APWA Bridges 1 October/November/December 2013

The Newsletter for Chapter Leaders October/November/December 2013

In This Issue

1 Last edition of Bridges

2 New APWA group works toward increasing student chapters

3 Developing the Next Generation

5 2014 Chapter and Branch Officers and Profile Information due

6 2014 Awards Program

6 Win a visit from Ian Hill

7 New Chapter Website Template

7 Education Calendar

Last edition of Bridges

This will be the final edition of Bridges, the electronic newsletter for APWA Chapter Leaders.

Bridges has been an informative publication that has addressed timely chapter issues, oppor-tunities available to chapters and highlighted chapter capacity best practices. This newsletter was produced six times per year for APWA’s chapter leaders. APWA began publishing Bridges in 2002.

The decision was made to discontinue Bridges for a number of reasons.

“Over the years APWA National has increased the number of communication tools utilized to share information and best practices with chapter leaders,” said APWA Director of Chapter Relations Brian Van Norman. “We are going to use In the Works as a communication vehicle on a weekly basis. That and the regular e-mail correspondence is more efficient than waiting to share information in Bridges that might not come out for two months.”

APWA National has been sending out the e-newsletter In the Works since April of 2009. Each week APWA National distributes two versions of the e-newsletter. One version is for chapter leaders, sharing update from National. The second version is distributed to members and non-members. Total distribution of In the Works hovers around 50,000 recipients on a weekly basis. It provides APWA with a platform to provide association happenings.

The content for In the Works includes: weekly headlines—both APWA-specific and about public works in general; the latest domestic and international public works job openings that have been posted to APWA WorkZone; a regu-larly-updated APWA Professional Development calendar of events; a section dedicated to APWA’s international efforts; and a section dedicated to our Business Alliance Partners that they can use to promote various events and/or products.

Van Norman stated, “In the Works is a well-read e-newsletter that we will use to reach our chapter leaders on a variety of issues.”

APWA Bridges 1

June/July 2013

The Newsletter for Chapter Leaders

June/July 2013This Month’s Focus: CONGRESS

In This Issue

1 2013 Top Ten Pubic Works Leaders of the Year Chosen

2 Marketing APWA at the Chapter Level...It Can Be Done!

4 Will Your Chapter Win the CMA Award?

4 July 13th Deadline to Inform National of Your Chapter Dinner at the 2013 Congress

5 Congress Highlights for Chapter Leaders

5 Continuing Education Units

7 Education Calendar

2013 Top Ten Pubic Works Leaders of the Year ChosenThe Top Ten Public Works Leaders of the Year Award seeks to inspire excellence and dedication in public service by recognizing the outstanding career service achievements of individual public works profession-als from both the public and private sectors. Refer to the May 2013 APWA Reporter for more information on the Top Ten Public Works Leaders of the Year.

Howard S. Lazarus, P.E., PWLFDirector of Public Works

City of Austin, Texas

Thomas M. (Tom) MontgomeryPublic Works Director

City of Hastings, Minnesota

Allen R. PersonsDirector of Public Works

Village of Plainfield, Illinois

John A. Edlebeck, P.E.Director of Public Works/City

EngineerCity of Waupaca, Wisconsin

Melissa A. (Missy) Gentry, P.E., MBAAssistant City Manager for OperationsCity of Columbia, South Carolina

William P. (Bill) HadleyPublic Works DirectorTown of Lexington, Massachusetts

Donald D. Jacobovitz, P.E., PWLFPublic Works Director

Putnam County, Florida

Wylie Bearup, P.E., Ph.D.Street Transportation Director/City Engineer

City of Phoenix, Arizona

Julia R. BuerenPublic Works Director

Contra Costa County, California

Christopher B. Burke, Ph.D., P.E., D.WRE, F.ASCE, President, Christo-pher B. Burke EngineeringRosemont, Illinois

APWA Bridges 1

April/May 2013

APWA hosted the biennial Chapter Leader Training in Kansas City on February 28-March 2. This year APWA hosted a half-day Chapter Leaders Membership Summit in conjunc-tion with the Leadership Training, “Putting Magic into Your Leadership Style.” Despite a record snowfall occurring a few days prior to the start of the Summit and Leadership Training, 107 chapter leaders and administrators from 50 chapters participated in the training programs.

