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Summer 2008 |
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Watts Selected as
Prime for BPS #81 |
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A s part of the
Phase IV Reconstruction Project, School #81 will undergo a major renovation
with Watts as the Architect of Record, Mechanical and Environmental
Engineer. Our team will include CJ Brown, Systems & Engineering, Singleton
Construction, Roche & Co., JKLA Studio, DMC Hardware, Linda Roth, and
Existing Conditions Survey. The budget available for construction is
$13,664,443.
Built on the site of the former Lafayette play fields
near Tacoma and Delaware in North Buffalo, School #81 was constructed in
1928 upon the "donut" plan that can be seen in many sister schools within
the district (Schools #80 & 82, which Watts has worked on in past phases).
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School #81 houses grades Pre K through 8
with a traditional elementary program. The school is academically one of the
best performing schools in the district. The building is currently in need
of updating to both modernize classrooms and facilities, and provide much
needed floor area for the district’s current classroom and supporting areas
requirements. The existing building is approximately 95,000 sf and an
approximate 20,000 sf addition is planned.
Our Schematic Design phase will wrap up
in March of 2009. Construction Documents will be done in October and
Construction should begin in early 2010. |
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Watts Ranked 24th Fastest Growing Company |
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Congratulations to Watts' New PE's
W atts is pleased to
announce that Jeanette
Koch and
Brad Sendlak
have completed all requirements to become licensed registered Professional
Engineers in New York state.
Jeanette has been with Watts for nearly seven years while
Brad has been with Watts for over five years.
Congratulations to
Jeanette C. Koch, P.E.
and Bradley L.
Sendlak, P.E.
New Employees
Michael J. Marshall
joined the Environmental Department as an
Asbestos Technician. Mr. Marshall is a retired agent of United States
Customs Department.
Kevin Pease
joined the Environmental Department and
will be our summer intern Asbestos Technician. Mr. Pease is a recent
graduate from NCCC and will be pursuing his degree in Environmental
Engineering at UB.
Jason Sokolowski
joined the Architecture
Department as an Architect Designer. Mr. Sokolowski previously worked for a
small independent firm before joining Watts. He has his Master of
Architecture from the University of Buffalo.
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W atts has been
named the 24th fastest growing company in Western New York by the Business
First Fast Track 50 listing.
The list is based on the growth rate of sales and
employee increases during a three year period. Watts posted a 58.42% in
sales growth and a 65.79% in employee growth over the time period.
Ed Watts
and Jim Cahill
received the award at a reception on June 17th at Shanghai Red’s restaurant
in Buffalo.
"Our growth is a testament to our being able to attract
and retain quality employees to help us meet increasing and challenging
commitments to our clients," mentions Ed Watts.
In addition to the staff that is always willing to go
beyond the call of duty, Ed is very grateful for our clients for continuing
to have the confidence in our ability to produce timely and efficient
projects.
This is the first time Watts has appeared on the Fast
Track 50 list.
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Summer 2008
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Organizational Changes at Watts |
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Watts Becomes Member of USGBC |
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W ith such a
great future ahead of us, Watts is pleased to announce the following
organizational changes:
Edward O. Watts, Jr.
AIA, Manager of the Architecture Department, has been named a Principal at
Watts. Mr. Watts has 12 years of professional experience including four at
Watts.
Michael B. Pratt ,
P.E., Manager of the Civil and Structural Engineering Department, has been
appointed an Associate Principal. Mr. Pratt has 32 years of professional
experience including five with the firm.
Andrew Klimek ,
CHMM, Manager of the Environmental Services Department, has been named
Senior Associate at Watts. Mr. Klimek has 18 years of professional
experience including nine years at Watts.
Richard D. Marczewski ,
P.E., LEED®, AP, of the Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing
Department, has also been named Senior Associate. Mr. Marczewski has 28
years of professional experiences including three years at Watts.
James F. Cahill ,
C.P.A., of the Finance Department, has been appointed as the new Chief
Financial Officer. He has 23 years of professional experiences including 11
years as Watts’ Controller.
Tina L. Muschaweck ,
of the Accounting Department, has been appointed as the Accounting Group
Manager. Ms. Muschaweck has 20 years of professional experiences including
16 years with Watts.
Becky Mingoia ,
of the Marketing Department, has been named Marketing Group Manager. Ms.
Mingoia has 16 years of experience including 10 years with Watts.
Congratulations to everyone!
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W atts has
recently become a member of the US Green Building Council (USGBC) which,
among other purposes, oversees the LEED program. LEED stands for Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design and was developed in 1995 as a way to
provide tools, performance standards and strategies for sustainable design.
Since that time, LEED has expanded to encompass six accreditation tracks for
different types of construction.
In the United States alone, buildings account for:
•65% of electricity consumption
•36% of energy use
•30% of greenhouse gas emissions
•30% of raw materials use
•30% of waste output (136 million tons annually); and
•12% of potable water consumption
In response to growing trends toward sustainability, many
government agencies that we work for are increasingly turning to LEED to
guide construction of new projects.
The path to becoming a LEED Accredited Professional is
simply to study and pass the exam. The categories are: LEED for New
Construction, LEED for Existing Buildings, and LEED for Commercial
Interiors. Passing any one track qualifies you to serve as an Accredited
Professional in any of the others. ANYONE can become a LEED AP and boost the
number of Professionals in our office. |
Summer 2008
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Watts to Move From Eggertsville Fire Hall
by
Becky Mingoia |
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Cheektowaga High
School Career Fair
by
Aaron Henderson |
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O n Friday, June
20, a firm wide Business Update Meeting and pizza lunch was held in the main
conference room. Seeing that Ed firmly believes that there is "no such thing
as a free lunch," he took the opportunity to review the current status of
projects, proposals and overall business updates.
