DENVER METRO VOLUNTEERS

Engaging Community, S

chool a

nd Business

CREATING LONG TERM SUCCESSCONTINUITY

Pass aNational

BudgetNow!

Modern and Contemporary Art Conservation

CALLING ALL COMPROMISERS WITH COMMON

SENSE - PG. 34

“The challenge of reducing our deficit may appear daunting, I DON’T BELIEVE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE if Washington takes to heart the message.”

- Kay R. Hagan

“Washington needs to have A BROAD AND SERIOUS CONVERSATION about our nation’s debt.” - Michael Bennet

INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION OF TRANSPORTATION WORKERSRoads, Rails, and Race Cars After-School Program

CONSIGLI CONSTRUCTIONGenerations of Success

10 STEPS Becoming a More Effective Philanthropist

“DOING NOTHING, WHICH CONGRESS HAS BECOME PRETTY GOOD AT, will bring about the end of sequestration which will cut spending for defense and non-defense.” - Joe Lieberman

“Many of my colleagues have been working to FIND

A WAY FORWARD on our budget issues.” - Mike Johanns

“There’s NEVER BEEN MORE AT STAKE.” - John Cornyn

ONE LEADERRESPONSIBLE BUSINESSESBUILDING SOCIALLY

Vision~Strategy~Implement~Measure

www.BusinessServiceCorps.com

AT A TIME Business Service Corps, LLC (BSC) assists high performing for-profit companies to develop, organize implement and measure community outreach programs.

Spec ia l ize in max im izing commun it y inv estment programs

CSR W o rksh o ps / Execut iv e Commun it y Leadersh ip Tra in ing / Commun it y Inv estment St rat egy / Emp l o y ee V o l un t eer Programs / Commun it y

Perf o rman ce Measurement

Helping people with kidney disease across the U.S. and around the world live full, active lives.

With our patients every step of the way.

More than 20 million adults in the U.S. have kidney disease – but most don’t know it.

Learn the risk factors and how you and your family can help delay the progression of kidney disease.

Visit DaVita.com/KidneyAware today.

© 2012 DaVita Inc. All rights reserved. 05915-01-MKTG

#kidneyaware

2 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS | VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

6LETTER FROM

THE EDITOR

8LETTER FROM

THE PUBLISHER

12 INSPIRATIONS

14 ADVISORY

BOARD

20OPINION

22BOOK REVIEW

84COLLABORATION

CLOSE UP

88THANK YOU

The celebrated Denver Art Museum has em-braced the next stage in the evolution of

contemporary conservation. The variable media program benefits from the enlightened goals of Kate Moomaw, assistant conservator for modern and contemporary art at the Denver Art Museum. In creating a program to preserve media such as film, audio and in general art using technology takes collaboration between artists, conserva-tors and museums. The physical fragility of film, the technology challenge and the transforming experience of the Internet are taken into consid-eration by art collectors and curators in how, if at all, to maintain variable media. Within modern and contemporary conservation, accounting for electronic elements has proven to be much more complex than the more established traditional methods. And so, a look behind the scenes at the Denver Art Museum with Moomaw is both formative and exciting.

ICOSA: What prompted the creation of the variable media program? MOOMAW: The Denver Art Museum (DAM) has rather organically collected a number of variable media artworks in the past few decades, and at the same time, awareness of the complex preser-vation needs of works like these has grown within the art conservation community. There are now specialists in… CONTINUED ON PAGE 80

Modern and Contemporary Art Conservation

74

THE DENVER ART MUSEUM

THE MORE THINGS

CHANGEContinuity and Change

in the Fire Service

Men who look upon themselves born to reign, and others to obey, soon grow

insolent. Selected from the rest of mankind, their minds are early poisoned by importance." - T h o m a s Pa i n e ( Page 34)

LEADING EDGE ADVISORSLEADING EDGE ADVISORS

4 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS | VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

ACADEMIA

26Back to SchoolMetro Volunteers Engages Community, School and Business Volunteers

GOVERNMENT

28Energy Efficiency Business CoalitionColorado’s State of the State

30Inspiring the Next Generation of Transportation WorkersRoads, Rails, and Race Cars After-School Program

34Pass a National Budget Now!Calling All Compromisers with Common Sense

46Creating Sustainable Continuity of America’s Transmission LinesIntegrating Renewables on the Grid

BUSINESS

50Energizing the West with a Cooperative Spirit for 60 YearsTri-State Generation and Transmission Association

54Faegre Baker Daniels LLPTwo Firms Come Together to Ensure Success Over Time

56The World is a Dangerous PlaceProtecting Your Most Important Assets

58Small Businesses Surviving Challenging TimesAn Interview with Twinkle Baby’s Lara Pebbles

60Listening and Adapting to Change for Long-Term Success

62Generations of SuccessHow One Family Owned Business Carries on a Passion for Building

66A Culture of CareShinise in Practice

68dovetail solutions™Stability in Motion

70What Do Success and Continuity Taste Like? ICOSA Talks to Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey to Find Out

COMMUNITY

74The More Things ChangeContinuity and Change in the Fire Service

7810 Steps to Becoming a More Effective Philanthropist

80An Approach To Variable Media: Modern and Contemporary Art ConservationThe Denver Art Museum

www.mcb.unco.edu

Just walk through the halls of the University of Northern Colorado’s Monfort College of Business and you’ll see

them — a new generation of bright, motivated students. They’re challenged by our award-winning faculty.

They each participate in a professional experience internship to get real-world experience before graduation.

Our students have placed in the top 4–10 percent on a nationally administered standardized test measuring

core business knowledge—for the past nine years! It’s also the first and only business program to earn the

coveted Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award from the Office of the President of the United States.

You’ll find tomorrow’s leaders in our classrooms today

www.mcb.unco.edu

Just walk through the halls of the University of Northern Colorado’s Monfort College of Business and you’ll see

them — a new generation of bright, motivated students. They’re challenged by our award-winning faculty.

They each participate in a professional experience internship to get real-world experience before graduation.

Our students have placed in the top 4–10 percent on a nationally administered standardized test measuring

core business knowledge—for the past nine years! It’s also the first and only business program to earn the

coveted Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award from the Office of the President of the United States.

You’ll find tomorrow’s leaders in our classrooms today

6 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Out of the Mouths of Babes

My nine-year-old daughter is trying to figure out who to vote for (not that she can vote yet).

She was talking with her friends at school the other day about her choice for president. “I vote for Mrs. Obama because she likes kids, she reads to them, she exercises a lot, and she even invites them to the White House. I saw her talk on Nickelodeon. I don’t know if that other lady will do that,” she declared.

A listening boy next to her said, “I hate you. You are stupid.”

She asked why he hated her. He said, “My dad says no one should vote for Obama. I hate you!”

Over dinner that night she asked why this boy hated her. “We are voting for a president. I don’t understand,” she said. I told her, “He doesn’t hate you. He is say-ing what his dad believes, or says to oth-ers. Don’t take it personally honey–vote

for what you believe in. Everyone has a difference of opinion, and that’s what makes America great!”

The issue of continuity is upon us, especially as we are forced to endure a vulgar and sordid election season that is rife with inaccurate accusations, hatred and mean-spiritedness. Candidates are so busy pointing fingers at their oppo-nents that the issues most important to America’s continuity are lost in the rhetoric. Interestingly however, is that the foundation of democratic politics was rooted in the belief that elected of-ficials representing different constitu-ent groups worked together using the political process to move America in a positive direction.

History has shown us that there can be no continuity without some compro-mise. We have seen it in every major his-torical era of this country–the Civil War, the Great Depression, Vietnam and the

list goes on and on. As Colin Powell so eloquently said, “… just as they did in Philadelphia when they were writing the Constitution, sooner or later, you've got to compromise. You've got to start mak-ing the compromises that arrive at a con-sensus and move the country forward.”

While no one can be right every time, in my opinion we must embrace a civi-cally-engaged, thoughtful and formida-ble discussion on the issues, and realize that while others may disagree, they are not necessarily wrong–they just don’t see things the way you do.

If the conversations of fourth graders are any indication as to what the tem-perature is in this country, we should re-flect on our actions and words as adults. This country was founded by gritty pio-neers who risked it all for freedoms that we enjoy to this day–speech, the right to bear arms, and the right to vote for those whose beliefs and policies align most with ours. And, it will require compro-mise to make this change.

Can we find a way to be kind, to be ac-cepting, to be involved, and to ultimately be amazing?

What do you think–can we compro-mise for the sake of our children and grandchildren? Can we withhold our hatred, and realize that conversations should be about policy–not a personal affront to our neighbors? Isn’t that the foundation that this country was founded on? And, shouldn’t we com-mend those leaders who are willing to work side-by-side on policy, to get the work done instead of practicing the rhet-oric and the politics?

You decide by getting involved!

All the best, Jan

B Y J A N M A Z O T T I

Live, learn, and work with a community overseas.

Be a Volunteer.

peacecorps.gov

Cultivate fresh ideasand help them take root.

8 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER

Change is Inevitable

“Never give in. Never, never, never, never–in nothing, great or small, large or petty–never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” – Winston Churchill

Merriam-Webster defines the word continuity as an, “unin-terrupted connection, succes-

sion, or union.” We at ICOSA define the word continuity as allowing projects to build on one another instead of start-ing over each time. By reusing and re-building infrastructure and resource

management systems, collaborative or-ganizations have a vantage point, and can ascend faster to higher levels of productivity. With endless possibilities of how to grow, expand and transform, this collaborative cycle could tap into the infinite. We also look at continuity as preserving best practices that bring strong results in a changing world.

LESSONS OF THE SNAIL

The snail is a symbol for evolving strate-gies, tactics and solutions for sustainable improvement. Its spiral growth symbol-izes that with each passing we should get stronger. The spiral shape of the snail’s shell helps us remember that adaptation is a continually cycling process.

In order for an organization to build wisely for the future, it must first reflect on what it already has established. Smart organizations build on established infra-structure, resources and vision from the past as the basis for the next round. The snail reminds us not only to master other skills-building interconnections, gather-ing resources, creating vision and trans-forming theory to practice but continu-ally improving these processes gradually, day by day.

START-UPS FAILING

Unfortunately the sad reality is that many start-ups will fail. Shikhar Ghosh, senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, re-marks on the failure of companies by saying, “If failure means liquidating all assets, with investors losing most or all the money they put into the company, then the failure rate for start-ups is 30 to 40 percent. If failure refers to failing to see the projected return on investment, then the failure rate is 70 to 80 percent. If failure is defined as declaring a projec-tion and then falling short of meeting it, then the failure rate is a whopping 90 to 95 percent.”

Considering this, if a company is effective, but not efficient, its focus should be on implementation of continuous efficiency improvement measures. But how can a company really measure continuity?

There are several ways. First, measure what matters–industry, size, geography, complexity, standards and those that are best-in-class. Or link qualitative and quantitative measurements with strategic profitable goals throughout the organiza-tion; or by linking incremental, measur-able goals that are associated with tasks and events; or by plotting the histori-cal lagging indicators as well as for-ward-leading indicators.

B Y G A Y L E D E N D I N G E R W I T H A N N E T T E P E R E Z

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 9

Jim Collins proposes that we face con-tinuous uncertainty and that we cannot control, or accurately predict, significant aspects of the world around us. Further-more, what he calls the “doom loop” is really a “vicious circle that unsuccessful companies fall into, rushing first in one direction, then another, in the hope of cre-ating a sudden, sharp break with the past that will propel them to success. Some attempt to do this through acquisitions, others through bringing in a new leader who decides to change direction com-pletely, sometimes in a direction incom-patible with the company. The results are never successful. The difference between the two approaches is characterized by the slow, steady, methodical preparation inherent in the flywheel, as compared to the abrupt, radical, and often revolution-ary, rather than evolutionary changes within the company.” Most good things take time to develop and emerge properly. If you try to speed up the birth of a baby bird, or help the butterfly hatch from the chrysalis, you will generally cripple them and the process.

COMPANIES FAILING AFTER 10 YEARS

If an organization wants to reach the top, and stay there, it will require constant improvement of every system. Organiza-tions have to consistently move forward, creating something new, something bigger and something better to keep its stakeholders interested.

W. Edward Deming believed in 14 points, two of which are continuity driven. The first is to “create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and ser-vice, with the aim to become competitive and to stay in business, and to provide jobs.” Deming also purports that compa-nies can “improve constantly and forever the system of production and service, to improve quality and productivity, and thus constantly decrease cost.”

In 1981, Ford Motor Company incurred $3 billion in losses while sales were rap-idly declining. Deming was recruited by Division Quality Manager John Manaoo-gian to kick-start a quality undertak-ing. Deming questioned the company's

culture, and the technique its managers used. To Ford's surprise, Deming talked not about quality, but about manage-ment. He reported that management ac-tions were responsible for 85 percent of all problems in developing better cars at Ford. In 1986, Ford came out with a profitable line of cars, the Taurus-Sable line, thus making it the most profitable American auto company and for the first time since the 1920s surpassing General Motors. Ford’s Chair Donald Peterson told Autoweek, “We are moving toward building a quality culture at Ford, and the many changes that have been taking place here have their roots directly in Deming’s teachings.”

Nothing is constant. Change is inevitable. Many managers are more comfortable building a new organizational structure

than deciding when the old ones must go, and it is the function of company leader-ship to develop solutions that continually work for the common good.

CONTINUITY OF STRONG COMPANIES

In 1990, Richard Pascale wrote that re-lentless change requires businesses to continuously reinvent themselves. While the creature characteristics, which have been discussed in previous ICOSA issues, are sure to aid an organization’s efforts, they are not what truly drive growth. Downward trends, due to inevitable di-minishing market demands, are certain, unless they have a plan for continual growth and development.

Kaizen is a Japanese word that fo-cuses upon continuous improvement

of processes in manufacturing, engi-neering and business management. The Kaizen strategy calls for never-ending efforts at improvement involving every-one in the organization–managers and workers alike. Great leaders inspire peo-ple around them to become better. And people want to do their best because of their leadership.

The best businesses–the ones that con-tinue to survive, even when massive market shifts affect their industry–are ruthless about improvement. They find new ways to educate their customers, employees and partners. They look at their processes, policies and systems and ask themselves: “How can we make this more efficient? What don’t we need anymore? What do we need now?” And they don’t fall into the “We’ve always

done it this way,” trap, which causes companies to struggle and fall.

NOTHING FAILS LIKE SUCCESS

Continuity is the key to creating an ap-preciation of value. “Nothing fails like success,” claims Richard Pascale, which means that what was strength yesterday becomes the root of weakness today.

Whether we like it or not, our world has reached a frantic pace of consumption; that which is first innovative and excit-ing, quickly becomes outdated and ob-solete. With each new generation comes new perspectives, new standards of ser-vice and higher demands. Without the ability to expand and update products or services, the natural tendency of an orga-nization is to spiral downward. To stay in

By reusing and rebuilding infrastructure and resource management systems, collaborative organizations have a vantage point, and can ascend faster to higher levels of productivity.

Nothing is constant. Change is inevitable. Many managers are more comfortable building a new organizational structure than deciding when the old ones must go.

10 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

 LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER

demand, an organization must constantly innovate, infiltrate and regenerate.