“We appreciate the efforts of all those who attended and the support of our chapters in sending leaders to these training opportunities,” said Brian Van Norman, director of chapter relations for APWA.

The biennial event provides chapter leaders—many of them new to their positions—a chance to under-stand the workings of APWA: how National works with chapters, what services are provided, and which resources are available to chapters.

“There is so much in the way of information and resources available to chapter leaders,” said Van Norman. “The Summit and Leadership Training provides an opportunity for leaders to gain insight while meeting other leaders from across the United States and Canada to exchange ideas, share best practices and discuss chapter challenges. (continued on page 2)

The Newsletter for Chapter Leaders

April/May 2013This Month’s Focus: NPWW/CoMMuNiTy ServiCe

in This issue

1 2013 Membership Summit and Chapter Leadership Training Provides a Little Magic for APWA Members

3 Competition Will Help Grow Student Participation

6 Congress Site Selection Process Now open

7 Sustainability in Public Works Conference, May 13–15, 2013, San Diego, CA

7 2013 Awards Program and PACe Award eligibility

8 Check the Scoreboard—How Close Are you to Winning $500?

9 reach out to retain New Members

11 Solid Waste Management Technical Committee

12 The Top Ten Public Works Leaders Share Their Community Service

14 education Calendar

2013 Membership Summit and Chapter Leadership Training Provides a Little Magic for APWA Members

Leadership … The Magic Is Utilizing Your Skills to Build an Effective Team - David Sandy

Becoming an effective team

APWA Bridges 1 February/March 2013

By Clark Wantoch, Milwaukee County, Department of Transportation; Bill Dunlop, JSD Professional Services, Inc.

The Wisconsin section of APWA has a number of success stories resulting from the creation of a diversity committee. This fall at our technical conference, the chapter demonstrated its commitment to the importance of diversity by opening its conference with Brigadier General Gracus K. Dunn as the keynote speaker. The objective of this general (no pun intended) session was to hear how the U.S. Army imple-ments its diversity programs and how that can be applied to our work places.

Brigadier General Dunn currently serves in two roles in the Army Reserves. One assign-ment is the Commanding General of the Chicago-based 85th Support Command. His other assignment is in Fort Hood as the Deputy Commanding General for Support, First Army Division West. The general is a reserve officer and works in the private sector. In addition to talking about diversity, he raised the chapter’s awareness about the role of the reserves and how this impacts individuals from the chapter’s membership who serve as reservists.

The audience received a clear message from the start that good leadership will promote diversity. By continually developing and providing opportunities for everyone within an organization, we should be able to attain a workplace that reflects the makeup of our society. The general placed great importance on knowing the members of your team, judging and

developing them based on performance, and placing individuals in positions where they can best support the organization’s goals.

Part of knowing your team is to promote a culture where everyone knows and is aware of the differences of those around them. Formal diversity awareness events that highlight different cultures, generations, or genders, support these goals. These conscious efforts through events and training made by the Army, the general suggested, could also be done in public works.

The general asserted that by truly knowing your team, you are able to select members of your team that will provide the diversity needed to succeed. He reminded the chapter that in developing a team, diversity is a consideration to be used in member selections. He related leader-ship to being a football coach. The leader should know where everyone should be on the field and what each player’s responsibilities and abilities are. He also stressed that as you provide oppor-tunities, you need to provide practice through training and experience before team members are called upon to make the big play!

We are operating in a dynamic, multi-cultural environment. Leaders in any field must know the dynamics of their team to get the job done. The general was able to raise the chapter’s awareness of the role of leaders by showing how the Army’s focus on diversity creates a roadmap using focused leadership with stated goals and outcomes. (continued on page 2)

The Newsletter for Chapter Leaders February/March 2013

This Month’s Focus: VolunTeer recruiTMenT

in This issue

1 Brigadier General Gracus K. Dunn on Diversity in the Military Workplace

2 Award Submission Deadlines

3 charlotte Welcomes the Show for Snow

6 Donald c. Stone center

6 education calendar

Brigadier General Gracus K. Dunn on Diversity in the Military Workplace

APWA Bridges

1

August/September 2013

The Newsletter for Chapter Leaders

August/September 2013

This Month’s Focus:

STudenT OuTreach/

diverSiTy/yP

in This issue

1 chapter Membership

achievement award

winners announced

2 diversity committee

activities in the

Kansas city Metro

chapter

4 Want to engage More

chapter Members?

national to Provide

Opportunities for

chapter Participation

Webcasts

5 education calendar

Chapter Membership Achievement Award winners announced

The American Public Works Association is

proud to announce the winners of the 2013

Chapter Membership Achievement Award.

