IRWA Recognizes Aiello for Leadership in Classroom Education

Aiello

Congratulations go out to our own Jim Aiello, in our Land Services Department, for his leadership and outstanding achievement in being awarded this year's IRWA Chapter Performance Rewards Program Prize for Classroom Education for "mega"-sized chapters!


Today, Commonwealth released the following statement:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 30, 2012

CONTACT: Tim R. Davis, SR/WA - Land Services Manager

(517) 768-7153 or via email to tim.davis@cai-engr.com

Aiello Receives Year’s International Right of Way Association Award for Classroom Education

JACKSON, MI – Commonwealth Associates, Inc. is pleased to announce that James Aiello, SR/WA, P.E. has been named this year’s Chapter Performance Rewards (CPR) Program Prize Recipient for Classroom Education for “mega”-sized chapters by the IRWA.  The program was created to recognize and reward the efforts of Chapter Leaders in Classroom Education, Credentialing, and Online Education.  Aiello is Co-Education Chair for Chapter 7, which had the highest percentage of Classroom Education participants relative to the chapter’s membership base in the “mega” Chapter Size category.  He receives a complimentary registration and paid travel to the 2012 Annual International Education Conference in Seattle, Washington, where he will participate in the conference’s Education Update and Best Practices Discussion, sharing ideas, tips, and strategies which contributed to the chapter’s success in Classroom Education. 

Aiello, a Professional Engineer and Licensed Real Estate Agent, has over 20 years of experience in design, management, and construction administration for a variety of civil engineering projects. He has dedicated nine years to land services, including the acquisition of easements, right-of-way in fee, relocations, and temporary permits and licenses for governmental agencies and other clients.  Projects have included airports, roadway improvements, utility projects, relocation, and wind power.  “Jim consistently demonstrates industry leadership and he approaches every activity with an amazing amount of energy and enthusiasm,” said Tim Davis, SR/WA, Manager of Commonwealth’s Land Services Department.

In addition to its Land Services, Commonwealth offers a complete package of engineering and consulting services for clients and is proud to be listed among the 2012 Top 40 Design Firms by EC&M Magazine and the 2012 Top 500 Design Firms by Engineering News-Record.  The company maintains principal offices in Mount Vernon, Washington; Atlanta, Georgia; and Jackson, Michigan, along with satellites in Columbus and Dayton, Ohio; Roanoke, Virginia; and Oakland, California.


For more information, please visit: www.cai-engr.com.

On Facebook at: www.facebook.com/commonwealthassociates

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See you in Atlanta!

Commonwealth Wind Project

Commonwealth will be participating in WINDPOWER 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia, from June 3-6.  If you stop by Booth 5754, you can chat with Vice President of Business Development, Linda Gray, and electrical engineers Bob Putnam and Gerry Callison.    

Speaking of power, Gerry will be demonstrating the power of our newest software release, Transmission Grid AnalyticsTM - Mapping.  You won't want to miss this great new tool and see how its ability to link a wind resources map to electrical data on the nearest substation can make your planning smarter, simpler, and easier.

The Expo starts on Sunday afternoon, continues on Monday and Tuesday (10AM - 6PM) and concludes on Wednesday (9AM - 3PM).  

Look forward to seeing you there!

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.

Barnes Announces Power & Energy Department New Hires

Today, Commonwealth released the following statement:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 10, 2012

Contact: Samuel R. Barnes (517) 262-8258

National Engineering Firm Grows

Power Generation & Energy Team

JACKSON, MI – Commonwealth Associates, Inc.’s Power Generation and Energy Department Manager and Vice President, Samuel R. Barnes, P.E., is pleased to announce the department’s newest hires.

William McCourtie

William McCourtie, P.E. is a Senior Mechanical Engineer, formerly with HDR.  McCourtie has decades of experience in the development, design, and construction of power plants of all fuel types.  Engineering Specialist, Chuck Haglund, has officially joined the team and will initially be working on loan to the Substation Department.  Haglund brings a wealth of experience and is a tremendous asset to the Power and Energy team.  Prior to coming to Commonwealth, he was with Black & Veatch.  Courtney VanHemert is the department’s new Administrative Assistant.  VanHemert is completing her studies in Business Administration at Jackson Community College. 