People problems become more time con-suming; technology problems become more complex; management becomes more difficult. Circulation strategies require ever-widening resources and thinking; facilities are ever-expanding and more expensive; markets are elusive and ever-changing and products require an endless battle against margin creep and staleness. Oftentimes, companies lose sight of what exactly it was they set out to do.

Guidelines for successful continuity include: • Never stop growing; always stretch

yourself.• Work on areas of weakness that don’t

come naturally.• Learn discipline by practicing sound

fundamentals, over and over again until you can act naturally.

• Sustain a consistent effort over an extended period of time.

• Although there are interruptions and delays, never lose sight of your goals.

• Don’t live in a shell (even though snails do).

• Unless you try to do something beyond what you have mastered, you

will never grow.• Be a gracious loser and a perpetual

student.• Remember the power of process, the

power of repetition, and the power of endorsement.

CONCLUSION

Continuity is hard work. “Almost nothing works the first time it’s attempted. Just be-cause what you’re doing does not seem to be working, doesn’t mean it won’t work. It just means that it might not work the way you’re doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn’t have an opportu-nity,” declares Bob Parsons, executive chair and founder of GoDaddy.com.

Time and the acceleration of change can work for or against us. The repetitive ani-mation of a twisting spiral is a reality check that reminds us that successive growth be-comes successively more difficult and can cause a downward spiral in an organiza-tion. It is one thing to reach the top: it is quite another to stay there. And the most difficult and most neglected is continuity ensuring relevancy and longevity.

Sincerely, Gayle

Founder and Publisher Gayle Dendinger

President & Editor-In-Chief Jan Mazotti

Vice President and Editor-At-Large Kim DeCoste

Managing Editor Annette Perez

Contributing Writers Gary Black, Keenan Brug, Bruce DeBoskey, Kelly de la Torre, Gail Frances, Dr. Stephan Hittmann, Diane Irvin, Rebecca Kersting, Valerie Lefler, Helen Novak, Candace Ruiz, Rebecca Saltman, Brandon Shaffer, Judy Taylor, Eric Van Orden, Darryl Watson, Jennifer Watson

Staff Writers Maria E. Luna, Emily Haggstrom

Advertising Inquires Please contact Jan Mazotti at janm@icosamag.com

Art Director Nick Heckman

Photography and Design Andrew Thompson

Videography Tim Bungum, Blake Rubenstein, Tammy Schmidt

Social Media Maria E. Luna, Annette Perez, Tammy Schmidt

Copy Editors Maria E. Luna, Melissa Root

ICOSA® welcomes editorial submissions from its readers. Whenever possible, submissions should be sent in electronic format. All unsolicited materials should be submitted to the publisher at the address below. Items not sent electronically will not be returned. The publisher reserves the right to decline use of materials at their discretion and assumes no liability for unsolicited materials.

ICOSA® (ISSN1938-2081) is published four times a year. No part of ICOSA® may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. ©2012

ICOSA Corporate Headquarters 4100 Jackson Street / Denver, CO 80216

Office 303.333.3688 Fax 303.333.4832 Email janm@icosamag.com Website www.icosamag.com

All third class postage paid at Denver, Colorado

To view an electronic copy of ICOSA® (ISSN1938-209X) or to get your free subscription, go to www.icosamag.com.

Check the ICOSA Channel on YouTube www.youtube.com/user/ICOSAmagazine

Friend us at ICOSA Magazine on Facebook www.facebook.com/ICOSAMAGAZINE

Nothing is constant. Change is inevitable. Many managers are more comfortable building a new organizational structure than deciding when the old ones must go.

10 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

 LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER

demand, an organization must constantly innovate, infiltrate and regenerate.

People problems become more time con-suming; technology problems become more complex; management becomes more difficult. Circulation strategies require ever-widening resources and thinking; facilities are ever-expanding and more expensive; markets are elusive and ever-changing and products require an endless battle against margin creep and staleness. Oftentimes, companies lose sight of what exactly it was they set out to do.

Guidelines for successful continuity include: • Never stop growing; always stretch

yourself.• Work on areas of weakness that don’t

come naturally.• Learn discipline by practicing sound

fundamentals, over and over again until you can act naturally.

• Sustain a consistent effort over an extended period of time.

• Although there are interruptions and delays, never lose sight of your goals.

• Don’t live in a shell (even though snails do).

• Unless you try to do something beyond what you have mastered, you

will never grow.• Be a gracious loser and a perpetual

student.• Remember the power of process, the

power of repetition, and the power of endorsement.

CONCLUSION

Continuity is hard work. “Almost nothing works the first time it’s attempted. Just be-cause what you’re doing does not seem to be working, doesn’t mean it won’t work. It just means that it might not work the way you’re doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn’t have an opportu-nity,” declares Bob Parsons, executive chair and founder of GoDaddy.com.

Time and the acceleration of change can work for or against us. The repetitive ani-mation of a twisting spiral is a reality check that reminds us that successive growth be-comes successively more difficult and can cause a downward spiral in an organiza-tion. It is one thing to reach the top: it is quite another to stay there. And the most difficult and most neglected is continuity ensuring relevancy and longevity.

Sincerely, Gayle

Founder and Publisher Gayle Dendinger

President & Editor-In-Chief Jan Mazotti

Vice President and Editor-At-Large Kim DeCoste

Managing Editor Annette Perez

Contributing Writers Gary Black, Keenan Brug, Bruce DeBoskey, Kelly de la Torre, Gail Frances, Dr. Stephan Hittmann, Diane Irvin, Rebecca Kersting, Valerie Lefler, Helen Novak, Candace Ruiz, Rebecca Saltman, Brandon Shaffer, Judy Taylor, Eric Van Orden, Darryl Watson, Jennifer Watson

Staff Writers Maria E. Luna, Emily Haggstrom

Advertising Inquires Please contact Jan Mazotti at janm@icosamag.com

Art Director Nick Heckman

Photography and Design Andrew Thompson

Videography Tim Bungum, Blake Rubenstein, Tammy Schmidt

Social Media Maria E. Luna, Annette Perez, Tammy Schmidt

Copy Editors Maria E. Luna, Melissa Root

ICOSA® welcomes editorial submissions from its readers. Whenever possible, submissions should be sent in electronic format. All unsolicited materials should be submitted to the publisher at the address below. Items not sent electronically will not be returned. The publisher reserves the right to decline use of materials at their discretion and assumes no liability for unsolicited materials.

ICOSA® (ISSN1938-2081) is published four times a year. No part of ICOSA® may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. ©2012

ICOSA Corporate Headquarters 4100 Jackson Street / Denver, CO 80216

Office 303.333.3688 Fax 303.333.4832 Email janm@icosamag.com Website www.icosamag.com

All third class postage paid at Denver, Colorado

To view an electronic copy of ICOSA® (ISSN1938-209X) or to get your free subscription, go to www.icosamag.com.

Check the ICOSA Channel on YouTube www.youtube.com/user/ICOSAmagazine

Friend us at ICOSA Magazine on Facebook www.facebook.com/ICOSAMAGAZINE

COVER ART: Abandoned Dwellings © Vladimir Kush. All rights reserved.

M O D E R N E N E R G Y I N V E S T O R F O R U M ®1

Corporate Pro� les

D E N V E R , C O L O R A D O | 2 0 1 0 1

F O R M O R E I N F O R M A T I O N

visit minellc.com email alexis@minellc.com

Where resources � nd resources.

M E E T I N G S F O R N A T U R A L R E S O U R C E C O M P A N I E S A N D Q U A L I F I E D I N V E S T O R S .

visit minellc.com email alexis@minellc.com phone 303.377.6463

Private forums for specially selected natural resource executives to meet pre-quali� ed investors.

When you get the right people in the same room at the same time, it creates amazing opportunities for every-one. We are the facilitators of these conferences—far more successful than chance encounters.

Di� cult to organize on your own, these forums are designed to save all parties time and disappoint-ment. Because we know what you’re looking for, we � nd it (and screen it) for you. One- on- one meetings. Networking. Handshakes to seal the deal. And suddenly, your project has � nancing or your investment � nally � nds a worthy project.

It all happens here. At the Worldwise Resource Forums.

A M I N E L L C E N T E R P R I S E

12 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

INSPIRATIONS

Continuity and Growth Potential

Snails are part of the lineage of mol-lusks known as gastropods, which literally means belly-footed ani-

mals. There are as many as 50,000 species of snails living all over the world in seas and oceans, fresh bodies of water and even terrestrially, adjacent to water. They are peculiar-looking animals known for their singular foot, slow movement and beautiful and intricate shells.

The primary function of the snail’s shell is protection. It shields the small gastro-pods from predators and helps to pre-vent desiccation. The spiral shells form gradually, extending from the opening. Shell growth is a continuous, two-part process–first a very thin, transparent

outer layer called the periostracum is formed; second, the mantle of the snail secretes calcium-rich inner layers, rein-forcing the new growth.

Snails’ shells are steadily growing and regenerating. They develop for the en-tire length of the snail’s life with new growth appearing atop the current in-frastructure. Every time a new layer is added, small vertical lines appear on the shell. The width and regularity of this transverse stria, as they are called, de-pends greatly on the age, species and en-vironmental conditions during a snail’s life. The stria of the snail is like the rings of a tree–they can tell you volumes about the snail’s past.

Other small organisms such as crus-taceans and even some bugs use other means when regenerating. Some of them shed their entire exoskeleton and then grow a new one. This leaves them weak and vulnerable while the new exoskeleton forms. Snails, even when they do not inhabit the older portion of their shell, must carry around their obsolete body parts. While this may seem like a hindrance, they are, on the whole, much safer than their crusta-cean counterparts. Although unaware, snails serve as a fantastic metaphor for the importance of continuity. Their slow, methodical movements allow for infinite growth potential. Through their history in the form of striations, we can see where they have been and how they were affected by their sur-roundings. Their expansive growth is persistent throughout their life. Even if they move slowly, theirs is always a forward motion, carrying with them all knowledge of where they’ve been.

The spiral shape of the snail’s shell helps us remember that adaptation is a continually cycling process. Collab-oration works by building upon other people’s strengths. Each experience of an individual or organization increases their knowledge. These experiences can also create continuity by acting as stepping stones to new projects.

Continuity allows projects to build on one another instead of starting over each time. By reusing and rebuilding infrastructure, resource management systems and resources, collaborative organizations have a vantage point and can ascend faster to higher levels of productivity. With endless possi-bilities of how to grow, expand and transform, this collaboration cycle could tap into the infinite.

B Y R E B E C C A K E R S T I N G

Help Our Kids’ Dreams Take FlightThrough the Metro Volunteers School Service Program, volunteers are teaching theater, staffing school libraries, coaching kids on sports and academics and more. Each program is customized to the needs of local children and the passions of volunteers.

Help expand the School Service Program into more schools. Become a corporate sponsoror a volunteer today. For more information, call Metro Volunteers at 303.282.1234 or visit us at www.metrovolunteers.org.

14 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

ADVISORY BOARD

BRUCE DeBOSKEY, J.D.

For more than 30 years, Bruce DeBoskey has been dedicated to community building and social justice through his professional and volunteer work. It is with

that mission and commitment in mind that he founded The DeBoskey Group, a Colorado-based philanthropic advisory consulting practice helping individuals, families, businesses and foundations orga-nize, strategize and maximize the impact of their philanthropic initiatives. The DeBoskey Group guides clients through a customized assessment of their current giving, a refinement of their vision and values, research to identify optimal nonprofit partners, de-velopment of a philanthropic strategy, implementation of a giving plan and evaluation of outcomes achieved both for the donor and the recipients. With businesses, plans may involve com-munity investment, corporate social re-sponsibility, social innovation and em-ployee giving and volunteerism. With families, philanthropy issues may include the establishment of family charitable values and goals, multigenerational en-gagement, legacy planning and gover-nance. The DeBoskey Group serves as the “Fourth Leg of the Table,” working along-side tax, legal and wealth advisers to help clients achieve their philanthropic goals. Bruce writes a regular monthly column "On Philanthropy" in the business sec-tion of the Sunday Denver Post. His top-ics include corporate social responsibil-ity and alternative approaches to busi-ness volunteerism and giving, creating a philanthropic legacy, multigenerational giving challenges, women’s philanthropy, children as philanthropists, how to be an effective philanthropist and many others. All of his columns may be read at www.deboskeygroup.com/media.

Bruce previously served as the re-gional director of the Anti-Defama-tion League's (ADL) Mountain States Region, directing the regional civil/human rights initiatives of this nearly 100-year-old national nonprofit orga-nization. As director, he led an 11 per-son staff, a 100-plus member board of directors, and its 20-plus working com-mittees and he learned about the best and worst practices in the nonprofit sector. This experience helps him re-search, select and work with nonprofit partners on behalf of donors. Prior to joining ADL in 2002, Bruce was a shareholder in Silver & DeBoskey, P.C., a 30-person Denver law firm special-izing in dispute resolution of complex civil matters. His areas of trial practice included discrimination, civil rights, professional liability, environmental torts, personal injury, employment dis-putes and business litigation. Among his achievements during his distinguished 25-year legal career, he won ground-breaking cases on behalf of workers at the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant. Bruce holds an A.B. from Indiana Uni-versity in political science and envi-ronmental studies and received his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as an editor of the Law Review. Following law school, Bruce clerked for the Honorable Rich-ard Matsch, U.S. District Judge for the District of Colorado, and settled in Denver, where he’s lived for 35 years. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors of the Colo-rado Philanthropic Advisors Network (CPAN), the advisory board of the Philanthropic Center of the Women's College at the University of Denver, the Rose Medical Center Advisory Board, and the Corporate Community Invest-ment Network.

BRUCE DEBOSKEY, J.D. THE DEBOSKEY GROUP

2255 E. 18th Ave. Denver, CO 80206

t: 303.953.3772 w: www.deboskeygroup.com

Call an energy advisor today! 720.865.5520 (se habla Español)DenverEnergy.org

The Denver Energy Challenge is administered by the City & County of Denver’s Department of Environmental Health

In addition to energy savings, the City & County of Denver provides FREE, confidential, non-regulatory environmental assistance and certification to Denver’s small business community like: Restaurants, Auto Repair, Retail & O�ce Spaces

Water Conservation • Resource Management • Transportation • Business Management • Energy Efficiency

CertifiablyGreenDenver.org • 720-865-5457

Denvergov.org/CertifiablyGreenDenver

GREENBUSINESS

Change Your Wasted Energy Into Saved Energy

We can help.The Denver Energy Challenge is a FREE energy program available to help

residents and businesses cut energy waste and increase comfort.We provide: Energy Advising and access to exclusive rebates and financing.

Certifiably Green Denver

ERIC H. DRUMMOND

16 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

ADVISORY BOARD

Eric Drummond has prac-ticed administrative law and complex administra-tive litigation for two de-cades, focusing his practice in alternative energy issues,

electric utility and telecommunications law. Before joining Patton Boggs, Mr. Drummond served as chair of the Alter-native Energy and CleanTech practice for a regional, Denver-based firm, where he represented electric transmission devel-opers, Smart Grid, solar, biofuel, wind and energy efficiency companies, as well as major financial institutions.