This award encourages membership growth by

honoring the chapters showing the largest net

increase in membership, compared to other

chapters of similar size.

Every APWA chapter in good standing is

eligible for consideration. However, the chapter

must have submitted its financial reports in

accordance with the Rules Governing Chapters

and must utilize the APWA National office for

administration of membership dues collection.

Congratulations to the 2013 winners for their

success in member retention and recruitment.

Special congrats to our returning champs –

Newfoundland-Labrador (2008, 2011 & 2012),

Ventura (2006), Utah (2008 & 2011), and

Washington (2008, 2010 & 2011).

Each of these winning chapters listed below

will be presented with a patch for their chapter

banner and a $500 check which could be used to

provide even more educational and networking

opportunities for their local members.

Overall, the Louisiana Chapter had the highest

net membership increase amongst United

States chapters (10.61%), and the Saskatchewan

Chapter was the Canadian chapter with highest

net increase in membership (32.04%). Congratu-

lations to these chapters for their efforts in

recruiting and retention.

Contact Patty Mahan or Brad Patterson, at

800-848-APWA, if you have questions about the

Chapter Membership Achievement Award or

your chapter’s membership statistics.

Chapter Size Division

(based upon qty of mbrs as of

6/30/2012)

Award-Winning ChapterNet Membership Increase from

June 30, 2012 - June 30, 2013

100 members or lessNewfoundland-Labrador

6.56%

101-200 members

Saskatchewan32.04%

201-300 members

Ventura8.64%

301-500 members

Utah

6.74%

501-850 membersNorthern California

4.77%

More than 850 membersWashington

4.73%

APWA Bridges 2 October/November/December 2013

There is a new group working to increase membership in APWA. The Student Outreach Network is made up of APWA members who will facilitate outreach efforts in their chapters aimed at college and university students.

Modeled a bit after the Young Professionals Network, the group will meet via conference call once a month. Chapter liaisons will take the information they receive from the confer-ence calls and from other communications and disseminate it to leaders in their respective chapters.

Lauren Behm of the Washington State Chapter is the first chair of the group, which held its first conference call meeting on September 18. Lauren was Project Manager for the Emerging Leaders Academy (ELA) class project for the past year and the final presentation came to the board at Congress in Chicago. The results of the project have been the formation of the student outreach group and the production of marketing materials that will help chapters do more to attract student members and set up student chapters.

“Attracting and retaining the next generations of public works leaders is a priority for APWA at the national and local levels,” said Lauren. “The Emerging Leaders Academy Class VI identified a need for the APWA to increase its presence at colleges and universities and to educate students about opportunities in the public works field. This was determined to be the first stepping stone to developing a stronger membership base and as a foundation to the development of future outreach efforts.

“As we state in our report, the class wanted to ‘educate students about public works, inspire them to get involved, and transform the future,’” she added.

The Student Outreach Network will work closely with the Young Professionals Network, a group that was formed from the Diversity

Committee two years ago. The members of the YP group are a good resource for the Student group members to use and many YP Members are the volunteers in their chapters to head up the outreach efforts to students.

“Many of APWA’s young professionals were sitting in the same classes just a few years ago,” Lauren said. “It makes sense for the young professionals to be involved in the efforts. The young professional members are the APWA leaders of tomorrow and college students are the young professional members of tomorrow.”

The new marketing materials that were part of the ELA’s final project are now available to chapters. The materials will be put on the APWA.net website as soon as possible. The Student Membership Toolkit is a work in progress and eventually, anyone wishing to download a tip sheet on how to start student chapters, or download a student chapter logo or use the new student chapter stationery will be able to do so.

APWA student chapters have been around for a while. There were student members for years, but the numbers were small. In fact, the APWA board voted to eliminate student member-ship category back in the 1990s. The student membership category was brought back 10 years ago and the KC Metro Chapter formed the initial student chapter in 2005-2006. That pilot program has led to a few other chapters, most notably one at the University of Minnesota that has attracted more than 30 student members in a little more than a year.