Courtney VanHemert

“Bill, Chuck, and Courtney are terrific additions to this department.  Bill and Chuck’s depth of expertise is consistent with what people have come to expect from their interactions with Commonwealth.  The same can be said for Courtney’s professionalism and commitment to excellence, and it is my privilege to work alongside them as we continue growing this part of our business,” said Barnes.

Commonwealth offers a complete package of engineering and consulting services for clients and is proud to be listed among the 2012 Top 40 Design Firms by EC&M Magazine and the 2012 Top 500 Design Firms by Engineering News-Record (ENR).  Headquartered in Jackson, Michigan, the company maintains principal offices in Mount Vernon, Washington and Atlanta, Georgia, along with offices in Columbus and Dayton, Ohio, Roanoke, Virginia, and Oakland, California.

For more information, please visit: www.cai-engr.com.

On Facebook at: www.facebook.com/commonwealthassociates

On Twitter at: www.twitter.com/caiengr_dot_com

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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.

Conferences, Speakers, and Expos -- Oh My!

This week, we're in sunny Orlando, Florida, for the IEEE PES Transmission & Distribution Conference and Expo.  It's certainly warm and only getting hotter as our booth visitors can register to win a hot new Kindle Fire.  On top of that, we're spicing things up by giving away tasty spice blend packets again this year.  You can find great recipes on our website to put those spices to the test.

Next week, we'll be in Baltimore, Maryland, for Electric Power 2012 where Commonwealth's Vice President of Power & Energy, Sam Barnes, will be co-presenting "My Coal Ash Pond Will Be Closed - What Do I Do With the Wastewater?" in a session about power plant wastewater and environmental compliance.

Last week, Commonwealth's Ian Hutt co-presented "Using Locational Marginal Prices to Estimate Real-Time Emissions From Electricity Use" to the Michigan Association of Hazardous Materials Professionals with Michelle Rogers, a graduate student at Wayne State University.

So, as you can see, we're not letting any grass grow under our feet.  Check back often to learn more about what we're doing to share knowledge, actively participate in the industry, and have fun in the process.

Week's End Website Trivia

In case you missed it, we've launched a brand new website!  You can check it out here.

For those playing our Commonwealth Trivia game, the answer to our website trivia question follows.

Q:  In what year did the Foote brothers construct the Croton Dam?

A:  In 1908, the Croton Dam was constructed with a new, unbelievably high voltage (110 kV) transmission line, prompting engineers from as far away as Russia, France, England, Japan, and Italy to travel to Michigan to see the new line and meet its designers.

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.

Another busy week around the office

Not only are we busy with a number of exciting new projects this week, but our staff members are also busy demonstrating passion and leadership in other ways.  Some examples --

Bruce Powell

Bruce C. Powell, P.E., with Commonwealth in Roanoke, has been elected as a Member-at-Large of the Virginia Mountain Section of IEEE.  Bruce is a proud military father whose son has courageously been serving our country in the Middle East.  In addition to his degree from Old Dominion, Bruce also graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VA Tech), where he was a member of the Corps of Cadets.  He has over 30 years of experience in the design of protection and control and relay settings for high-voltage electric facilities.  

A Senior Member of IEEE, and Power Society Member for over 36 years, Bruce has served as Chairman of the Richmond Section and Vice-Chairman of the Worchester Section.  Bruce also chaired the ABET Advisory Council for Virginia State University's Engineering Department for 12 years and served on the Advisory Council for Virginia Commonwealth University for 3 years.

Ian Hutt

Electrical engineer, Ian Hutt, is speaking at Central Michigan University today as part of their Engineering & Technology Alumni Career Day.  A 2007 grad, Ian is joined here at Commonwealth by fellow CMU alum Chris Nelson, and Commonwealth intern, Nick Prawdzik, who will be joining us after graduation.  The founder of the college's IEEE Student Chapter, Ian was the first electrical engineer to come out of CMU's program.  

Ian and Mrs. Hutt recently welcomed a son, William.

2011-2012 men's ice hockey team 

Commonwealth's men's ice hockey team wrapped up another exciting season with Game 27 this week.  Word is they didn't shatter their previous 16-10-1 record, but they are ready to come back strong and give it another go next season.  This season's roster included: Brandon Flager (goalie), Dan Agnello, Ryan Agnello, Mike Sokoll, Brian Schultz, Ken Wynychuk, Steve Arnold, Keith Schultz, Brian Wynychuk, Matt Halmekangas, Scott Czarnik, Brandon Houchin, Scott Marlett, and Andrew Bertke.  

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