While serving as the mayor of Mani-tou Springs, Colorado, Mr. Drummond participated in large-scale initiatives developed by the Colorado Governor’s Energy Office to implement sustainable energy strategies. As part of an effort to measure the City of Manitou Springs’s carbon footprint, Mr. Drummond ac-tively supported a greenhouse gas emis-sion reduction program and played a key role in ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability and Cities for Cli-mate Protection campaigns. Leverag-ing his roles as chair of the Economic Development Council and mayor, Mr. Drummond successfully promoted an environment of economic development that led to a record amount of private investment in Manitou Springs.

Mr. Drummond’s electric utility experi-ence includes the representation of one of the nation’s largest investor-owned electric utility holding companies, which involved multistate and multijurisdic-tional transactions and regulatory pro-ceedings as well as representing the larg-est electric transmission and distribution utility in Texas. He has also represented cities, other governmental entities and private land owners in major electric utility rate cases and electric transmis-sion siting cases.

Mr. Drummond is familiar with the issues facing commercial and investment bank-ers in evaluating the financing of various alternative energy and cleantech projects. In this regard, Mr. Drummond has sub-stantial experience with solar develop-ment, having represented the Department of Energy in the development of the larg-est utility scale High Concentrating Solar Photovoltaic generation plant globally as well as representing commercial scale dis-tributive solar projects.

Experienced in telecommunications law, Mr. Drummond has been involved in in-terconnection agreements and wireless communication issues, and has partici-pated in the relocation of microwave op-erators from electromagnetic spectrum allocated to CMRS providers. In addi-tion, he has worked closely with the An-titrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice on state and federal matters re-lated to Section 271 Relief under the Tele-communications Act of 1996.

Drummond has also represented leading Smart Grid, distributive energy services, solar and biofuel-related companies and assisted various start-up cleantech en-terprises, including those involved with electric drive vehicles, solar and alterna-tive energy parks and waste-to-energy projects, as well as companies seeking to market the commercially viable use of hydrogen technology. Furthermore, he has represented the U.S. subsidiar-ies of a global 15 bank in evaluating the financing of renewable energy and cleantech projects; the federal govern-ment in developing the world’s largest concentrating solar photovoltaic project and the first-of-its-kind municipal solid waste to fuel ethanol project; waste-to-energy projects, including an electric cooperative providing power to 17 Col-orado cities involving a 3 MW landfill methane gas recovery system; and the first-of-its-kind abandoned coal mine

methane gas recovery system and carbon offset verification program. Representa-tion included the drafting of power pur-chase and interconnection agreements, utility-scale hydroelectric projects, wind developers and landowners in large-scale wind generation projects, and he has represented the largest U.S. wireless company as one of five regional outside members of counsel. He serves on several boards, has published countless papers and has served as an expert lecturer.

ERIC H. DRUMMOND, PARTNER PATTON BOGGS LLP Practice Areas: Energy and Natural Resources, Energy-Related Public Policy, Clean Technology

Denver, CO 303.894.6131

e: edrummond@pattonboggs.com w: www.pattonboggs.com

18 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

ADVISORY BOARD

STEVE McMILLAN

For the past 15 years, Steve McMillan has worked as a journalist at The Den-ver Post, Colorado’s larg-est multi-platform media company. Currently serv-

ing as the paper’s editor of public pol-icy, McMillan is responsible for a team of reporters covering education, immi-gration and transportation, as well as handling certain online projects and developing eBook content. He appears as one of four news anchors on DPTV, The Post’s online, noon newscast.

As Business Editor at The Post from July 2007 until December 2011, McMil-lan oversaw a print and online section that provided fast, accurate, must-read information and analysis. He spear-headed business news coverage of the Democratic National Convention in Denver in 2008, the buyout of Qwest Communications and the local impact of the subprime mortgage crisis and the 2008 market meltdown. His staff won Society of American Business Ed-itor and Writer awards for real estate, features, projects and enterprise re-porting competing against the largest news organizations in the country. He launched features such as The Denver Post Business Person of the Year and an annual, data-driven analysis of the compensation of top executives of Col-orado’s publicly traded companies.

Recently, he has worked with ICOSA magazine editor Jan Mazotti, co-hosting radio and Web/TV programs on the fore-closure crisis, food-borne illness and the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University.

Born in Philadelphia, McMillan attended St. Joseph’s University for two years be-fore taking a year-long sabbatical to work on farms in Biggsville, Ill., and Mediap-olis, Iowa.

“I learned how to chisel plow corn and soybean fields and take care of hogs as big as baby elephants,” he said. “It was like risking death slopping around in the pens carrying a feed bucket for those vo-racious pigs.”

McMillan enrolled at the University of Iowa, where he worked for the student newspaper The Daily Iowan, and grad-uated with a bachelor of arts degree in journalism and sociology. He moved to Colorado, eventually locating in the heart of oil shale country to cover the boomtowns of Rifle, Parachute and Bat-tlement Mesa for the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. Although fishing in the Flattops Wilderness Area on “Black Sun-day,” the day the industry collapsed, he recovered quickly and spent the next year writing about the demise of oil shale and the energy industry in Colorado.

In 1994, McMillan became the business editor at the Albuquerque Journal, where he spent the next three years directing business coverage for New Mexico’s largest news operation. While in the “Land of Enchantment,” he volunteered as a member of the National Ski Patrol and spent time exploring the culturally diverse environment, including its many Native American Indian pueblos and rich Hispanic heritage so engagingly il-lustrated in works such as The Milagro Beanfield War, by Taos, N.M., writer John Nichols and Willa Cather’s Death Comes for the Archbishop.

“Journalists record the first draft of his-tory, and I love being part of that,” said McMillan. “Then there are great authors like Nichols and Cather who add the lit-erary magic that brings history, culture and the people who populate our com-munities and world to life.”

McMillan lives with his wife, Anne, in Centennial, Colo. He has three sons, Matt,

Marc and Mike. He served for five years on the board of Swallow Hill Music Associa-tion in Denver, including a year as presi-dent. His garage band Six Degrees lasted for two years, specializing in classic rock and blues. While his guitar playing is spo-radic at this point, we all know that “Rust Never Sleeps,” to pan a Neil Young album.

McMillan’s most recently read book: Steve Jobs’s biography.

What’s on his iPod: Bob Marley, Junior Kimbrough, Railroad Earth, Bob Dylan and Tom Morello.

Interests: Avid skier and outdoorsman.

Books: Co-author of a visitor guide to the Colorado National Monument, which is available at the iTunes store.

Other: Serves as the professional adviser for the University of Colorado at Denver student newspaper the Advocate.

STEVE MCMILLAN THE DENVER POST Editor, Public Policy

e: smcmillan@denverpost.com w: www.denverpost.com

Rotary

Jack Nicklaus

We Are ThisClose to Ending Polio.

Polio still cripples thousands of childrenaround the world. With your help, we can wipe

this disease off the face of the earth forever.Visit rotary.org/endpolio to help.

END POLIO NOW

20 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

OPINION

How Do You Eat an Elephant?ONE BITE AT A TIME

I get frustrated watching today’s Congress bicker over budget balancing proposals, while our country continues to rack up debt that will burden our children and grandchildren. Nobody wants to

acknowledge the obvious; we can’t solve our budget problems overnight. Instead of eliminating the national debt in one year, we need a long-term plan that will allow us to get back on the road to fiscal responsibility, and it starts right now. Here’s a simple three-step approach that will eliminate the national deficit and the national debt, without making brutal cuts to things such as military spending, Social Security or Medicare. STEP #1: STOP THE BLEEDING I was at lunch the other day with a long-time friend. He’d been out of work for

a while, but had just gotten a new job and was starting to get back on his feet. Over lunch he confided in me that he survived his months of unemployment by racking up huge credit card debt. Yet, when the bill came for lunch, he tried to pay with his card. Of course, I picked up the tab, but I asked him if he had a plan for paying off his debt. He chuckled and said, “Sure, I play the lottery on a regular basis.” That’s not a plan! Unfortunately, that’s what it feels like our representatives in Congress are doing with their budget-balancing pro-posals. They’re looking for a “silver bullet” instead of com-ing up with a reasonable plan.

Just like paying off personal credit card debt, the first thing we need to do is stop the bleeding–stop racking up more bills on credit, and eliminate our annual deficit. In the current fiscal year (2012-2013) the United States will spend more than $1.3 trillion more than we bring in from tax revenue. The only way to make progress toward paying down the national debt of $15.7 trillion is to first get our arms around the annual deficit. STEP #2: ALL-OF-THE-ABOVE STRATEGY Republicans say, “We have a spending problem, not a revenue problem.” Dem-ocrats say, “We need a fair tax code so everyone pays their fair share.” The truth is, they’re both right. We must eliminate wasteful spending, AND we must come up with a fair tax structure. When I was an officer in the United States Navy, I was taught that, “You get what you inspect, not what you expect.” We need a top-to-bottom review of fed-eral spending to assess the effectiveness of every dollar spent. Just like the Navy's Preventative Maintenance System, we

need a method by which pro-grams can be graded based on objective criteria measuring the effectiveness of the program. This will allow us to grade gov-ernment programs that are spending our tax dollars. Where a program is not making the grade, it should be eliminated. Similarly, we need a tax code that works for us, not the other way around. We need to stop giving tax

B Y B R A N D O N S H A F F E R

WE MUST ELIMINATE WASTEFUL SPENDING, AND WE MUST COME UP WITH A FAIR TAX STRUCTURE.

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 21

breaks to corporations that send American jobs to other countries. Equally important, we need to reinvest American tax dollars in America, not in foreign countries. These concepts seem almost too simple, but they’re not. By aligning our priorities in the right way, we can eliminate the na-tional deficit and start to pay down the national debt. STEP #3: LONG-TERM PLANNING The days of budgeting year-to-year must end. Any successful businessperson will tell you that planning for the future is necessary to run a profitable business. We need a long-range strategic plan for our country’s economy. Just like any good business, we must constantly be looking over the horizon for new possibilities and opportunities to keep us on the cutting edge of the global economy. As we work to pay down the national debt, we must likewise think in terms of long-term solutions. That's the approach I took in Colorado to address the shortfall in its public employee pension system.

Following the stock market crash of 2008, Colorado’s public employee pension system (Public Employee Retirement Association, “PERA”) took a $10 billon hit. With annual state tax revenues of about $7.5 bil-lion per year, it was clear that PERA was in big trouble. The Colorado legislature endeavored to address this problem in 2010. Instead of trying to come up with a “silver bullet” to erase the problem in a single year, the PERA deficit was amortized over a 30-year period, and an annual payment plan was devised to allow Colorado to eliminate the shortfall over time. Ultimately, the pension plan was saved by this action, and it was the first step toward economic stability and recovery in our beautiful state. The same approach can be taken in pay-ing down the national debt. Our current $15.7 trillion national debt will not be eliminated in one fell swoop. However, if we amortize it out over time, then

dedicate ourselves to mak-ing the annual payment each year (prioritize it first, and make this payment before, we spend anything else out of our nation’s annual bud-get) we can eliminate the na-tional debt. This will have enormous positive ramifications for our economy. Businesses crave stability and predict-

ability. One of the most detrimental forces acting on our economy today is the lack of certainty for future invest-ments. The size of our national debt contributes directly to this instabil-ity. When lenders don’t lend money because of high volatility in the mar-kets, businesses don’t have the capital to build, hire, manufacture, invest, re-search, develop, train, expand, grow, etc., etc., etc. The key to injecting fuel into our lagging economy is creating stability and predict-ability. We do that by devising a plan for balancing our country’s budget and elim-inating our national debt. CONCLUSION Getting our arms around the federal deficit and national debt will not be easy. The numbers are enormous, and it’s not something that can be tackled overnight. However, we must get our federal budget under control to get our economy back on track. I believe good governance relies on practical solutions, not ideology. We have a sincere desire to balance our nation’s budget, so let’s stop playing politics and eliminate our na-tional debt to get America back on the right track.

Brandon Shaffer is the current president of the Colorado State Senate and is running for Congress in the Fourth Congressional District against Cory Gardner. The Fourth Congressional District incorporates Douglas County, Longmont, Weld County and the Eastern plains from Holyoke all the way down to Trinidad.

THE KEY TOINJECTING FUEL INTO OUR LAGGING ECONOMY IS CREATING STABILITY ANDPREDICTABILITY.

22 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

 BOOK REVIEW | SMALL TOWN RULES AND THE PUMPKIN PLAN

BE A GO-GIVERAN INTERVIEW WITH BEST-SELLING AUTHORS MIKE MICHALOWICZ AND BARRY MOLTZB Y R E B E C C A S A L T M A N

Have you had the opportunity to meet pub-lished authors, whose books are well-known or even best-sellers? Often you are compelled to acknowledge, regardless of the material or sub-ject matter, that you are dealing with a critical thinker who has chosen to broadcast intellectual

property to the public through an unforgiving medium. In short, you are dealing with a power plant–all you need do is plug in.

If you’re reading this article, then your daily imperatives most likely revolve around ways to improve your organization’s product, service or collaboration. That in turn means you are practiced at seeking out informative resources, with authors being chief among those resources. This past year I have had the good fortune to meet several fantastic authors, as well as great collaborators in my work.

When you spend time researching the next big idea, you inevi-tably start populating your daydreams with “what if…” scenar-ios. I wonder, “What if I could pick Michael Gerber’s brain over lunch? What could I learn from Guy Kawasaki while he doubles as a workout partner for me? Where could I take my business? Or who could help capture my vision after a walk in the park with Seth Godin?”

Recently, I worked an event with two of my most favorite authors, Mike Michalowicz and Barry Moltz, and I have to say I felt like I was hanging with the cool kids–the rock stars in the entrepre-neurial firmament. And I wondered, how did I get so lucky?

Mike Michalowicz is the CEO of Provendus Group, a consulting firm that specializes in igniting growth in companies that have plateaued. He is a small-business columnist for The Wall Street Journal, a fre-quent television guest and keynote speaker regarding the do’s and don’ts of entrepreneurship, and the author of the cult classic book The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur. His most recent effort, The Pumpkin Plan, demonstrates a laughably straightforward business analogy and uses it to create an unstoppable action plan for your business–your business should be like a pumpkin farmer whose sole focus is grow-ing a massive hernia special for the county fair, rather than season after season of pleasing jack-o-lantern enthusiasts.

So, who is Michalowicz? He has launched three multimil-lion-dollar companies, all be-fore his 35th birthday. He was awarded the Small Business Administration’s Young Entre-preneur of the Year when he was 26. He sold his first com-pany to private investors; his second to a Fortune 500 com-pany; and currently manages his third company, Obsidian Launch, which provides behav-ioral marketing services.

In his new book, Small Town Rules, Barry Moltz and co-au-thor Becky McCray show how the business world is like a global small town, and how even the largest companies must compete for customers as if they were small, local businesses. By revealing the seven “rural-style” solutions that have proven invaluable to organizations of all colors and creeds, Barry illustrates how even the largest companies, most dominant brands and most cosmopolitan businesses have been forced to adjust to recent economic realities. The philosophy of thinking “small” is like the new “black.”