Chapters do not have to set up an official student chapter in order to attract student members. There are chapters that set up outreach efforts with a university’s faculty and make presentations to the students in which they talk about public works as a profession and a bit about APWA. These types of outreach efforts are effective in gaining student interest and increasing their awareness of the public works profession. (continued on page 3)

This newsletter is published by the APWA Chapter Relations Department and provides insider information on APWA activities for chapter leaders.Please address comments to:Bridges NewsletterAPWA2345 Grand Blvd., Suite 700Kansas City, MO 64108-2625ph 800-848-2792, ext. 5260

Bridges

New APWA group works toward increasing student chapters

APWA Bridges 3 October/November/December 2013

(continued from page 2)

The advantages of actively seeking out student members are pretty easy to understand. A student members program offers many benefits to your chapter or branch including:

• Increased awareness of APWA • Increased awareness of various functions

involved in public works and infrastructure maintenance

• Long-term growth of association and chapter/branch membership

• Inside edge to the best and brightest students in all schools of discipline related to public

There are tangible and intangible advantages to actually forming an official student chapter, which requires five or more student members. At some institutions, an officially recognized student organization can qualify for university funds.

Being an official organization certainly lends more credibility to the student chapter.

The APWA board members have been very supportive of the Student Outreach Network

and of the efforts to reach out to students and to form more student chapters.

“The amount of energy and enthusiasm we saw around the Student Outreach Network at Congress was incredible,” Lauren said. “People are excited to start outreaching to students and feel that they now have the tools and the guid-ance to make it happen in their chapters.

“With the support of the board and the membership, we feel this will be a very successful program.”

For additional information on the Student Outreach Network or on how to increase a chapter’s efforts to students, or for student chapter marketing materials, contact Brad Patterson, APWA Chapter Membership Manager, at bpatterson@apwa.net.

Lauren Behm is an Airport & Ferry Analyst for Pierce County Public Works & Utilities in Tacoma (WA) and a member of the Washington State Chapter. She is the chair of the Student Outreach Network. She can be reached at LaurenjBehm@gmail.com.

Developing the Next Generation

Transitioning Your Scholarship Program to an Internship/Mentorship Program

Every year, many APWA chapters raise funds, through golf tournaments and other events, for scholarships programs that provide thousands of dollars to selected college students across the nation.

The selected students appreciate the financial assistance, but what benefit does APWA receive from the investment? Are our current efforts encouraging students to consider public works as a profession after graduation? What are we doing to mentor the next generation of public leaders? Is there a better way to meet the needs of the students, our chapter, and promote APWA other than through a scholarship program?

For a number of years, our chapter partici-pated in numerous career fairs/professional day events at local universities and colleges. At these student events, we shared our upcoming scholarship program and information regarding APWA. It was evident that the students did not know much about APWA and believed we were a consulting firm. The students were more inter-ested in possible internship opportunities than submitting for our scholarships.

Based on this realization, we transitioned our existing scholarship program to an Internship/Mentorship Pilot Program, spearheaded by our Vice President who served as the chair for the newly formed Student Enrichment Committee. We also believe a mentorship component, in addition to the internship, will ensure the students receive the most value from their experi-ence. (continued on page 4)

APWA Bridges 4 October/November/December 2013

(continued from page 3) This will give us the opportunity to tap our chapter membership for participation as mentors and educate the students about APWA and the possibility of pursuing a career in public works after graduation.

Three objectives were identified for the pilot program. All are essential elements for the success of the program (three legs of the stool).

Pilot Program Objectives 1. Implement an Internship/Mentoring Pilot

Program – Develop the future generation of public works professionals by placing them in a paid internship and assign seasoned APWA mentors to coach, provide advice, and support them through their internship.

2. Promote APWA – Educate the students and facility about APWA and invite public agencies and private firms to participate in the program.

3. Develop Partnerships – Increase APWA involvement at colleges and universities, seek and identify mentors within our chapter membership, and solicit public agencies and private firms to employ students.

