Tag Archives: A/E/C industry

Best in Class Award 2023

The Seattle Chapter was the proud recipient of the 2023 Best In Class Award: Program Winner for our 4-part educational series presented by Jess Hickey, titled “Stories They Never Told You About Business.” The presentations covered finance, human resources, marketing, and administrative topics, and everyone resonated with Jess’ honest, down-to-earth communication style and wit.

This is the first time we’ve done a series like this, and it was successful by all measurements; it was well-attended, received positive feedback, included tips that we could use immediately, and was enjoyable to attend. Having four guaranteed presentations took a little weight off the planning of our education calendar and attendees knew what to expect. They resonated with her speaking style, and Jess did a great job overlapping just enough fill any gaps between sessions without wasting time rehashing what we’d already learned.

Congratulations, Seattle!

EDSymposium 23, in the bag

I was not able to go to the national conference this year, but we had seven Chapter members attend, flying all the way to Tampa, FL for the June national conference. I’m looking forward to hearing debriefs on the sessions they attended; the speakers are always top-notch.

L-R: Brittany Jamison, Emily Meyer, Gretchen Renz, Kurt Wong, Carol Wanda Spradlin, Eunoh Lee, Judy Beebe.

Seattle Vice President Brittany Jamison and Director Carol Wanda Spradlin kill some time at the airport with a beverage.

We are the winners of the 2023 Best in Class Program Award.

We also celebrated our Chapter’s 55th Anniversary!

The A, B, C (and Ds) of Business Banking Relationships*

A: Always choose a bank that understands your industry, especially if you are in construction. Continue reading

Should you fire your bad client?

FireSomeoneFire your bad client? Whoa, that sounds drastic! Why would you want to get rid of a client? June R. Jewell, CPA, President & CEO of AEC Business Solutions has done just that. Why? It’s one of 3 steps that can help you increase your fees.  Read her blog post here.

March Membership Madness – get the freebie!

#tbt: No longer alone in the industry

. . . I had been alone in this industry, isolated on an island without networking, education or help.

. . . Nonetheless, my boss encouraged me to participate [in SDA] and I started with chairing the Jobline committee. I found that for all the effort I put into my volunteer duties, I received as much or more back in answers to my own questions, solutions to office quandaries, and ever-increasing knowledge. Through that involvement I got to know several board members who became mentors to me. These inspirational leaders that I admired so much became friends. They became, in my mind, real people, fallible, friendly, and tangible to me in a way I couldn’t have imagined just a few years before.

Renae Howard, CDFA (Seattle member since 2002; excerpt from her “Message to Members,” Portico, November 2005)