So, who is Moltz? He worked for one of the largest com-panies in the world and has started three businesses. He has hired hundreds of people and unfortunately, had to fire some of them. He has been fired more than once. And he sold his last business, but also went out of business and was kicked out of his business, but luckily, not in that order.

ICOSA: We believe that collaboration could save the world. Describe how collaboration and entrepre-neurship could be the answer businesses are looking for when it comes to continuous success over time?

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 23

MICHALOWICZ: The pendu-lum of how entrepreneurship works has started to swing in the other direction. The turning point, I believe, was the "greed is good" mentality of the late ‘80s. It started the im-plosion that stars go through ... gobbling up everything in sight, and in some degree has caused our current economy. But there is a clear shift toward collaboration now. The concept in entrepreneurship is that two companies can join forces and exploit their unique talents.

For collaboration to work, a few things must come in to play. First, it works best with small businesses. Small businesses have the luxury at being masters at one thing; alternatively, however, big juggernaut companies need to feed the beast, and try to gobble up everything.

Second, it requires that there are strong communications. The rule is to "keep talking." Just like any work where multiple people–or in this case companies–are involved, misunderstandings often hap-pen and then can spiral into conflict. Frequent communi-cations between collaborators is the lubricant to successful collaboration.

Third is to start small. Just like any other skill that entrepre-neurs need to build, collabo-rating is a critical skill. If you dive in without experience, you may run into road-blocks that turn you off to it permanently. That would be a mistake. Start with smaller collaborative projects and build up.

The result of successful collab-oration is long-term success. It allows you to run with thinner overhead and focus on just what you do best. You get

more work since you are col-laborating with partners who are turning you on to new work and vice versa.

MOLTZ: The famous quote that “no man is an island” is really true in small business. If you are alone or have no collaborators, then you don't have a company–you just have a job. With people working remotely based on their var-ied skills all over the world, learning how to collaborate is a basic requirement for success these days in business. Years ago, people worked for one company until they retired. Then, they worked for three to five years before changing jobs. Now, most people will actually have multiple lines of income. Co-workers are actually teams that are made up of a loose confederation of collaborators that come together for a short time for a single project. Over time, these teams re-form, and the collaboration begins all over again.

Probably one of the most important skills that needs to be learned is how to effec-tively collaborate with many different types of people, and effective communication skills will be one of the most valued assets going forward.

ICOSA: From your perspec-tive, what are some success-ful examples of continuity in the entrepreneurial and small-business world?

MOLTZ: I love the word “con-tinuity” instead of “longevity.” These days, years in business is not really a milestone. Rather, companies have to be able to continually reinvent themselves to be relevant to the customer–Apple went from being a computer com-pany to a media and con-sumer products company.

One of the qualities we now value the most is sustainabil-ity. Many people can build a company in the short term and make a financial profit. However, it takes real skill to build and rebuild a company. Companies such as Nintendo originally sold playing cards, and Nokia originally sold rub-ber tires and boots–but they are two companies that have had to evolve.

MICHALOWICZ: I want to lead with a big-business example since it is something we can all identify with. I love what IBM did to maintain continuity–they reinvented themselves from computer makers to technology consul-tants. They noticed that some-thing that was once big for them had started to decline–it was their imploding star. In-stead of trying to fix the inev-itable, they used the life left in it to springboard a whole new version of themselves. That is what I call continuity.

The buzz word now is "pivot." It used to be "transition." And the concept is simple. Every-thing has a life cycle, includ-ing businesses and the prod-ucts and services we deliver. When something is growing, you feed it; when something is clearly dying, that is when you start something new.

I see small business do this all the time. They have the luxury of, literally overnight, shifting what they do. For example, a local book store in Philadel-phia recognized they couldn't compete with Amazon, so they built direct relations with publishing houses to ship large orders. At the beginning the store was doing $500,000 annually in book sales; today it does $1.5 million in sales, all by transitioning their approach.There is one major risk,

"FREE-FLOWING

MONEY COVERS UP OUR

PROBLEMS, BUT WHEN

THINGS SLOW DOWN, OUR

PROBLEMS BECOME VERY

APPARENT." - MIKE MICHALOWICZ

24 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

 BOOK REVIEW | SMALL TOWN RULES AND THE PUMPKIN PLAN

though, with small businesses that shift; many shift too often. They pursue the flavor of the month and never make it. The key to continuity in business is transitioning the growing parts of your business, without losing your core purpose–the "why" your business does what it does. If you can retain your purpose and simply change the vehicle for delivering on the purpose, you can have long ongoing success.

ICOSA: What kind of impact has the recession had on the continuity of entrepreneur-ship and small business?

MICHALOWICZ: It opens people’s eyes to what is not working. When the econ-omy recedes, and I hate to say this, but likely gets even worse, the problems in our businesses become very ap-parent. Free-flowing money covers up our problems, but when things slow down, our problems become very apparent. It truly is like a wildfire tearing through the forest of business. All the dead wood gets burned up, some or even many healthy trees die, but some survive. Most importantly, the trees that drop seeds deep in the soil prior to the wildfire have the offspring surge to life after the fire tears through.

I think small businesses need to do two things in this economy; become healthy fast and “plant some seeds.” Small businesses need to cut out the dead wood and do only what they do best, then collaborate with others to do the rest. Sec-ondly, by testing small oppor-tunities with minimal costs, businesses can plant seeds and

see what takes root. I wouldn't push these aggressively yet, but just want to have it ready for the better times. I would push aggressively on what I do best.

MOLTZ: It forces businesses to continually adapt and re-invent themselves to stay relevant and profitable as the economics of consumer de-mand change. Recessions are a valuable part of the business cycle. It forces every com-pany to re-examine customer solutions and how they can do it profitably. For example, one of my customers had been in business for 100 years with a 32 percent gross margin. When the recession hit and sales dropped, they were forced to examine their gross margin for the first time to keep net profitability steady. It was only through this exercise did they increase their margin to 35 percent. When sales finally did go up, they were a more profitable company than ever before!

ICOSA: What are some of the core strategies you em-ploy for continuous success?

MOLTZ: There are five things I do. One, I plan for zero. I question assumptions. Every business has seasons and cycles. Invest in your success in the long term. Be like the farmer who only expects one great crop every five years.

Two, spend creative brain-power before your money. Too much money makes you stupid. Don't throw money at a problem. Solve it with as few resources as possible, before trying to buy your way out of it.

Third, multiply your lines of income, but build one oppor-tunity at a time. Do not be dependent on only one line of income or one customer. Spread your risk.

Four, treat customers like community. Now that every customer can talk to every other customer, it's like living in a small town where your reputation means everything.

And five, build local connec-tions to your community. Local is the new black! People would much rather buy locally than at the end of a 10,000-mile supply chain. Take ad-vantage of that!

MICHALOWICZ: The big-gest thing I have done, and we all should do, is pick the "giant seed." This is actually a method that farmers use to grow gigantic pumpkins. They don't use ordinary seeds; they use seeds with colossal genes. In entrepreneurship, the colossal seed is where our pas-sion overlaps with customer demand and with scalability. If we have a passion for what we do, complemented by customers who want it and have a system so that it can grow without our direct in-volvement, we have a business with huge, long-term success potential.

ICOSA: What are the key ele-ments for small businesses to successfully use the collabo-ration growth model?

MICHALOWICZ: Entre-preneurs need to go into business with the "I will be the master of one thing" mentality. If an entrepreneur goes into business trying to

be everything to everybody, not only will they struggle mastering any one thing, they will repel collaborative op-portunities because they will automatically see all these other vendors as competition.

MOLTZ: The key is under-standing your strengths and weaknesses and then finding others to collaborate with that complement you. No one can scale a business alone. Find other people that share your common vision. Collabora-tion is the key ingredient in building a business that can leverage your skills and bring long-term profitability.

The keys to successful collabo-ration are to go in focused on being the world's best at one thing. Then, you must seek other complementary vendors who are the world’s best at their thing. Then, working together, you start with small collaborative experiences with these other vendors. Like any other long-term relationship, you want to build a level of trust and comfort before you go "all in."

You must lead the relationship by being a "go-giver”–some-one who makes the collab-orative effort not just about servicing the end client ex-tremely well, but also servic-ing your collaborative partner extremely well. This sets the foundation for a relationship that will flourish.

If you are interested in contin-ued success over time, I highly recommend you RUN–don’t walk–and get both of these books. They have words of wisdom for business and life!

Learn more about Mike Michalowicz (pronounced mi-CAL-o-witz), at www.MikeMichalowicz.com. Learn more about Barry Moltz, at www.barrymoltz.com.. Rebecca Saltman is a social entrepreneur and the president and founder of an independent collaboration building firm designed to bridge business, government, nonprofits and academia. Learn more at www.foot-in-door.com.

SEND SUPPLIES. SAVE LIVES.

In developing countries, children suffer needlessly because their hospital lacks the medical resources needed to provide care. From casting material to bind broken bones to suture for surgeries,

PROJECT C.U.R.E. collects medical supplies and equipment from U.S. hospitals and manufacturers and delivers those resources to the most underserved health care facilities around the world where they save lives.

You can answer the call for medical relief by filling our 40-ft cargo containers with boxes of life-saving medical supplies--Just $25 sends one box. Every $1 you give, helps send $20 worth of life-saving medical supplies to people who are waiting to receive care. Visit projectcure.org/donate to be our partner in Delivering Health and Hope to the World.

www.projectcure.org

26 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

BACK TO SCHOOL

 ACADEMIA METRO VOLUNTEERS

he bulletin boards at Whittier K-8 School in Denver are empty, and the halls are silent except for the faint sound of adult voices in an upstairs office. It’s the start of summer, and almost everyone has retreated from the heat to rest after a full school year.

Upstairs in Principal Jai Palmer’s office, however, a few adults have gathered to talk about a new effort to involve

more volunteers in the school. Called the Metro Volunteers School Service Program, the initiative has more than quadrupled the num-ber of community members volunteering in the school in support of academic and extracurricular programs. Whittier became one of the test sites for the program for the 2011-2012 school year, and the team behind the project is gathering information to assess how it can be improved and expanded for the coming year.

So far the results have been encouraging, and future plans include engaging more volunteers to serve as reading and math tutors, music and theater instructors, part-time school librarians and more. Similar initiatives are now under way at Skinner Middle School and Teller Ele-mentary, with more schools scheduled to join the program soon.

“You have to think innovatively when budgets are tight,” noted Prin-cipal Palmer. “That’s the challenge– it’s also the opportunity.”

A SMART APPROACH TO SOLVING RESOURCE SHORTAGES

Like most school districts across Colorado and the United States, Denver Public Schools has watched budgets shrink in the past few years. At the same time, the desire to improve students’ reading, math and science skills has increased.

With the focus firmly on academics, funding for physical educa-tion, visual and performing arts and after-school programming has dipped. Some school libraries stand empty, with no librarians to assist students with finding and checking out books.

While the emphasis on academics has helped schools like Whit-tier achieve gains in reading and other subjects, students also want a well-rounded education that includes the arts, sports and other activities to help broaden their horizons and connect academics to

TMETRO VOLUNTEERS ENGAGES COMMUNITY, SCHOOL AND BUSINESS VOLUNTEERS B Y J E N N I F E R W A T S O N , A P R

» Photos courtesy of The Real Roxanne Photography.

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 27

other interests. Engaging more volunteers in the school has allowed Whittier to make that happen, Palmer said. Whittier has been able to recruit retired educators and community members with real-life experi-ences they want to share. “The interaction brings something fresh and new to our students,” he said. “They get to meet some-one who actually has drama experience or who has practiced science in the field.”

Volunteers have brought something else of equal importance to Whittier students, noted Karen Mortimer, president of the Whittier Parent-Teacher Association. “The more positive, encouraging adults our students have around them, the better,” she said. “Some lovely relationships come out of these interactions.”

A SUSTAINABLE STRATEGY

The Metro Volunteers School Service Pro-gram began in 2007, with funding from the HandsOn Network, The Home Depot and Qwest. Known at the time as Hand-sOn Schools, the program brought volun-teers into the school to make needed phys-ical improvements, such as installing a new playground, planting trees or painting walls. And while the projects transformed the physical environment, they didn’t help schools meet their long-term goals, said Cheryl Clark, neighboring specialist and director of school service programming at Metro Volunteers.

“Although we got input from the com-munity about what they wanted done, we didn’t involve the community deeply in the work to create momentum for it to continue after the initial project was com-pleted,” she said.

Metro Volunteers, therefore, decided to change the focus from organizing one-time volunteer projects to creating sustainable, school- and community-led volunteer initiatives that could meet more ambitious goals. To do that, Clark said, Metro Volunteers reached out to a broad array of experienced educators, adminis-trators, parents, business professionals and others to form the Metro Volunteers School Service Program Operations Team.

That team retooled the program to establish a framework for developing customized, sustainable volunteer programs at individ-ual schools. The new framework engages a broad array of school and community

stakeholders in developing their own volun-teer program. The schools involved in the Metro Volunteers School Service Program are now among the most diverse in Denver Public Schools. They also serve student populations in which more than 90 percent qualify for free or reduced lunches.

The operations team begins each new initiative by conducting a comprehen-sive assessment of the school’s needs and attitudes about working with volunteers. This assessment is given to a wide range of stakeholders, and a summary report is given to school administrators to consider before further work is done.

If the school decides to proceed, the opera-tions team will work with school adminis-

trators to assemble a Volunteer Leadership Team. This team is composed of repre-sentatives from all the major stakeholder groups at the school. The team reviews the assessment report and the school’s educa-tional plan to identify the top goals for the new volunteer program.

Within the Volunteer Leadership Team is a group called the PAVES team, which stands for Parent and Volunteer Engage-ment Specialists. The PAVES team imple-ments the school’s volunteer engagement plan with the help of Metro Volunteers. This team of four to five members helps recruit, train and manage volunteers, and it completes an evaluation at the end of the year to drive future improvements. Metro Volunteers also provides training to educa-tors and school employees about working with a diverse volunteer workforce.

A GROWING DESIRE FOR EXPANSION

Each school identifies its own priorities for volunteer recruitment and engagement, but some common themes have emerged.

“So far, the consistent need that schools have is structure,” said Lynne Mon-tague-Clouse, who co-leads the opera-tions team with Clark. “Principals report

that they have parents calling them to volunteer, but they don’t have the staff resources to screen, place and manage those volunteers.”

Thanks to the Metro Volunteers School Ser-vice Program, Whittier K-8 School now has a volunteer infrastructure in place, and can engage more volunteers for the next school year. The current plan calls for recruiting vol-unteers to assist with literacy efforts–and to provide additional after-school programming.

Whittier has seen another unexpected benefit from its volunteer initiatives as well, Mortimer said. “It’s been a conduit for more nonprofits and community members to get involved. They see us as a school that welcomes collaboration, so they approach us with offers to help.”

So far Whittier has had some great or-ganizations reach out to them–the local YMCA has offered a basketball clinic to Whittier students; Deltak, a company focused on online higher education, has sponsored a reading day at the school; and a Leadership Denver class painted Whit-tier’s walls to add color and school spirit to the plain white interior. Other compa-nies have approached Whittier as well to explore how they can get involved.