The ProcessThe chair took the lead in identifying critical

tasks and deadlines required to implement the program. The tasks and deadlines were reviewed by the ad-hoc committee, modifications were made, and tasks were assigned to committee

members for completion. One critical task was the development of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for public agencies and firms use to employ students in the program. The chair solicited the services of an attorney who recently joined the chapter to draft the MOU. The MOU outlined the responsibilities of the students, participating firms, APWA, and mentors. It also serves to reduce any potential liability to APWA. The MOU was reviewed by APWA National, and serves as our basic under-standing of the program.

Board InvolvementThe internship program was docketed on the

chapter’s agenda where the board discussed and voted on the financial contribution to offset the cost for labor for the selected students. APWA agreed to fund a portion of the labor costs, with the participating firms paying the remaining balance. Based on this decision, a portion of the scholarship budget was transferred to fund the internship program. This will allow APWA to fund four internships at a cost of $1,920 per student for an eight-week period. Participating firms will be given the flexibility to extend the internship at their own cost.

Public and Private Firm ParticipationWe contacted local firms via e-mail to solicit

interest in participating in the internship program and announcements were made at membership luncheon events. Several firms expressed interest and ultimately the committee selected four firms to participate in the pilot program. Two additional firms also asked to be included with the understanding that no funding would come from APWA. The firms were the City of Santee, TY-Lin International, URS, Rick Engineering, Psomas Engineering and Tetra Tech.

Outreach to UniversitiesNext, we contacted the student chapters at San

Diego State University (SDSU) and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) to roll out APWA’s internship program. It was critical to reach out to the universities to share our objec-tives and seek their support in implementation. (continued on page 5)

San Diego Imperial Counties Chapter 2013 Internship Recipients

APWA Bridges 5 October/November/December 2013

(continued from page 4)

Conference calls were made to the officers of each university’s student chapters. They were very supportive and excited about the upcoming paid internship opportunities for their members. Three members of the ad-hoc committee attended UCSD’s student membership meeting providing advice and feedback to the students for effectively preparing and interviewing for employment opportunities. Based on the feedback from the facility advisors, the advice given was extremely beneficial.

Internship Selection ProcessInternship applications were provided on

APWA’s website and sent to the student chapter presidents for distribution to their member-ship. The applications received were reviewed and shortlisted to 12 students. An interview panel, made up of two members from the ad-hoc committee and three individuals repre-senting the firms, was created. Interviews were conducted, and students were selected based on their application, interview, academic focus, and best fit for each of the participating firms.

In Search of APWA MentorsAn announcement was made at the next

membership luncheon meeting seeking interest from APWA members for participation in the first APWA internship program. We were seeking

members with broad diverse experience to advise and coach students entering the public works profession. The list of voluntary mentors was compared to the interest of the students. Mentors were selected based on their experience to provide the best learning opportunity for the students.

Mentors were provided with information on how to establish relationships with the students and effectively mentor the next generation of workers.

Chapter CelebrationAfter the first internship period concluded,

the students and mentors were invited to a chapter board meeting and monthly member-ship luncheon. The students were acknowledged by the board for their accomplishments and presented with certificates of achievement.

Student FeedbackThe students shared that this internship

program was essential to their success in securing future employment opportunities, and encouraged the board to continue to fund future opportunities for other students.

Vic Bianes, P.E., is the Engineering Manager at San Diego County Water Authority, Vice President of the San Diego-Imperial Counties Chapter, and Member of the APWA Utilities and Public Right-of-Way Committee.

As chapters and branches elect new officers for 2014, those new officers should be reported by December 6, 2013. This is usually done by the chapter secretary or chapter administrator. A chapter can use the chapter officer reporting tool located in the chapter leader resources area of the APWA website under Chapter Management then Leadership tools. Along with your executive committee and branch positions we are specifi-cally interested in obtaining your Delegate, Alternate Delegate, Membership, Diversity, Advocacy/Government Affairs, Education, Website, Scholarship and Technical Committee

chairs if applicable. This can also be sent by e-mail to Rhonda Wilhite at rwilhite@apwa.net.

Another document that should be checked for accuracy at least once a year is found beneath the Chapter Officer Reporting tool and that is the Chapter Profile Reporting tool. You will select your chapter to view its profile. A box on the page with the title “Requested Changes” is provided for you to submit any changes. Updating your chapter profile will help new members learn about their chapter.

