“Covering Your Assets: The ROI of Internal Engagement,” coauthored by Greg Hebeler, PhD, PE (Golder Associates) and Melissa Quinton, PE (S&ME), will be presented at the 2013 Fall Conference of ASFE/The Geoprofessional Business Association (GBA).

People are the most precious asset of just about any professional-services firm. Is your firm doing enough to protect and develop those precious assets? Through this presentation, two emerging, industry leaders share tips and tools to create successful internal engagement programs based on firsthand experiences and success. Learn how to achieve staff loyalty and a high return on investment by offering an internal-engagement program that lowers turnover and increases efficiencies in recruiting, integrating, continually developing, and retaining staff.

Greg is a co-founder of Golder’s professional-development group that earned a 2012 Environmental Business Journal Industry Leadership Award. Melissa completed 2012-13’s Fundamentals of Professional Practice (FOPP) Class 22, for which she conducted research to develop an outline for a future-leaders program for S&ME. She is currently working with S&ME’s leadership to develop and implement an internal future-leaders program.

S&ME’s President, Randy Neuhaus, PE, chairs the ASFE/GBA External Relations Committee and was on hand to support the presentation.

About ASFE

ASFE is an organization of geoprofessional firms – those engaged in geotechnical, civil, and infrastructure engineering; environmental science; and construction materials engineering and testing. Established in 1968, ASFE’s mission focuses on risk management, meaningful involvement in project planning and execution, and merited recognition for its members’ business, professional acumen and accomplishments.

October 10-12, 2013
Boston, Massachusetts

Kinder Morgan (KM) and S&ME are like-minded in that both deeply value safety in the work place. At KM, one of the largest energy companies in the United States, safety is a key performance metric for both employees and contractors. This year, KM’s Remediation Group established a safety award for contractor staff who exemplify excellent safety culture and practices, and recognized John Nyvall, Project Engineer, as the S&ME, Inc. safety award recipient. The honor was presented by KM’s Corporate Director of Environmental Services.

John oversees environmental field operations at the Spartanburg Pumping Station and Mount Holly Road Group sites. The ongoing field work scope includes operation and maintenance of groundwater extraction and air sparging systems, monitoring and remediation well installation, remediation pilot performance, and related subcontract activities. When in the field, John conducts or participates in daily safety briefings. He is a keen observer of worker behavior and never hesitates to provide input to S&ME employees, subcontractors, and clients. John demands strict compliance from everyone on the site. In the award presentation, KM’s Remediation Program Manager recounted an instance when he was a passenger in John’s vehicle. John started the car’s engine but refused to move until the client fastened his seat belt. This made an obvious and very positive impression on the client and re-emphasized John’s commitment to safe behavior.

The American Council of Engineering Companies has selected Randy Neuhaus to serve as Vice Chair of the National Executive Committee for a two-year term.

The Executive Committee acts on behalf of the Board of Directors, providing guidance in carrying out Board-approved policies and programs. The Executive Committee has the authority to exercise essentially the full powers of the Board in matters that arise between Board meetings. It also recommends policies for Board consideration and advises the Board on financial matters. The nine volunteer officers comprise the voting members of the Executive Committee, and their terms of office begin each year at the conclusion of the Board of Directors meeting at the Annual Convention. The voting members of the Executive Committee are also voting members of the Board of Directors.

 Randy has been active in ACEC on a state and national level since 1998. His volunteer work began in Tennessee where he rose through the ranks to the president-elect position in 2005. After moving to North Carolina to take his position as Executive Vice President of S&ME, Randy remained active in the ACEC/NC working his way to President in 2013. During October 2013, Randy delivered “A Culture of Unconditional Dedication to Safety” at the ACEC National Conference in Boston.

It is truly an honor for S&ME that our CEO holds a national position in an esteemed community of our peers.

The 108^th Annual Conference of the Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA) is set for June 22-25, 2015 in Raleigh. S&ME has stepped up in a major way with three presentations by our professionals:

Ed Henriques, PG  – Greensboro, NC
“The Art and Science of Conducting Environmental Site Assessments”

Mike Marcus, PhD  – Greenville, SC
“The Translation of Vapor Intrusion Data to Risk Management Information”

Ashley Sapyta, PE  – Greenville, SC
“PSD Permitting – The Basics”

In addition, Stanford Lummus, PE, Spartanburg, will co-chair the session: “Hazardous Waste Characterization, Treatment and Site Remediation.”

This year, A&WMA is inaugurating a Technical Track as part of the Student and Young Professional Program. Ashley Sapyta is directing the development of the Technical Track that comprises five platform sessions and five panel discussions. This Track brings together senior-level regulatory agency program managers, attorneys and consultants to inform, educate and encourage those young professionals.

The Board of Directors for the South Atlantic States Section of the Air & Waste Management Association has named Ashley Sapyta, PE, to the Board for a two-year term. Her immediate goal in the alignment of the National and Sectional Organizations is to re-start the South Carolina Chapter of AWMA. She intends to focus on involvement of and support by industry, students, academics and consultants.

S&ME is proud to present three of our experts as they explain some of the latest innovations in the transportation industry from first hand project experience at OTEC this year.

Joe Young, PE

will be presenting “Geotechnical Design Challenges for Corridor Q US460 Connector in SW Virginia.” This presentation focuses on the impact of prior mining activities on the design of the cut slopes along the project, with an emphasis on the application and usefulness of 3D geologic modeling to address the cuts, fills and mine mitigations.