Given these early signs of success, Metro Volunteers hopes to replicate what has been done at Whittier and expand the program to 20 or 30 more schools in the Denver metro area.

Clark hopes that more volunteers and businesses will step forward to support the program as they learn about its benefits.

“Our program develops a sustainable plan that alleviates burnout in the schools and reflects community values by asking com-munity members what they want volun-teers to help achieve in their schools,” she said. “Volunteers really can help elevate our schools, if we continue to connect the dots properly.”

Metro Volunteers is actively seeking more volunteers for its School Service Program team. For more information about volunteering or sponsoring a school with the Metro Volunteers School Service Program, contact Cheryl Clark at Metro Volunteers at Cheryl@metrovolunteers.org or 303.282.1234, x308 Jennifer Watson, APR, is a communications consultant in Denver and a volunteer with Metro Volunteers.

It’s been a conduit for more nonprofits and community members to get involved.

They see us as a school that welcomes collaboration, so they approach us with offers to help.” - Karen Mortimer

28 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

 GOVERNMENT | ENERGY EFFICIENCY BUSINESS COALITION

ince 2007, the energy efficiency industry in Colorado has overcome genuine challenges and undergone tremendous growth in jobs, energy savings and eco-nomic development. This development can largely be attributed to state-level policy, federal program support, and collaborative efforts between local indus-try, utilities and government. A recent Energy Efficiency Business Coalition (EEBC) “State of the State” report identifies these interactions, lessons learned

and opportunities for the future. In the recent past, energy efficiency businesses have transformed the market

through innovative product development and improved installation standards. Energy

efficiency speaks to how much energy is actually being used as intended. Ex-plained a different way, energy efficiency means doing the most with a limited amount of supply, and wasting the least amount of energy in the process. Industry stakeholders focus on energy efficiency in the final, end-user stage in the built environment. These energy saving solutions are provided for home, commercial and industrial energy users.

The energy efficiency industry is a mul-tifaceted, interdisciplinary industry, made up of various segments of other, “tradi-tional” industries. While it includes newer professions, such as energy auditors and modeling and control technologists, it also includes HVAC, window and insulation contractors installing high efficiency prod-ucts. Moreover, the supply chain bringing those high-efficiency goods to market includes manufacturers, distributors and sales representatives. Finally, those organi-zations and parties responsible for admin-istrating and managing energy efficiency programs, so-called demand side manage-ment and demand response implementers, are also included.

The first major development for energy efficiency was the implementation of an Energy Efficiency Resource Standard (EERS) for investor-owned utilities. En-acted in 2007, House Bill 07-1037 man-dated demand side management programs for the two electric and six natural gas investor-owned utilities in Colorado. Over the years, utilities such as Xcel Energy and Black Hills Energy have learned to benefit from the shareholder incentives that were approved by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). Xcel Energy’s and Black Hills Energy’s electricity demand side management programs have saved 814 gigawatt hours, with a peak reduction of 209.9 megawatts, yielding a net economic benefit of $646 million (compiled by Xcel Energy, 2012). The regulated natural gas utilities include Xcel Energy, Black Hills Energy, SourceGas, Atmos Energy, Colo-rado Natural Gas Corporation and Eastern Colorado Utilities.

The efforts of energy efficiency busi-nesses and utilities were given a boost of support from the American Recov-ery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). In particular, the Better Buildings Neigh-borhood Programs trained contractors on installation practices and educated

S

Energy EfficiencyBusiness CoalitionCOLORADO’S STATE OF THE STATEB Y E R I C V A N O R D E N

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 29

consumers about energy efficiency through energy audits. These programs have led to more than $10.7 million of investments in energy efficiency projects by home and business owners. Different program models, including financing solutions and concierge services, were launched in Boulder, Denver, Garfield, Eagle, Pitkin and Gunnison counties.

Based on the lessons learned related to the interaction of the private market with policy and programs, EEBC’s “State of the State” report identifies opportunities for continued collaboration among industry stakeholders. These stakeholders should continue the growing market transforma-tion by promoting consumer demand and quality services. Program sustainability–removing a patchwork of standards and aligning benefits for all stakeholders–has been identified as a path to move the in-dustry forward in the near term.

The proposed initiatives aim to make business easier while supporting and growing strong energy efficiency programs for businesses; upholding excellent stan-dards for safety, quality and professional-ism; and facilitating collaboration between actors in the energy efficiency industry.

CREATE LONG-TERM COST EFFECTIVE INITIATIVES

It is inevitable that the boom of direct government funding for the energy efficiency industry will subside. But

the momentum built and lessons learned will help to continue the growth of the industry through continued cost effective initiatives, driven by the private and public sectors. All actors will need to plan to adapt to the following principles to keep programs and products cost-effective.

Cost-effective programs can continue–by understanding the regional markets to utilizing existing networks for indus-try-wide communication and quality man-agement. Furthermore, major actors in supporting energy saving and job creating programs, including utilities and counties, can work together to coordinate marketing efforts and contractor engagement.

Additionally, increased participation in energy efficiency programs by munic-ipal and cooperative utilities in Colorado would help the industry scale and become efficient in their own business processes.

EEBC’s “Leaders and Laggards” scorecard identifies the seg-mented and varied investments by utilities and counties across the state.

IMPLEMENT STATEWIDE STANDARDS

It is clear that the segmented nature of the building sector including policies,

building types and consumer motivations provide a chal-lenge to rapidly scaling the in-dustry. National programs may provide an outline, but do not provide an enforced standard for installation, technology or business practices. To reach critical mass, the actors must increase the size of programs and common standards be-yond local jurisdictions. This growth can happen by making the economic case for energy efficiency, linking building de-partments and implementing quality assurance for retrofits.

This, again, goes back to the need for cross-sector collaboration between busi-nesses, utilities and govern-ments, but also speaks to setting standards to define the services and products provided by the innovative industry providers. An ac-cepted standard for qual-ity will help to create consistency for consumers to trust the products, while a quality assurance process will help energy efficiency businesses adopt stan-dards. That said, when considering best practices for quality assurance, the cost to the business for licensing and other quality assurance measures should be considered as the industry continues to offer energy efficiency solutions.

ESTABLISH THE VALUE IN ENERGY EFFICIENCY

In the current risk-averse economic climate many business leaders and private individuals are hesitant to

adopt new and innovative products. To help build more confidence for con-sumers to invest in energy efficiency solutions, the value must be established through a better under-standing of energy costs, acknowledgement of real es-tate prices, and overcoming barriers related to building ownership and occupancy. With proper transparency and valuation for energy efficiency measures, both the building occupants and owners will drive demand. But, in the near term, build-ing owners should be taught about the benefits of energy efficiency, including the expenses of replacing equip-ment rather than perform-ing preventative mainte-nance for energy efficiency and system efficacy.

Specifically, providing transparency of energy data would be a market-driven solution to increase the adoption of energy effi-ciency. Energy bills are confusing and ineffective in increasing consumer knowledge. Energy costs are most often commu-nicated to consumers monthly, after the energy has been consumed. Some-times, often in businesses,

the energy user is not paying the bill, and there is little awareness of actual en-ergy costs. Real-time energy consump-tion data and comparisons across similar building types should be provided to building occupants. Additionally, energy usage data need to be readily accessible, in a standard format for energy effi-ciency professionals to quickly identify energy concerns.

With clear goals for the next several years, EEBC will continue to drive adoption of quality and sustainable energy efficiency efforts in Colorado. We welcome poli-cy-makers and utilities to join us in efforts to leverage EEBC’s unique place in the mar-ket and broad knowledge of demand side management to help realize these goals.

About the Energy Efficiency Business Coalition

The EEBC was formed in 2007 to provide organized support for the numerous businesses that are involved in the manu-facturing, distribution, installation, sales and marketing of energy efficiency technologies and services. The EEBC is the only organization in the nation whose primary focus is to increase the business potential of the energy efficiency industry at the local level. The member-funded coalition works with utilities and municipalities to develop effective energy efficiency policies and programs that support the business objectives of our members and the growth of the industry. EEBC’s “State of the State” report aims to identify the current state and past five years of successes of the energy efficiency industry in Colorado, and then outline tangible action items for the industry to continue to succeed.

30 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

 GOVERNMENT | TRANSPORTATION WORKFORCE

Inspiring the Next Generation of TransportationWorkersROADS, RAILS, AND RACE CARS AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMB Y V A L E R I E L E F L E R

strong multi-modal transportation system is critical for a nation’s economy. In the United States, however, our world-class transportation system is threatened by aging infrastructure, increasing demand and tighter budgets. There is a critical need to come up with innovative solu-tions–solutions that will be provided by a technically savvy workforce. Unfortunately, we are not producing enough students who are proficient A

in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to fill the jobs re-quired for the transportation workforce of the future. The challenge is to develop innovative new programs to inspire more students to pursue STEM subject exper-tise, and specifically to encourage them to consider transportation careers.

In Nebraska, Dr. Laurence Rilett, professor and director of the Mid-America Transpor-tation Center (MATC), and Dr. Gina Kunz, associate research professor at the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools, have joined forces to develop and implement the MATC Summer Institute. Since 2006, this professional de-velopment program has brought together 79 K-12 STEM educators and 10 University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) faculty members to collaborate on lesson plans for relevant and dynamic math and science activities for the classroom. These lesson plans have been taught to more than 3,500 K-12 students.

Mary Herrington, a 20-year veteran science teacher and Summer Institute par-ticipant, witnessed the powerful response of Lincoln Public Schools’ students to the lesson plans developed to foster an ap-preciation for STEM fields, and suggested that the Summer Institute program could be expanded into an engineering-based after-school program, which would build connections among students, teach-ers, mentors, industry professionals and community leaders. At Culler Middle School, where she teaches, 82 percent of the students are enrolled in the free or re-duced-cost lunch program. As Herrington explained, “I could not remove every ob-stacle some of these children are forced to confront: poverty, language barriers, dis-rupted home lives. However, I could work to do whatever possible to open doors for them during their time at school.”

THE SOLUTION: A UNIQUE AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM

In 2010, with funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the support of the Nebraska Department

of Education, the after-school club Roads, Rails, and Race Cars was piloted at Culler Middle School in Lincoln, Nebraska. Or-ganized using hands-on, inquiry-based ac-tivities, the program connects students to a whole world of possibilities by introducing

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 31

them to industry professionals and undergraduate and graduate engineering student mentors. After only two years, the Roads, Rails, and Race Cars after-school club already has inspired 236 students across five Lincoln area schools.

Program activities allow students to cultivate natural curiosity and develop problem-solving skills with minimal teacher guid-ance. Lessons are based on transportation engineering concepts and require only the most basic supplies. Activities–such as con-structing a roadway out of pudding that must withstand a flood of milk–are fun and creative ways to demonstrate to middle school students the complexity of creating infrastructure.

THE STUDENT PARTICIPANTS

The Roads, Rails, and Race Cars club has been especially successful in encouraging girls and under-represented mi-norities to consider STEM fields. According to the National

Science Foundation, only 18 percent of bachelor’s degrees awarded in engineering in 2010 were earned by women; only 12 percent were earned by blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans com-bined, though these groups represent nearly 28 percent of the U.S. population. As students transition from elementary to high school, the number of members from these under-represented groups enrolled in STEM courses usually declines dramatically, a serious concern that the Roads, Rails, and Race Cars clubs help to address.

Roads, Rails, and Race Cars focuses on attracting a more diverse population of students, which aligns with the mission of the U.S. Department of Transportation Garret A. Morgan grant that provides the majority of the program’s funding. In Lincoln Public Schools, the sites with the existing framework for an after-school club also have the highest number of minorities and students qualifying for free and reduced-price lunch. In the program’s most recent quarter, minori-ties represented 53 percent of the club members; female members represented 45 percent, a significantly higher percentage than the 13 percent of engineers who are female.

Cynthia Baker, a specialist in educational psychology and the coordinator for Roads, Rails, and Race Cars, explains that middle school students are at a critical juncture in their academic careers. Middle school students’ decisions and attitudes concerning school can funnel them into limited career pathways later in life, often excluding STEM professions as an option. Baker describes the club as an opportunity to expose and open up students to opportunities that they might not have considered otherwise.

THE ROLE OF MENTORS

Undergraduate and graduate engineering students serve as club mentors, interacting one-on-one with students and assisting teachers in leading the activities. The relation-

ship with a mentor allows each club participant to identify with a positive role model. Participant surveys from every quarter consistently have named the mentors as a favorite element of the club. Students have described their mentors as “fun,” “kind” and “creative,” again and again. The mentors’ words and actions carry remarkable weight among the students–they can and do inspire hope and motivation.

Quinton Rodgers, UNL civil engineer-ing graduate student, reports that he felt honored by his responsibility as a mentor because he was supporting an industry he has a passion for, as well as affecting the futures of young people. “As a representa-tive of a minority group, I feel a personal responsibility to educate all minorities to the opportunities that engineering and transportation can provide for their futures,” Rodgers said. “The program has altered my outlook in many ways. I not only have adopted a new approach on group projects, but I also have a different outlook now on how important it is to expose young minds to math and science at early ages.” That exposure may begin with the after-school program, but also may require more than the teachers and mentors can offer to truly illustrate the possibilities, which is where outside part-ners enter the picture.

THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Larry Johnson, president of the Ne-braska Trucking Association and one of the program’s strongest advo-

cates, explained, “Linking industry to the Roads, Rails and Race Cars after-school club stimulates students to consider new directions in a manner that is not possible during the traditional school day. It is a new concept that is vital in creating career pathways students feel are accessible and can envision for their future.”

While the program has a strong foun-dation in engineering, it also highlights transportation careers across the spectrum that the growing pool of professionals will demand–from logisticians and public policy-makers to skilled equipment oper-ators and truck drivers. Children need to develop greater awareness as they interact with infrastructure; for example, as stu-dents cross a bridge, they do not realize that a structural engineer designed the bridge, that an urban planner determined its location, or that equipment operators physically constructed it.

Visits from a wide variety of industry leaders personify real career options that require a strong STEM education. John-son himself has organized club activities, such as arranging for a semi-trailer truck to visit schools. Guest presenters have included the president of Flatbed Express,

The program connects stu-

dents to a whole world of possi-

bilities by intro-ducing them to

industry pro-fessionals and

undergraduate and graduate

engineering stu-dent mentors.

32 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

 GOVERNMENT | TRANSPORTATION WORKFORCE

In the pro-gram’s first two years,

involvement has grown to

include 236 students, 14 engineering

student men-tors and eight

teachers.

Mentors’ words and actions carry remarkable weight among the students–they can and do inspire hope and motivation.

Inc., a representative from Lincoln Community Learning Centers, an engineer from the Nebraska Department of Roads, as well as other representatives of the program’s partners from industry and the public sector. These interactions just might be the beginning of some of these students’ careers in transportation fields.

THE IMPACT

In the program’s first two years, involvement has grown to include 236 students, 14 engineering student mentors and eight teachers. These numbers reflect the number of

students directly affected by club participation. In addition, as teachers return to their regular classes, they supplement tradi-tional curriculum with lesson plans from the program, expand-ing the number of students exposed to club activities by more than 900 students each year. The after-school club provides teachers with opportunities to explore new teaching methods and to take advantage of state-of-the-art technology from UNL. The teachers then bring the most successful methods back to their regular classrooms.