2014 Chapter and Branch Officers and Profile Information due

APWA Bridges 6 October/November/December 2013

Award nominations will be submitted elec-tronically through the APWA website www.apwa.net, under the tab Discover APWA and then National Awards Program.

1. Excellence in Snow and Ice Control Award – Deadline February 3, 2014, midnight Eastern Time.

2. Award nominations to all other awards except the Excellence in Snow and Ice Control Award, the PACE and the PWHS

Awards. Deadline is March 3, 2014, midnight Eastern Time.

3. PACE Award deadline is June 2, 2014. Chapter must first be notified they qualify to submit for this award.

The 2014 Awards Program will be on the APWA website in October. For more informa-tion about the awards program, please contact Rhonda Wilhite at rwilhite@apwa.net or 800-848-2792, ext. 5261.

Chapters compete each year to win the Membership Achievement Award. The award is given to the chapters that have the greatest percentage of increase in six categories, broken down by chapter size.

The six winning chapters in each category receive a $500 award and a plaque of recogni-tion and are recognized at the Awards Program at Congress. There is a big added inventive for 2014. Two of the winning chapters—the one with the greatest net increase in the 12-months and the chapter with the highest percentage of increase overall—will receive a special presenta-tion of Leadership in Changing Times—presented by Ian Hill. Mr. Hill is a humanitarian, award-winning business leader, philanthropist and an internationally known motivational speaker. He was a keynote speaker at the 2011 APWA Inter-national Public Works Congress & Exposition in Denver.

Mr. Hill has a powerful message tailored for public works professionals. He will present his education program at a conference or another event for the winning chapters. In addition, he will provide a follow-up session for the members of the two winning chapters.

2014 Awards Program

Win a visit from Ian Hill

The Jennings Randolph International Fellowship Program supports participation at a public works conference of one of APWA’s international partners and a public works study tour in that country. 2014 Study locations:Mexico and New Zealand

Fellowships granted for travel to our partner countries are limited to a maximum of $2,500 (USD) to assist with travel costs and other expenses that may be covered by the award. For details and application go to:www.apwa.net/About/Internationalor contact Lillie Plowman at1-800-848-2792, ext. 5253, orlplowman@apwa.net.

Explore InternationalPublic Works!

Travel, Discover, Experience Another CultureApplications are now being accepted for the Jennings Randolph International Fellowship Program funded through the Eisenhower World Affairs Institute.

Application deadline: November 15, 2013 midnight CST.

APWA Bridges 7 October/November/December 2013

Great strides have been made in the develop-ment of the New Chapter Website Template. We are pleased to announce that we have opened up the (1) Migration (chapters with the current template moving to the new template and (2) Onboarding (chapters with custom websites moving to the new template) process to all chapters who are interested. The new contact

person for Chapter Website templates will be Ashley Wilson; she has taken on a new role within APWA National to help assist chapters through every step of the migration and/or onboarding process. To get started today contact her at awilson@apwa.net or give her a call at 816-595-5232.

New Chapter Website Template

For more information about these programs or to register online, visit www2.apwa.net/events. Program information will be updated as it becomes available. Questions? Call the Professional Development Department at

1-800-848-APWA. If you have expertise in any of the upcoming live topics, please use the online call for presentations form to describe your expertise and perspective on the topic. www.apwa.net/conferences/cfp.

Education Calendar

2013October 7-11 CSM/CPII/CPFP Certification exams (computer-based testing)

EDUCATION AT YOUR DESKTOP

October 24 Winter Maintenance for Multi-Modal Transportation Options

November 4-8 CSM/CPII/CPFP Certification exams (computer-based testing)

EDUCATION AT YOUR DESKTOP

November 7 Private vs. Public Fleets – What’s Best for Your Agency?

November 14 Low Impact Development Maintenance – Where’s the Runoff Going From YOUR Streets?

December 2-6 CSM/CPII/CPFP Certification exams (computer-based testing)

EDUCATION AT YOUR DESKTOP

December 12 How to Get Buy-In for Asset Management Systems

May 4-7 2014 North American Snow Conference, Cincinnati, OH

EDUCATION AT YOUR DESKTOP

= Click, Listen, & Learn program (Free to Members) = Live Conference (Paid Registration) = Certification Exam