, Linda Gray (VP of Business Development) and Rich Collins (VP of Transmission & Distribution) are in Columbus, Ohio, for the Electrical Transmission and Substation Structures Conference.  Attendees are invited to stop by Booth 3 to register to win a hot new Kindle Fire!

 

 

Tomorrow is Election Day in the United States and lots of important races and proposals will be decided around the country.  No matter how you vote, it is important that you participate in this great facet of our republic democracy. 

 

 

Sunday, November 11th is Veterans Day.  This very special day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans.  We owe them a debt of gratitude we can never fully repay. 

 

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Engineering a win against breast cancer at IEEE

The 2012 IEEE Power and Energy Society's Transmission and Distribution Conference in Orlando is over, but what we did there is just starting.  You've likely read our earlier posts about Kindle Fire winners, but we'd like you to meet our booth's biggest winner -- breast cancer research.

This year's general conference theme was "Making Innovation Work for Tomorrow" and Commonwealth certainly has a long and distinguished history of engineering innovation. It began with the Foote brothers' earliest achievements here in Jackson, Michigan (see our Corporate Timeline) and continues on today with our commitment to providing our clients with world-class customer service, applying forward-looking technical expertise, protecting client resources, and designing convenient and powerful software products, like Transmission Grid Analytics^TM, to meet our clients' needs and expectations.  

The conference also had a special emphasis, and terrific panel presentation, on women in engineering.  To honor women in engineering, and frankly, women (and men) everywhere, Commonwealth chose to forego extra promotional giveaway trinkets and put our resources to a higher use...finding a cure and saving lives.

Commonwealth's booth

 Visitors to Booth 955 got the chance to take a spin on the candy dispenser to see if they could get a special pink M&M hidden among the others and win a $20 gift card.  For each card won, Commonwealth donated an equal amount to the fight against breast cancer.  Over 3 days, thanks to the countless conference attendees who came by and took a spin, Commonwealth gave away untold delicious candies, 43 gift cards, and $860 to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.  To learn more about this terrific organization, where over 90 cents of each dollar goes directly to research and awareness, please click HERE.  

Those who know Commonwealth, know of our long-time involvement in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, so this decision to support another great organization in the fight just made sense.  We know you love the logo pens, caps, key chains, bouncy balls, etc.  We also know that you love your mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters more, so we hope you'll think of us even without all the extra trinkets. :)

The conference is over, but our resources are just starting on their journey to bringing about, as BCRF's motto says, "Prevention and a cure in our lifetime."

Now that's innovation.  And it's working to give those battling and surviving cancer many more tomorrows.

More winners and pictures from Orlando

Commonwealth is pleased to announce the remaining Kindle Fire winners from Orlando:  G.T. Heydt, Franklin Lu, Dan Chaply, and Brian Booker.  Professor Heydt is the Regents' Professor and Center Director for the Power Systems Engineering Research Center at Arizona State University.  Mr. Lu is  Principal Engineer for System Planning and Protection with Snohomish County PUD.  Mr. Chaply is with PPL Electric Utilities.  Mr. Booker, T&D Lead at Arizona Public Service, is seen below with Commonwealth's Darryl Sentell.  Congratulations to all of our Kindle winners and a big "Thank you!" for visiting our booth and playing along.

G.T. Heydt

L-R: Franklin Lu, Dan Chaply

L-R: Brian Booker, Darryl Sentell

The team had a wonderful time in Orlando and after working hard for several days, decided to take a minute to relax their feet and enjoy the booth's comfy seats.

On Fire at IEEE in Orlando

We are pleased to announce the winners of our 2012 IEEE PES T&D Conference Kindle Fire Giveaway in Orlando!  Seen below with Commonwealth's Vice President of Business Development, Linda Gray, are winners Bob Sier and Ricardo Rodriquez.  Bob is an engineer in Substation Services with ATC.  Ricardo is an engineer with San Diego Gas & Electric.  Congratulations to both!

L-R: Bob Sier, Linda Gray

L-R: Ricardo Rodriquez, Linda Gray

Commonwealth's team is having a great time visiting with friends and making new ones, sharing the exciting new happenings at Commonwealth, and honing their expertise in the various technical sessions.  Among those in attendance is Steve Miller, seen below.  If you see Steve around Booth 955, you'll want to ask him how our newest transmission planning software releases in the Transmission Grid AnalyticsTM family -- namely Mapping and Cascade Analysis -- can help you plan smarter and easier.

Stephen S. Miller, P.E.