Beyond the numbers, personal success stories show the real achievements of the program. For example, student Josh Gerdes has been an active member of Roads, Rails and Race Cars since its inception at Culler Middle School. As his father explained, Josh’s early interest in math and science has been enhanced by the after-school club: “This program certainly propelled him forth in his aspirations to take advanced classes in these areas in high school and in college.” Josh’s story exemplifies the goals of the club–helping students like his recognize the connection

between his STEM classes and his dream occupation as a mechanical engineer, a dream not often found among middle school students at this point in their ed-ucation journey.

THE FUTURE

While the founders of Roads, Rails, and Race Cars are elated by the success thus far, more

work awaits. Rilett and Kunz–on behalf of UNL’s College of Engineering and UNL’s College of Education and Human Sciences–are committed to expanding the program and to seeking additional funding. One long-term goal is to create a scholarship fund so that the number of students participating can be increased.

Dr. Rilett states, “The Roads, Rails, and Race Car After-School Program is one of the most rewarding activities our students, staff and I are involved in. And like all successful programs, this is a true partner-ship. In our case, the cooperation among the dedicated teachers in the Lincoln Public Schools; the Nebraska Department of Education; the many private sector partners who provide their time and ex-pertise; the UNL faculty, the parents; and of course, the students makes the Roads, Rails, and Race Cars club the success it is today, and I am delighted that we will be able to expand the program to schools in Iowa and Wisconsin next year.”

Business friendly regulatory atmosphereWorld class telecommunications infrastructure

Wage credits, including teleworkersResearch and development credits

Available sites and buildingsLow cost, reliable power

Key transportation routesUnmatched work ethicReal estate tax refundsInvestment tax creditsMinimal congestionSpeed to marketsCentrally located

A great place to live, work and play. And most of all, a great place to grow a business.

Ranked among the best.Call us at 1-800-426-6505 or visit: www.NebraskaAdvantage.biz

3rd33rdrdPRO-BUSINESSLEGAL CLIMATE2010 U.S. Chamber’s Institute for Legal Reform

1stststOVERALL FOR NEWLY ESTABLISHED OPERATIONSThe Tax Foundations, 2012

2ndndndndndFOR MATURE R&D OPERATIONSThe Tax Foundations, 2012

34 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

 GOVERNMENT | PASS A NATIONAL BUDGET NOW

ow is it that the great thinkers of the past can really frame a situation wisely? Whether in 55 B.C., the 1600s, the 1700s, the 1940s, the 1960s or even 2000, there is much to learn about how the United States man-aged to fulfill its destiny and rise to the top of so-called leader board in terms of jobs, money and happiness.

Unlike the times of our forefathers, common sense seems to be lack-ing in the American political engine today. As a nation, and as a people, America seems to have lost the ability to listen and compromise. By staunchly standing on either side of the political aisle, this approach has truly divided the nation and whole communities, and it appears that we are no longer willing to work with the other side to create solutions–but instead want to point fingers at different beliefs and ideologies.

For years, our elected officials have strived to pass a budget for the United States; how-ever, it regularly is vetoed by one party or another. In 2011, 64 senators signed a letter to President Obama urging the passing of a balanced budget–to no avail. In 2012, at least seven budget plans were submitted for consideration–again, not one passed. After spend-ing millions of dollars on plan after plan, and as we head into 2013, we still have no con-crete budget scenario for this country.

While citizens stand their ground this political season, it appears that they are ignoring some of the most critical issues of our generation and the next generation–the budget. While every American maintains his or her beliefs on what should happen to Medicaid, Social Security, defense, education, trade, transportation and infrastructure, gun control or legitimate rape, what seems to get lost in the discussion is that none of these issues can be addressed without a thoughtful, well-devised conversation around fiscal policy devoid of the political rhetoric.

Maybe there is something to learn from our forefathers, who were not in agreement over every detail of governance, but who found common ground when arguing and

fighting for freedom and independence–something we just might lose if we can’t pull it together quickly. It is an uncomfort-able time for our country’s leadership and citizens; our nation must quickly rally to address major issues such as war, freedom and potential bankruptcy to ensure the enduring success of the American way. Yet it seems as if the current politicos are stuck in the mud, forgetting that the American way is critical to our collective success going forward.

In case you don’t know, we are in a cri-sis–a budget crisis. It is a crisis of what’s owed to us, as well as a crisis of iden-tity. We must look at the trigger points immediately if we are to even begin to tackle the issues surrounding the deeper issues. The root causes of the budget crisis are many and varied. However, one of the fundamental underlying factors lies in our sense of entitlement from the government in this country. And because of our sense of entitlement, we are well on our way to running a million miles an hour into a brick wall. Even as early as 55

H

Pass a National Budget Now!CALLING ALL COMPROMISERS WITH COMMON SENSEB Y J A N M A Z O T T I & K I M D e C O S T E

Never can true reconcilement grow where wounds of deadly hate have pierced so deep.” ~ M i l t o n

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 35

B.C., Cicero remarked on politics and en-titlement, saying, "The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arro-gance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to for-eign lands should be curtailed, lest Rome become bankrupt.  People must again learn to work instead of living on public assistance."  Evidently, we've learned nothing in the past 2,067 years.

Many only know what we hear from the snippets of news from traditional news outlets, who some say are only there to show us what we should think. When you delve deeper into the budgetary issues faced by this country, the outlook appears bleak. It is not a 30-second problem, and it cannot be solved by a sound bite. Amer-icans need to understand what a critically important matter this is. It is complicated, and there is no perfect solution. Without some hard-core, ball-busting, call-it-like-it-is leadership–which will cause some pain–nothing will change or get done.

So in this article, whether you agree or not, we are going to try to decouple the problem from the solution. We believe that unilateral power–similar to that of the base closing commission in the 1990s–will be key as politicians and citizens “learn” this delicate dance.

What’s more, it is important to remem-ber that the story of our country– and that of the budget crisis–at its most base level is a political problem from which the poli-tics must be removed.

Our greatest risk is to do nothing!

OUR FOREFATHERS

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

“These are the times that try men’s souls.” ~Thomas Paine

There is much to learn from our forefathers. Thomas Paine, the author of Common Sense, in 1776

profoundly summarized the establish-ment of America and its plight in gaining independence from Britain. At the time, colonial soldiers were just beginning a long and arduous process that would culminate as the American Revolution–where the American colonies challenged

Men who look upon themselves born to reign, and others to obey, soon grow insolent. Selected from the rest of mankind, their minds are early poisoned by importance." ~ T h o m a s Pa i n e

36 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

 GOVERNMENT | PASS A NATIONAL BUDGET NOW

the monarchy of Britain to establish a country of freedom and principle, focused on the strength of the government and the happiness of the governed.

Paine describes the British monarchy: “King, say they, is one, the people another; the Peers are a house in behalf of the King, the commons in behalf of the people; but this hath all the distinctions of a house divided against itself … Men who look upon themselves born to reign, and others to obey, soon grow insolent. Selected from the rest of mankind, their minds are early poisoned by importance; and the world they act in differs so materially from the world at large, that they have but little opportunity of knowing its true interests, and when they succeed in the government are frequently the most ignorant and unfit of any throughout the dominions.” The government suggested by Paine and that America so vehemently fought for during the American Revolution is still the government we need today. "Our elected officials, especially the extremes of both parties, might indeed be exactly what he foresaw–just 236 years later and perhaps more poisoned by importance and insolence.

Surprisingly, Paine’s words regarding longevity and sustainability of the country for future generations to enjoy also ring true. Paine says, “As parents, we can have no joy, knowing that this government is not sufficiently lasting to ensure anything which we may bequeath to posterity: And by a plain method of argument, as we are running the next generation into debt, we ought to do the work of it, otherwise we use them meanly and pitifully.” Listening to both national and local politicians, it is clear that a rift exists between parties, more so than in recent memory. The discussion, or lack thereof, on the budget and deficit issues is contentious at best. With the list of issues–economic fairness, the deficit, America’s free enterprise system, spending and tax issues, unemployment, and the dilemmas facing the middle class–all are encompassed in this policy area.

Republicans typically embrace the economic belief that government interventions stifle free market systems, yet Democrats often feel that government has an obligation to support small businesses in their journey toward success. And while both parties embrace deficit reduction, tax reform and deregulation differently–both can and will only provide a bit of detail on how to accomplish a balanced budget and their approach to the big issues complete with indicators of success. And with little hope of a “truce” on the horizon, and in an election year where little else but campaigning will get accomplished, citizens can at best hope for colorful rhetoric this year.

“A government which cannot preserve the peace is no government at all,” said Paine. Surprisingly, the message echoes today–divided “houses,” wasted money, patched up con-nections and potential downfall as we know it. And it seems that if voters do not demand some solutions, the national debt and the programs we hold true will continue to spiral out of control, spending habits will not be changed, and the taxpayer–people like each of us–will pay the ultimate price.

THE GREATEST GENERATION AND THE NEW DEAL

Fast-forward 157 years to another time of crisis for this county–Amer-ica was deep in a depression with

more than 25 percent of citizens facing unemployment. What’s more, totalitarian and dictatorial regimes were sprouting up globally–Hitler, Mussolini and Japanese Prime Minister Hideki.

In fact, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt established the New Deal–a set of economic programs that focused on relief, recovery and reform–to address the growing societal grief and global unrest. The New Deal established many complex social programs, including the FDIC, FHA, the TVA, the SEC and the Social Security System–all programs that worked at the time. In the 1930s these programs drew division between Demo-crats and Republicans, just as today, but for different reasons. At FDR’s inaugura-tion on March 4, 1933, national unem-ployment was at 25 percent and the Great Depression was in full swing. FDR’s pro-grams, while debatable, nationalized un-employment relief and helped get citizens back to work. Note that “back to work” was the goal. In order to gather a benefit, the recipients had to perform jobs that benefited to communities in which they did them. So it was a necessary win-win. We question today how many millions of people seem averse to working if they can just “get their check.” We have heard people say, “I don’t want to work. I make

As parents, we can have no joy, knowing that this government is not sufficiently lasting to ensure anything which we may bequeath to posterity: And by a plain method of argument, as we are running the next generation into debt, we ought to do the work of it, otherwise we use them meanly and pitifully." ~ T h o m a s Pa i n e

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 37

more at home.” Certainly not every recipient of public aid feels this way, but some do.

FDR’s programs succeeded on several levels as they financed national infrastructure projects that included more than 650,000 miles of roads, 125,000 public build-ings, as well as bridges, parks and reservoirs. The outcome of many of these projects remains today, with little or no money to reinvest in them–American gems such as the Lincoln Tunnel, the RFK Bridge, LaGuardia Airport and the Bay Bridge.

After a surprise attack by the Japanese, the United States declared war with a battered, but not beaten, U.S. military. FDR vehemently declared, "Yesterday, December 7, 1941–a date which will live in infamy–the United States of Amer-ica was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." After a brief and forceful speech, he asked Congress to approve a resolution recog-nizing the state of war between the United States and Japan. The Senate voted for war against Japan in an 82 to zero vote, and the House of Representatives approved the resolution by a 388 to 1 vote. Three days later, Germany and Italy declared war against the United States, and the United States was thrust into World War II.

Marked by patriotism, conservation and teamwork, the people of this time, called the Greatest Generation, grew up in ever-changing times–affluence and poverty, war and peace, ruralism and urbanism, and the foundational shift in human rights in this country. During World War II, Amer-ica sent 12-16 million people into battle and for the first time pleaded for all types of people to pitch in for the war effort–married women, seniors, the unskilled and even racial mi-norities (who also fought bravely overseas). Also during this time, the GI Bill was born, ensuring that returning veterans received housing, education and unemployment benefits upon return from war.

And while everyone did not agree on the methods to create national stability, the majority stepped up to help create solutions to the problems facing our country. “At the end of February [1933] we were a congeries of disor-derly panic-stricken mobs and factions. In the hundred days from March to June we became again an organized nation confident of our power to provide for our own security and to control our own destiny,” said promi-nent writer and political commentator Walter Lippmann regarding the first 100 days of FDR’s administration. And while some would argue that FDR’s attempts to sooth and align the country were nothing more than socialistic lead-ership at its finest, these policies guided the country into its next round of greatness.

SO WHAT SHOULD WE DO? WHAT DO THE PLANS SUGGEST?

Every year the president must submit an annual budget to Congress. However, it has been since the Clinton era that the United States was even close

to having a balanced budget in place. Since then, deficits

have soared and spending has re-mained unchecked, which is rather disturbing given the current economic environment.

Today, national unemployment hovers near 8 percent in a stagnant economy (and that does not account for the mil-lions of people who have fallen off the charts due to extended unemployment). The housing and banking markets have collapsed and are trying to rebound. There are more people participating in national support programs than at any time in recent history. The tax reform discussion is immobilized in rheto-ric. Health care is the elephant in the room that no one wants to recognize. Medicare–which touches one in four American households–is currently on an unsustainable trajectory. K-12 edu-cation is wallowing in the muck, while U.S. students globally ranked 31st–with Uzbekistan outperforming U.S. students in international tests. The situation is really a mess.

What’s more, several budget plans have been submitted over the past 24-36 months to Congress for consideration, yet not one has received the support it needs to move to a larger discussion by elected officials. Some of the budget proposals have been led by commit-tees appointed by the president and/or congressional leadership, including the well-publicized 2010 Simpson-Bowles Committee and the 2011 Supercommit-tee, and their suggestions have served as the foundation for many of the plans that have come since. It is important to note that all of these committees or in-dividual plans have failed when it came time to vote. No one–and we mean lit-erally no one in Washington–can drive consensus on a budget and deficit reduc-tion plan that is meaningful in the near to intermediate term. If Congress cannot reconcile with the president around Bush-era tax cuts, citizens will be facing a tax nightmare described by Ben S. Ber-nanke, the Federal Reserve chair, as “a massive fiscal cliff ” as of January 1, 2013.

President Obama has issued his 2013 budget, and the House Republicans also introduced a budget blueprint that addresses key fiscal issues, but each takes a very different approach about how to avoid the “fiscal cliff ” for which we are headed.

AROUND THE VIRTUAL WATER COOLER ™

What do you see as the single biggest threat to America today?

“I’d say the increasing consolidation of wealth and power in fewer and fewer hands, and the growing tendency to use that power and influence to homogenize and sterilize our culture and to marginalize and punish decent people. No great entity persists in this way … and all empires are wont to crumble for it …” - Lar Romero

“I [think it is] lack of quality, equally accessi-ble, well-funded educa-tion. While I usually feel we live in a very entitled country … everyone should have access to education. How do we expect to have self-re-specting, productive and motivated future gen-erations if we give them nothing upon which to base their lives? They then have nothing to strive for, and if we place no value on their fu-tures, why should they? In addition, how can we expect them to succeed when we tell them they must have a four-year degree … [and then] ready, set, go. Start the journey $100,000 in debt. Solid education builds responsible, well-informed citizens who demand greatness and accountability from their leaders and thus are able to better society rather than impede it.” - Dr. Creagh Boulger

38 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

 GOVERNMENT | PASS A NATIONAL BUDGET NOW

DEMOCRATS VERSUS REPUBLICANS

DISCRETIONARY SPENDING

D iscretionary spending is the portion of the federal budget that can be changed on an annual basis through budget directives or changes in tax code. This type of spending works two ways–expansionary policy typically increases spend-

ing or decreases taxes and can often lead to a budget deficit while contractionary policy decreases spending and increases taxes, often slowing economic growth. Important to note, raising taxes or eliminating tax credits alone wwill not get us out of the predicament we are in as a nation. Everything that is not mandated by law to be provided as federal government benefits is included in the discretionary budget–things like military spend-ing, homeland security, the State Department, the Department of Education, health and human services, HUD and the justice department.

