2010 Construction Outlook
A co-hosted event by CFMA of Arizona and McGraw-Hill Construction will bring together economic leaders in the Arizona market to share an informational update on the state of the construction economy from their unique quali¬fied vantage point. This region-specific forecast will provide a comprehensive preview of the Arizona economy that will help in avoiding hazards, while discovering opportunities.
 
WHEN:
February 11, 2010
Registration: 7 a.m.
Breakfast: 7:30 a.m.
Speakers 8:00 a.m. — 9:30 a.m.

WHERE:
Phoenix Airport Marriott (44th St & 202)

WHO:
Tom Lawless –President, CFMA
Cliff Brewis –McGraw-Hill, Senior Director of Editorial Operations and Economist
Floyd Roehrich –Arizona Department of Transportation, State Engineer
Kip C. Edwards –Banner Health, System Vice President, Design & Construction 

COST*:
Member: $65
Non-Member: $75

ONLINE REGISTRATION:
http://chapters.cfma.org/ValleyOfTheSun/email_form3.asp

Registration & Questions: CFMA-Admin@cox.net
Visit: http://chapters.cfma.org/ValleyOfTheSun/events.html
 
*All attendees will receive a copy of the McGraw-Hill Construction Outlook 2010, a $495 value.

Nominations are now being accepted for Consulting-Specifying Engineer‘s 40 Under 40 class of 2010.  The submission is divided into two deadlines: online nomination forms are due Jan. 29 and supporting materials are due Feb. 12.  Of the 40 Under 40 program, CSE’s website states, “Consulting-Specifying Engineer magazine is dedicated to encouraging and recognizing the most talented young individuals in the engineering community supporting the building industry.”

My favorite part of this program is the great photos of the winners, usually demonstrating their favorite hobby, from holding a giant bass to a model airplane to beloved pets.  It’s great to see the variety of talents these folks have!

Each winner will be profiled in the publication in the May 2010 Specifier’s Guide.

View 2009 winners and 2008 winners.

Full Disclosure: The company I work for is providing the professional services for the below project.  I typically don’t self-promote but found this to be a unique event that I wanted to share.

Paradise Valley Community College traded in the traditional golden shovels at groundbreaking ceremonies for a golden sledge hammer at Friday’s construction kick-off celebration. 

To kick off the demolition portion of the project, team members took their best shots with a golden sledge hammer at an interior wall with “Q up” painted on it. Here’s how they did!

The PVCC Q Building Remodel project will support the college’s math department and general instructional classes, as well as include a learning center to support the college’s Continuing Education and the Teaching & Learning program for faculty.  The approximately 48,000-gross-square-foot renovation will be comprised mostly of interior renovations but also include exterior modifications to help re-orient the facility to the existing PVCC campus.

The existing facility currently houses the county’s George L. Campbell Branch Library and the Arizona Agribusiness & Equine Center charter school, as well as vacant tenant space.

The construction manager at risk for the PVCC ‘Q’ Building Remodel is Jokake Construction with the architect as SmithGroup.  The facility is expected to open the end of 2010.

It’s the holidays…which means it’s a time for showing your coworkers how much you care for them, chocolate gifts, and well, having some fun! 

Here’s a fun online tool to make a holiday video that is sure to get your coworkers laughing — and involve them at the same time.  You know those mug shots you use in proposals all year?  Put them to good use for a fun holiday video by Elf Yourself. 

Check out a sample video of some A/E/C marketers you may know!

PRESS RELEASE:

Reinventing Client Relations for 2010

(PHOENIX, Ariz.) — The Society for Marketing Professional Services Arizona chapter presents its next monthly program Reinventing Client Relations for 2010: Using Psychographics to Make Your Marketing Efforts Invincible in This Economy on Jan. 21, 2010, 7:15 – 9:00 a.m. at Fiesta Inn Resort, 2100 S. Priest Drive, Tempe.  The cost of the program is $35 for SMPS members, $50 for non-members and $60 for walk-ins.

Each client pays attention to the promotion of a firm’s services through one of four personal windows. Everyone mainly looks through one solitary window. Today’s question is: Are you communicating only through your personal view of the world, or are you smartly sensitive to everyone else’s varying views? Professional marketers already know about demographics in marketing. Now you need to know about psychographics to be a complete marketer for your clients.

Psychographer Jack Dermody will walk attendees through the basics of completing the task of being a great and persuasive communicator to all clients in presentations, meetings and proposal work.  An online survey to be completed prior to and used during the event will be provided at time of registration.

To register for this event, please visit www.smpsarizona.org/events.

About the Speaker

Jack Dermody delivers unbeatable Organizational Development workshops through personality assessments, teambuilding, workplace language usage, democratic processes in the workplace, group facilitation, conflict management, stress management, violence prevention, civil treatment and personal development. No ordinary seminar leader, he facilitates learning through high-energy interaction, hands-on discovery and endless humor.

Career milestones include the Peace Corps in Niger in West Africa, an M.A. in Applied Linguistics from UCLA, 14 books written in the areas of language and communication, and — more recently — nearly a decade of training for the city of Phoenix as one of their most requested facilitators.

The Society for Marketing Professional Services Arizona (www.smpsarizona.org) was founded in 1983 and has grown to include more than 200 marketing professionals from the architecture, engineering and construction industry.  It is the only organization in the state that gives A/E/C marketing professionals access to their collaborations, competitors and clients.  SMPS membership offers professional development seminars, programs on industry trends, panel discussions, networking events and a mentoring program.

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