In addition, Ed announced that "YES! We will be moving!"
After 12 years at this location, two office space additions and four space
reconfigurations, we have officially outgrown our current office space in
the old Eggertsville Fire Hall.
After a year long search of considering over 15
locations, Watts is currently under negotiations for a new home in the City
of Buffalo. The Perry Street site is truly a signature building that will
offer us 20,000 sf of prime office space, adequate parking, 1,000 sf of
on-site equipment storage with exterior access and even a roof top terrace!
Ed, Jr. is heading up the design of the new space and
will hold another company wide meeting in July to share the proposed layout
and design of the new offices. The Department Managers have been involved
with the site location and needs assessment. If you have questions or
comments regarding your needs, please feel free to ask your Department
Manager, Ed Watts or Ed Watts, Jr.
While Watts continues to grow, so does our need for more
office and file space. This move will certainly benefit the firm and each of
us.
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O n Wednesday
April 30th, I had the opportunity to represent Watts at the Cheektowaga High
School Career Fair at Cheektowaga Central Schools on Union Road. There were
approximately forty professions represented, each set up on a folding table
in the gymnasium. Students cycled through in half-hour periods, free to
"browse" from one career to another as interest took them.
I had the opportunity to speak with a number of students
– with varying degrees of interest – and answered questions ranging from,
"How much school do you need?" to "What is architecture?" Some answers were
simpler than others. I noticed with some surprise that there were
comparatively few girls who even deigned to look in my table’s direction,
while the Watts setup was an inevitable stop for most of the young men,
re-energized after playing with the State Troopers’ radar gun two tables
away.
Of the many dozens of students who stopped to inspect the
project boards and pamphlets, there were a small number who seemed truly
interested in the discipline. They asked much more than passing questions,
and I was able to share with them what they might expect if they chose to
pursue architecture as a career. Of the half-dozen or so who were already
"committed" to continuing their architectural education through college,
most expressed one common sentiment: they liked their high school
architecture courses, but they also liked art and creativity.
Things haven’t changed much in the years since I was in
their shoes, and the implications of a divide between architecture and
creativity are unfortunately common in a high school environment. They were
encouraged when they learned that their future university professors would
not only tolerate creativity, but demand out-of-the-box thinking on levels
these students were not yet aware of. Many high-schoolers and young college
students shy away from the prospect of facing demanding professors and
problems they’ve never seen before. But a few in every group welcome that
challenge, and it seemed that most of those I spoke to left more excited
than when they approached my table. And that, I believe, is really the whole
point.
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Summer 2008
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Watts Represented at Corporate Challenge |
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T his year,
Watts’ participation at the JP Chase Morgan Corporate Challenge was the best
ever! We had 15 runners and walkers representing the company and an
additional 17 participating in the post-game party.
Donna Hulub
had the best time of Watts’ team with an awesome time of 33:03.
Mike Pratt
came in next followed by
Tim Major,
Shawn Marshall,
Tina Muschaweck,
Jodi Kelly (Tina’s guest),
Erika Abbondanzieri,
Tati Wawrzynski (Tina’s guest),
Jim Waddell,
Katie Amo (Jim’s guest),
Onda Giardina,
Ed Watts,
Jim Cahill,
Connie Wurstner
and Becky
Mingoia.
The "partyers" who joined in for the BBQ and post race
fun included Amy, Audrey and
Ed Watts, Jr.;
Joanne, Jocelyn, Nicole and
Kevin Janik;
Felicia
Ridgeway, her mom Crystal
Dennis, her sister Shannon Dennis;
Jason Sokolowski;
and Nikki, Finnegan, Taryn and
Dan Keefe.
Watts had prime tent space located on the outside track,
next to the tennis court. This year we shared a large tent with Bergmann,
Clough Harbour and Prudent and the BBQ was catered by BW’s.
Many thanks to Erika who designed our company T-shirt,
Connie - Watts’ Team Captain - who organized everything, and Becky for
Watts’ water bottles and signage.
As mentioned at the event - it is not too early to start
planning for next year. So let’s plan on having a bigger team and a better
time in 2009! |
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12th Annual UNYRMPC Golf Classic
J im
Waddell of the Marketing
Department represented Watts at the 12 Annual Golf Classic at the Country
Club of Mendon in Mendon, New York which is just outside of Rochester. The
tournament is an annual event put on by the Upstate New York Regional
Minority Purchasing Council.
The event’s official sponsors were Xerox, Johnson &
Johnson and General Mills.
Some of the other participating companies included Cannon
Industries, West Valley Environmental Services and the Empire State
Development Corporation to name a few.
Jim’s four-man scramble team finished in third place out of the14 team
field!
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2008 American Heart Association Walk
T he date for the
walk has been changed to October 4, 2008. The 5k walk is held in
historic downtown Buffalo starting and ending at the HSBC arena.
Participants will walk down to the Marina and back. We are currently
recruiting walkers to help fight this disease by promoting a healthy, fun,
family event. This year our company goal is $1500.00.
Watts has registered as a participating team. Please take the time to
register yourself as a walker by going to www.buffaloniagaraheartwalk.org
and click on "Join a Team". |
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Summer 2008
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