Currently, the government annually spends approximately 19 percent or $700 billion on defense, $545 billion or 16 percent on safety net programs (food stamps, etc) and 18 percent or $646 billion on “other” programs. The FY2013 budget has set forth a discretion-ary spending budget of $1.264 trillion, with most federal department budgets being cut or remaining the same. As of mid-September, the House passed a spending bill in a 329-91 vote, demonstrating some form of bipartisan agreement at the Capitol. While the bill will extend 2012 spending levels for the first six months of FY2013 at an annualized rate of $1.04 trillion, sequestration cuts to defense and domestic spending still linger, and an overall satisfactory outcome has yet to be negotiated.

TAX REFORM

In its current state, most would argue that the American tax code is archaic, confusing, com-plicated and essentially broken, and it must be addressed quickly if America is to remain globally competitive. And both parties have diametrically opposing views to the issue.

Democrats: The Democratic Party is arguing that cutting taxes for families that make less than $250,000 per year is the first step to better tax policy. The party argues that this plan puts “more money in the pockets of Americans” and asks corporations and wealthy citizens to pay an increased percentage of taxes. Democrats believe that bringing taxes back to similar levels as we had in the late 1990s could help families prosper, and replicate a time when wealthy citizens “thrived without special treatment.”

Republicans: In the near to intermediate term, Republicans are calling for Bush-era tax rates to be extended through FY2013, creating individual tax rates into two brackets, with the top rate capped at 25 percent or less and repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT began as a way to ensure that taxpayers pay at least a minimum amount of tax). These proposals also require the ending of popular tax deductions, such as those for home mortgages and other costs, which many average Americans bear. Furthermore,

the Republican plans call for cutting corporate tax rates to 25 percent from 38 percent, which in their estimations will keep taxpayer revenues around 18-19 per-cent of the overall budget and stimulate businesses bottom-line, providing an extra boost to the economy.

HEALTH CARE

Of all of the budget and bud-get-related plans that have been presented over the last few years,

health care is arguably one of the most divi-sive issues across the country. In 2010 when the Simpson-Bowles plan was presented, the team of legislators identified that fed-eral health care spending represented the “single largest fiscal challenge over the long run.” Today, health care costs represent approximately 21 percent of the overall U.S. budget–or $755 billion annually. They noted that overall health care costs continue to grow faster than the economy, causing federal health spending to balloon. In fact, Simpson-Bowles estimated that under its extended-baseline scenario, federal health care spending for Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the health insurance exchange subsidies will grow from nearly 6 percent of GDP in 2010 to about 10 percent in 2035, and continue to grow thereafter. Generally these projections appear to be correct.

Child tax credit $121.90 billion

Home mortgage interest reduction $484.10 billion

Pension contributors $515.40 billion

Earned income credit $268.80 billion

State income tax deduction $237.30 billion

Capital gains tax $194.10 billion

Charitable constructions $187.50 billion

Medicare benefits Part A and b $300.30 billion

Property taxes $120.90 billion

Social Security and retirement benefits

$173.00 billion

Total $2.603 trillion

» Source: JCT "Estimates of Federal Tax Expenditures For Fiscal Years 2010-2014"

Corporate: 8.9% ($191.4 billion)Customs Duties, Misc.: 5.6% ($121.2 billion)

Excise: 3.1% ($66.9 billion)Estate and Gift: 0.9% ($18.9 billion)

Individual: 41.6% ($898.5 Billion) Payroll Taxes: 40.0% ($864.8 billion)

FEDERAL REVENUES BY SOURCE (Percentage of total revenue, 2010)

» Source: Congressional Budget Office.

THE COST OF TAX EXPENDITURES

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 39

Democrats: It seems that Democrats, especially those most interested in seeing Presi-dent Obama get re-elected, strongly support the universal health care plan put into place which is generally referred to as “Obamacare.” Democrats assert that universal health care is a basic right in a country “as affluent” as the United States of America. The plan does, however, make some important concessions to previous plans, allowing, for example, for parents to keep adult children on their insurance longer. There are also important changes to rules concerning pre-existing conditions no longer being considered as a reason to be declined when applying for health benefits.

Republicans: Republicans stand firmly against President Obama’s health care reform law and have attempted to repeal it more than 30 times. Congressman Paul Ryan’s health care plan, which is aligned similarly to Simpson-Bowles around the topic of health care, asserts that health care pricing is out of control. Ryan argues, “The rising cost of health care in the United States is the fastest-growing burden on families, businesses, govern-ments, and the economy. In 2007, the U.S. spent an estimated $2.1 trillion to provide, administer, and finance health care–nearly twice the amount per capita spent by any other industrialized nation in the world. Moreover, the rapid growth of health care costs–about 7 percent per year–is eroding paychecks for millions of Americans; and skyrocketing insurance costs are overburdening businesses across the U.S.” In fact, the Congressional Budget Office reports that the federal government devotes 21.7 percent of its budget to the two major health programs, Medicare and Medicaid, which is more than national defense at 17.8 percent, including war costs. Currently, overall health care costs are absorbing 15.2 percent of national GDP, and if the status quo continues, health care costs will consume 20 percent of GDP by 2016.

Medicare and Medicaid are highly contentious topics in this area, and people have divi-sive views on how the problem with cost should be handled. The Democrats vehemently oppose any effort to privatize the programs; however, the Republicans see privatization as a way to better inefficiencies and slow the unsustainable financial burdens to the states. According to Michael Lind, policy director of New America’s Economic Growth Program, “Medicare is not a government problem. It is a medical industry problem–it’s a pricing problem.”

SOCIAL SECURITY

When Franklin Roosevelt signed Social Security into law, the average life expectancy was

64 and the earliest retirement age for Social Security was 65. The program was supposed to kick in relatively late in life–when people worked until they could col-lect it and then did not live much longer.

Today, approximately one in four households in the United States receives Social Security benefits, and those bene-fits represent nearly $725 billion annu-ally, or 20 percent of the overall federal budget. Today, average Americans live 14 years longer, retire three years earlier, and spend 20 years in retirement. In 1950, there were 16 workers per beneficiary; in 1960, there were 5 workers per benefi-ciary. Today, the ratio is 3:1 – and by 2025, there will be just 2.3 workers “paying in” per beneficiary. And from a planning standpoint, current American workers need to plan that they may live as much as one-third of their lives in retirement. For those who envision a retirement full of golf and travel that means tremendous personal savings are needed. And for those who do not plan for retirement, they are counting on the fact the federal government will have funds for them for a much longer period of time than was originally expected.

The debate between Democrats and Republican regarding Social Security is essentially about privatization and is an-other wedge issue between the parties.

Democrats: “Stand united to protect and strengthen Social Security today and for future generations and we will fight any

AROUND THE VIRTUAL WATER COOLER ™

What do you see as the single biggest threat to America today?

“The single biggest threat to America isn’t illegal im-migration; it isn’t health care; it isn’t global warm-ing, gay marriage, race, politics, access to guns or Lady Gaga. It is the con-tinuing failure to establish a federal budget that is within our means, which will kill our nation. And the fault is collectively ours for allowing this impending man-made disaster to manifest.”- Darryl Watson

In the hundred days from March to June we became again an organized nation confident of our power to provide for our own security and to control our own destiny." ~ Wa l t e r L i p p m a n n

WHERE GOVERNMENT SPENDS

Net Interest: 6% ($227 billion)Other: 18% ($646 billion)

Health Care (Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP): 21% ($755 billion)

Safety Net Programs (UI, Food Stamps): 16% ($545 billion) Defence: 19% ($700 billion) Social Security: 20% ($725 billion)

» Source: Congressional Budget Office.

40 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

 GOVERNMENT | PASS A NATIONAL BUDGET NOW

Medicare is not a government problem. It is a medical industry problem–it’s a pricing problem."~ M i c h a e l L i n d

Republican efforts to privatize Social Security,” is the argument from the Democrats on this issue. Although Republicans have proposed “retooling” So-

cial Security in the name of deficit reduction, the facts are clear–the Social Security program is relatively healthy. Since its inception, Social Security has paid for itself without adding a single dime to our national deficit. In fact, today, Social Security has a $2.7 tril-lion surplus and is currently solvent.

Republicans: Republicans contend that “Younger Americans have lost all faith in the Social Security system, which is understandable when they read the nonpartisan actuary’s reports about its future funding status. Born in an old industrial era beyond the memory of most Americans, it is long overdue for major change, not just another legislative stop-gap that postpones a day of reckoning. To restore public trust in the system, Republicans are committed to setting it on a sound fiscal basis that will give workers control over, and a sound return on, their investments. The sooner we act, the sooner those close to retire-ment can be reassured of their benefits and younger workers can take responsibility for planning their own retirement decades from now,” according to www.gop.com.

Unless we act, upcoming and enormous demographic changes will bring the Social Security program to its knees. Without action, the benefits currently pledged under Social Security are a promise we cannot keep. Today, the program is spending more on beneficiaries than it is collecting in revenue. Although the system’s revenues and expenditures are expected to return to balance temporarily in 2012, it will begin running deficits again in 2015 if interest from the trust fund is excluded and in 2025 including interest payments. After that point, the system’s trust fund will be drawn down until it is fully exhausted in 2037.

OTHER AREAS OF CONCERN

EDUCATION

Besides all of the aforementioned areas of concern, the U.S. education system is also facing a crisis. There are myriad issues around funding, qualified teachers and student loans. What’s more, according to the recent U.S. Education Reform and National Secu-

rity report issued by the Council on Foreign Relations, educational failure and overall lack of preparedness of students poses threats on five national security fronts: economic growth and competitiveness, physical safety, intellectual property, U.S. global awareness and U.S. unity and cohesion. They assert that too many young people are not employable in an increasingly

high-skilled and global economy, and too many are not qualified to join the military because they are not physically fit enough, have criminal records or have an inade-quate level of education. These are specific and legitimate concerns.

Democrats: While budget issues are an everyday worry, the Democrats have co-alesced around the notion that the United States must maintain strong funding for schools and access to first-rate education. The president is committed to overhauling the “No Child Left Behind” program while providing educators more professional support and resources, yet holding them accountable for the success of students. Democrats are also committed to sustain-ing federal student loan programs, includ-ing Pell grants, helping low- and mid-in-come students afford ever-escalating college tuitions. (It is worth noting that many labor unions stand firmly against tying teacher compensation to student performance, citing systematic challenges to the “fairness” of such an approach.)

Everything that is not mandated by law to be provided as federal government benefits is included in the discretionary budget–things like military spending, homeland security, the State Department, the Department of Education, health and human services, HUD and the justice department.

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 41

Republicans: Republicans have taken a different stance on ed-ucation, arguing that responsibility should be held at the local and state level–not the federal level. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney said in a February 2012 debate, “We need the federal government out of education.” The party emphasizes school choice, “English First” and teacher accountability as the hallmarks of their plan, and they believe that pumping more money into schools will not change academic achievement. It is worth noting, ironically, that it was President Reagan who created the Cabinet position for a Secretary of Education, ef-fectively bringing the federal government into public educa-tion regulation. Today Republicans also tout support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) emphasis and the proper implementation of technology in the classroom.

"Human capital will determine power in the current century, and the failure to produce that capital will undermine Ameri-ca's security," the report says. "Large, undereducated swaths of the population damage the ability of the United States to phys-ically defend itself, protect its secure information, conduct di-plomacy, and grow its economy." In fact, Education Week says, “In a category related to K-12 education, the U.S. is ranked 31st, owing to low rankings in education expenditures. The U.S. pu-pil-to-teacher ratio in secondary education, at 13.8:1, is ranked 61st. In higher education, the U.S. ranks second in enrollment, but 74th in students graduating with science and engineering degrees. Elsewhere, the U.S. ranks #1 in the amount of students taking the GMATs, the entry exam for business school, but 53rd on GMAT mean score.” Without a thorough reshaping of educational content and consistency, the United States risks losing and/or falling even farther behind as an “educational, economic, military, and diplomatic global leader,” argues the Council on Foreign Relations.

IMMIGRATION

There is a growing divide among people regarding immigration, considering that all but the Native Americans are immigrants of some sort. This issue has become so heated it is of national interest on both sides of the aisle, and it is apparent that

comprehensive immigration reform is needed.

Democrats: Most Democrats support strong yet thoughtful immigration reform. In sharp contrast to the Republican Party, the Democrats support reform that brings the undocu-mented out of hiding, with the requirement that they learn English and begin to pay taxes. Furthermore, Democrats want to legally pursue only those individuals who endanger communities or break U.S. laws, while leaving those who pose no threat alone. Border security is considered a high priority, with significant resources focused on prevention of terrorists entering the country and illegal activities associated principally with human and drug trafficking. President Obama supports the DREAM Act, which provides conditional permanent residency to certain undocumented residents of good moral character who graduate from U.S. high schools, arrived in the United States as minors, and lived in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the bill's enactment. If these residents were to complete two years in the military or two years at a four-year institution of higher learning, they would obtain temporary residency for a six-year period.

Republicans: The majority of the Republican Party has called for a mass expulsion of nearly 11 million immigrants or some measure of reform that would deny all access to citizenship

and full border lockdowns within the next few years, demonstrating their strong opposition to any form of amnesty to un-documented immigrants and by discour-aging illegal immigration activities. And while much of the Republican leadership supports “extreme” reform, many individ-ual conservatives have made it clear that they do not feel as strongly by endorsing humane immigration measures and by helping to find a fair stance on immigrant workers throughout the heartland. Republi-cans recognize that America will need more than 200,000 science and technology work-ers for high-skill jobs over the next four to six years; therefore, the party supports the granting of more H1B visas as well as allow-ing students who graduate with advanced STEM degrees be granted permanent res-idency in the U.S. Open questions remain on the issue of seasonal workers who can be allowed into the country for work in indus-tries such as agriculture and who could pay taxes legally and then return to their native countries after a specific period of time. The challenge, of course, is that many would not go home and would remain if there were any hope of more work.

FOREIGN POLICY

After a decade of war and upheaval in the greater Middle East, the threat of nuclear armament by our foes,

border issues to our south and political up-risings around the world, the United States has declared its commitment toward global democratic reform. With that, the military is expected to come home, and a new and broader approach to foreign policy and military might are expected in the near to in-termediate term. The way we get there, how-ever, is once again the major sticking point and one that does not necessarily embrace the notion that foreign policy is neither a Democratic nor a Republican issue, but one that is embraced nationally and reflects the whole country to the rest of the world.