Jonathan Hale

will be presenting “Louisville Ohio River Bridges Downtown Crossing.” Included will be a project overview and details of materials testing, project challenges, construction documentation and the use of Non-Destructive Testing for the evaluation of existing structures and new construction.

David Schoen

will be presenting “Thermal Integrity Profiling (TIP) of Drilled Shafts in South Carolina.” TIP is a relatively new non-destructive test (NDT) method using the heat of hydration to ultimately assess the integrity of cast-in-place deep foundations.

Two S&ME environmental experts will be participating in the Air & Waste Management Association 109th Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans this June.

Stanford Lummus, PE, Vice President

will present S&ME’s work, “Remediation of Highly Fractured Rock Aquifer Using Air Sparging.” The session details the results of a pilot test designed and conducted to test the potential applicability of applying air sparging and biosparging technologies to highly fractured granodiorite for remediation of volatile contaminants. While air sparging has long been recognized as an effective technology to remove VOCs from groundwater in soils, this was a first to test the efficacy on fractured rock.

Ashley Sapyta, PE, Technical Principal

has organized and will chair a panel discussion session entitled, “Sustainability Fundamentals: Principals, Standards, Models, Metrics and Practices.” This Panel will discuss the state-of-the-art in sustainability practices and the likely evolutionary pathway for the sustainability concept in a variety of settings and applications. Representatives from the heavy manufacturing sector (Nucor), the public utility sector (Entergy), academia (University of New Orleans) and a leading engineering-procurement-construction firm (Fluor) will each present their enterprise’s viewpoint on the meaning of sustainability and the paths for success in achieving philosophical breakthrough in the enterprise.

Business North Carolina magazine and Cherry Bekaert LLP hosted the 6^th annual Mid-Market Fast 40 luncheon on September 20, 2016, honoring North Carolina’s top 40 fastest growing mid-size companies. S&ME ranked 26th based on our growth over the past three years in both revenue and employee growth.

Kara Stucky of Cherry Bekaert LLP interviewed Randy Neuhaus, President and CEO of S&ME, for the Award. When asked about major contributors to the success of S&ME, Randy responded,”…that finding the right people and igniting their entrepreneurial spirit is a major contributor to S&ME’s growth over the last decade…it is people who will make all the difference. Implementing programs that nurture that spirit and allow those people to be successful is key.”

THE NC Fast 40 program honors leading contributors to revenue and employment growth across North Carolina.

The John R. Browning Young Professional of the Year Award is given to an S&ME employee who exemplifies professionalism, dedication and technical acumen, and who is under 35. For 2017, S&ME management selected Mary Beth Cline, PE, from Environmental Services to receive the award.

Mary Beth Cline, PE, has distinguished herself both inside and outside S&ME. A graduate of Clemson University where she received her degree in Biosystems Engineering, Mary Beth was a member of our inaugural S&ME Leadership Development Class and is a leader in S&ME’s Young Professionals Program. Outside S&ME, Mary Beth belongs to numerous civic and professional organizations in Charleston, often holding leadership positions.

Mary Beth’s career at S&ME began 11 years ago in the Spartanburg office where she led and coordinated Phase I Environmental Site Assessments. During those early years she also was involved in the Duke Energy Nuclear Station Groundwater Protection projects. In 2009 she received her Professional Engineering license and soon moved to Charleston where she continued to distinguish herself as a technical leader, giving presentations at the S&ME Technical Conference while taking on increasingly responsible project positions. In 2014, Mary Beth was name a Project Manager taking on a leadership role in the Environmental Business Unit. She employs her exceptional skill set to serve the environmental efforts of many high profile projects, such as South Carolina Department of Transportation Port Access Road that will connect Interstate 26 to the proposed High Leatherman Container Terminal on the former Charleston Naval Complex. At the same time, Mary Beth continues her dedication to mentoring younger staff as they too advance in their careers.

Congratulations, Mary Beth!

S&ME’s commitment to fostering an actively caring community has gained recognition by the Charlotte business community. The SmartCEO organization, publisher of SmartCEO magazine, named S&ME to its list of top 50 companies in the Charlotte area that successfully cultivate creative, collaborative workplaces and champion positive, productive and performance-driven corporate cultures. Read more about S&ME’s story on the SmartCEO website.

Charlotte’s Top Company Cultures joined to celebrate their selection on February 7, 2017 at an energetic awards celebration. “The 2017 Corporate Culture Award winners have realized that running a company is more than head count and the bottom line. It’s about creating a place where creativity, energy and ideas are cultivated. Through this they are able to not only enhance performance and sustain their companies’ competitive advantages, but also enrich the lives of those they employ and inspire them to make a greater impact on the world,” says Jaime Nespor-Zawmon, President of SmartCEO. “We’re honored to celebrate with the leaders of Charlotte’s top company cultures and recognize them for building true performance-driven cultures.”

Jason Ross, PE, Project Engineer and Michael Rowland, PE, both from the Energy Business Unit at S&ME’s Columbus location, presented a technical paper at the World of Coal Ash Conference. Their paper, “GCL Chemical Compatibility Testing with CCR Landfill Leachate” details the results of a laboratory testing program identifying chemically compatible geosynthetic clay liners with site-specific leachate for use in construction of a coal combustion residual landfill liner. The paper can be read in its entirety by following the link on the title.

World of Coal Ash (WOCA) is an international conference organized by the American Coal Ash Association (ACAA) and the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER). The 2017 conference is the 7th joint biennial meeting with a focus on the science, applications and sustainability of worldwide coal combustion products (CCP’s) as well as gasification products. The conference was held May 8-11, 2017 in Lexington Kentucky.