Democrats: A major focus of the Demo-cratic Party is that the “most urgent threats to the security of America and the world” is nuclear proliferation in the hands of “terror-ists who respond to alienation or perceived injustice with murderous nihilism. They come from rogue states allied to terrorists and from rising powers that could challenge

AROUND THE VIRTUAL WATER COOLER ™

What do you see as the single biggest threat to America today?

“The unwillingness of leadership and the gen-eral populace to confront financial realities, i.e., debt, deficit and the lack of resistance when those who do confront them are marginalized in the national discussion.” - Mike Hanbery

“The biggest threat today is social inequality–de-mocracy itself, which is premised on political equality, is unsustainable when there is so much wealth inequality. We are going to see much more social unrest in the near future. When people can’t feed their families, histori-cally that is a huge threat.” - Ricardo Ruiz

42 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

Large, underedu-cated swaths of the population dam-age the ability of the United States to phys-ically defend itself, protect its secure in-formation, conduct diplomacy, and grow its economy."~ U . S . E d u ca t i o n R e f o r m a n d N a t i o n a l S e c u r i t y r e p o r t

 GOVERNMENT | PASS A NATIONAL BUDGET NOW

both America and the international founda-tion of liberal democracy,” as reported in an article

written by Barack Obama in Foreign Affairs. Furthermore, Democrats have said that they will work to negotiate arms-re-duction treaties with Russia, draw down troops globally, and use the funding that was allocated to fight wars to “do some nation-building right here at home.”

Republicans: Bound by a core set of values, the Republican Party will aim to make clear America’s stand on prosecution of foreign aggressors and the countries that harbor them, promote open markets with representative governments, exercise hard and soft power on governments before internal conflicts begin, and exercise her leadership in multilateral organizations. This strategy requires immense funding to the Department of Defense for everything from shipbuilding to cyber-protection. Additional resources will be allocated for additional diplomatic assistance to the greater Middle East, while advancing economic opportunities in Latin America, according to Romney’s website.

BLEEDERS OR MONSTERS? YOU PICK …

L ittle else defines the current generation of politicians except partisanship and bickering sound bites. As we witnessed in the recent Republican and Democratic Na-

tional Conventions, the air was filled with animosity, anger and backstabbing. It was an “us versus them” mentality–focused squarely on that which divides rather than that which unites.

What’s more, there has been a massive shift in voters over the last 100 years, with the deep beliefs of the Millennials and the overwhelming growth in racial and ethnic minority populations, namely Asian-American and Latino adults. In a June 2012 opinion piece featured in The New York Times, it was demonstrated that the Republicans have become “the party of white America” and that Democrats really have become the party of every-one else. It seems that independent and nonpartisan voters are swinging the pendulum of “what’s expected” and that most minority groups just feel like they do not belong in either party. Don’t be mistaken, these groups of voters are not only political but are reachable,

and once engaged, these people can and will wield strong opinions, potentially turning the red and blue arguments into ones that embrace all shades of purple.

These demographically diverse groups have never really experienced war, poverty or hard times where everyone worked together for the greater good. This demo-graphic has never really known how to bleed. “We, as a country, have not had a unifying event for the new generation. We have not had a World War I or a World War II to unite our generation. Sadly, we have not ever really gotten behind the notion of Iraq and Afghanistan as a ‘unifying’ war. We have, by and large, been given every-thing we have by parents and a government that wanted it to be easier for us than it was

for them. That is, of course, a noble goal. However, what it seems to have done is to create an unmotivated generation who wants to be given a lot but who is unwill-ing to do much to earn it. We have never bled for this country or for ourselves. We don’t know what it feels like to be part of a collective of people all with shoulders to the wheel and noses to the grindstone,” said 30-year-old Kevin Kersting, president of CAP Logistics. “You are parents. You understand. If you raise your children by giving them everything they want and everything they ask for you won’t create good responsible people, but rather you will create monsters. I believe we have created a country with a generation full of monsters. The madness has to stop,” he said.

DISCRETIONARY SPENDING CUTS ALONE ARE NOT AN ADEQUATE SUBSTITUTE FOR ENTITLEMENT REFORM

» Notes: Figure for entitlement includes net interest. Without net interest, the total is $2.2 trillion. Figure for Corporation for Public Broadcasting reflects the annualized level provided by the continuing resolution (P.L. 111-242). » Source: White House Office of Management and Budget

Annual spending on entitlement programs

is massive compared to other federal spending

priorities. Cutting discretionary spending is a necessary step, but cuts

to foreign aid alone or pulling out of Afghanistan

will not close the deficit. Entitlement spending

must be reigned in.

Entitlements (Medicare, Medicaid, Social

Security and other mandatory programs)

$2.4 trillion

Global War on Terrorism $159.3 billion

Foreign Aid $28.6 billion

NASA $19.5 billionCorporation for

Public Broadcasting $516 million

LET’S QUANTIFY A “TRILLION”

It would take a military jet flying at the speed of sound, reeling out a roll of dollar bills be-hind it, 14 years before it reeled out one trillion dollar bills.

The current salary of NBA star LeBron James is north of $42 million per year. He would need to play for 23,809 sea-sons to earn $1 trillion.

The Big Bang Theory is estimated to have occurred 13 billion 600 million years ago. That’s one-third (1/3) of one trillion. We have debt that is quantifiably much bigger than the age of the universe.

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 43

Whether Democrat, Republican, Independent, Socialist or Libertarian–we must find civility within us and learn to see some form of compromise as a victory. We must stand up and use our voices to say we’ve had enough! And if we do not begin to see timely action, fighting over hypotheticals that will not even begin to take effect until 12 years in the future, for example, will be moot. Certainly what we see now does not look like strong leadership. It looks more like posturing.

In the final analysis, whether you are oriented to the right, the left or if you sit squarely in the middle, most people we’ve talked to are just disgusted with the state of things. The econ-omy is precarious. The health care debate is confusing and irritating. The employment market is bleak at best. The planet appears to be too hot, and nothing really feels like it is going all that well. We are in a malaise of mediocrity that has become so pervasive, it’s like a debilitating disease to the American spirit. We have an illness of will for which there is no cure. We have an absence of enthusiasm that has pulled our individual focuses so far inward that we seem not to be able to see the forest for the trees. We have people screaming from the far sides while everyone else–which amounts by some counts to 80 percent of the people in the country–seem to be standing with their pro-verbial fingers in their ears, deaf to the din of negativity.

The choices we have to make are not easy ones. But at least we have choices. We must look at the situation in which we find ourselves, and each of us must make tough decisions. This in-volves ranking problems. This involves giving priority to some things over other things that are no less important. This in-volves deciding where we stand–issue by issue–and then stick-ing to our guns (so to speak) and having the will and fortitude to let our political leaders know where we stand and where we refuse to compromise. Perhaps if we re-create a culture of true accountability, we will figure out how to motivate one another and ourselves through these tough times. One thing that is certainly true is that if we do nothing, we know what the future looks like because we are living it now–and it will get worse. The chart below lends some sobering reference to the fiscal issues that are facing us in the near to intermediate-term.

WHAT ARE WE TO DO?

For more than three years the pres-ident has worked with bipartisan legislative commissions and very

smart individuals to craft a budget that is reasonable yet appropriate in the eco-nomic predicament the United States faces. And whether citizens like it or not, without a budget, we continue to fall deeper into debt, and continue to amass more dollars toward our $16 trillion dol-lar deficit. What’s more, $0.42 of every dollar spent by the federal government is borrowed and that number will continue to grow exponentially between now and 2022. Right now, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that nearly 6 percent or $227 billion of the overall U.S. budget is spent on net interest alone. If we continue spending at such an unreasonable rate, we will foster hatred and ill-will among the citizens of the country and supporters abroad, but what’s potentially more harm-ful–we will we risk the very foundation of this country.

Here’s what we think … It isn’t about the rhetoric that has blown through the recent conventions or national news stories. It isn’t about the color of your skin, your reli-gion or your gender. It isn’t about whether you believe that you are entitled to what has been built before you or not.

It is about is the ability to work to-gether–to fulfill our patriotic duty to make America better for our children and grandchildren. It is about getting things

AROUND THE VIRTUAL WATER COOLER ™

What do you see as the single biggest threat to America today?

“The loss of moral and political credibility, the loss of economic leadership, low educational standards, religious extremism.” - Andreas Traxler

“For me, government FOR the people and BY the people has to be based on consensus. If not, we are no different from the USSR back in the day (and once again) or the Taliban (the current conversation regarding ‘legitimate rape’ and ‘some punishment’ and coverage of birth control). For me, it’s what makes us different … and, I think, better–the ability to see past our personal opinions and find common ground that works for the majority. No decision will ever reach 100 percent consensus–we’re human beings and pretty darn stubborn–but I think we can do better.” - Suzanne Hammer

19701974

19781982

19861990

19941998

20022006

2010 20142018 2022

20,02220,00018,00016,00014,00012,00010,0008,0006,0004,0002,000

0

Billi

ons

NATIONAL DEPT 1970-2022

INTEREST ON RISING DEBT WILL DWARF OTHER SPENDING - 2022 Projection

» Source: Office of Management and Budget

PROJECTED

1970 $380 billion

1980 $829 billion

1990 $2.9 trillion

2000 $5.6 trillion

2020 projection $25.9 trillion

Current $15.4 trillionThe federal government

now borrows 42¢ of every dollar spent.

1,500

NetIn

tere

st

$604

on av

g. of

2.5%

Tran

spor

tatio

n

Defe

nce

Mid

icare

1,200

900

600

300

0

Billi

ons

» Source: Congressional Budget Office – March 2012 baseline, Wall Street Journal, "The deficit is Worse Than We Think," June 28, 2011

$1.304 trillion

$133 billion

$744 billion

$1,064 billion

$700 on avg. of 5.7%

44 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

 GOVERNMENT | PASS A NATIONAL BUDGET NOW

We have never bled for this country or for ourselves. We don’t know what it feels like to be part of a collective of people all with shoulders to the wheel and noses to the grindstone."~ K e v i n K e r s t i n g

done instead of constantly bickering–which is driven by political pollsters. It is about all of us ex-

ercising our rights as Americans to urge–perhaps force–our legislators to actually do their jobs.

“We cannot grow our way out of this problem; eliminating earmarks will not solve the problem; wiping out fraud, waste, and abuse will not solve the problem; ending the war or cutting way back on defense will not solve the problem; restraining discretionary spending will not solve the problem; and letting the tax cuts expire will not solve this problem,” said former Comptroller General David M. Walker in his testimony to the House Budget Committee.

We think the guiding principles of the Simpson-Bowles Committee is spot on in terms of the challenges we face and the vehement denial of politicians to politely, yet aggressively, engage in policymaking: “Americans are counting on us to pull together, not pull apart, to put politics aside and do the right thing for future generations. Our country’s economic and na-tional security depends on us putting our fiscal house in order. There are many plans that have been created over the last two years that address our nation’s efforts at creating and living by a national budget in order to create a lasting tomorrow. The American people are counting on us to put politics aside, pull together not pull apart, and agree on a plan to live within our means and make America strong for the long haul.”

While budget issues are certainly not the sexiest of news stories–like immigration, or foreign policy, education or Social Security, there are some legislators who agree that Washington must lead. They recognize that there will be no special earmarks on the table–the solutions will be painful for some because the problems are real! The U.S. Government is currently in debt $16 trillion, and estimates of unfunded enti-tlement program spending going forward over the next 10-50 years is between $32 trillion - $114 trillion.  “The Chinese government doesn’t need nuclear weapons to take out the U.S. – they can just call-in our debt notes and watch global economic chaos ensue,” said Elliott Smith, executive director of the Iowa Business Council. We must meet the trifecta of a lifetime head-on by addressing the issues now–balanced budget, debt reduction and fiscal strength; otherwise we risk ending up like Greece–or worse.

At ICOSA we create a platform for readers to engage in discourse–but we would argue that it needs to be a civil dis-course with a focus on telling the truth–not always the good news. Whether you are a posy-sniffing Liberal or just to the right of Attila the Hun, or anywhere in between, we challenge you to use your voice and your capacity to get a balanced budget and debt reduction plan passed as soon as possible.

And while we know that life seems so much easier without the facts, the only way that we can truly find solutions is by looking at the facts. We have arrived at a moment of truth, and neither political party is without blame. America cannot be great if we go broke! Isn’t there a way to check the politics at the door and focus on policy? Don’t we realize that the “wedge” issues mean nothing if there is no funding to take care of the issues? How do we change the belief that com-promise equals loss?

We would argue it is by getting en-gaged, calling your legislators and voicing your opinion on this issue, voting and joining ICOSA in Washington, D.C., to urge our leadership to do their jobs!

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton perhaps said it best at the bestowing of the Congres-sional Gold Medal to political activist and parliament member Aung San Suu Kyi: “It is well for us to remember people fight and die for the right to exercise politics.” We must remember we are the most blessed population on this planet. Let’s act like it and work together to solve our biggest problem–the budget!

LET’S QUANTIFY A “TRILLION”

1 million seconds = 11.5 days; 1 billion = 32 years; 1 trillion = 32,000 yrs.

If you spent $1 every second it would take you almost 12 days to spend $1 million. • It would take 32 years to

spend $1 billion. • But it would take you

32,000 years to spend $1 trillion.

One trillion $ bills stacked on top of each other reaches 68,000 miles high.• The average cen-

ter-to-center distance from the Earth to the Moon is 238,857 miles.

• A stack of 10 trillion $1 bills would be 680,000 miles high—or 2.85 trips between the Earth and the Moon.

• If you laid one dollar bills end-to-end, you could make a chain that stretches from the Earth to the Moon and back 200 times.

• One trillion dollar bills would stretch nearly from the earth to the sun.

SOVEREIGN DEBT - Debt to GDP ratios

» Interest expense on debt outstanding was $454.4 billion in FY2011. So far in FY2012, it's at $272 billion (October 1 thru May). Source U.S. Treasury » Source (graph): CIA World Fact Book

U.S.A Spain Italy Greece

120.1%100%

68.2%

165.4%

Intrgovernmental Debt

Created in the aftermath of September 11th, 2001, the 911 FUND was conceived by former members of the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY). All of our efforts are voluntary and unpaid, and the 911 FUND was born from the personal, hard-won experience and first-hand knowledge of New York City firefighters and medical personnel, all-of-whom worked on September 11th at the World Trade Center.

WE DONWE DONATE ON A WORLDWIDE BASIS:-Fire Trucks and firefighting equipment-Ambulances, medical equipment and medical supplies-Training for Firefighters and Paramedics

For more informationabout the 911 FUNDand how to get involved,please visit our website at

www.911fund.orgor call us at 914-479-8800

facebook.com/The911FUND

911 FUNDEnhancing Public Safety Worldwide

Created in the aftermath of September 11th, 2001, the 911 FUND was conceived by former members of the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY). All of our efforts are voluntary and unpaid, and the 911 FUND was born from the personal, hard-won experience and first-hand knowledge of New York City firefighters and medical personnel, all-of-whom worked on September 11th at the World Trade Center.

WE DONWE DONATE ON A WORLDWIDE BASIS:-Fire Trucks and firefighting equipment-Ambulances, medical equipment and medical supplies-Training for Firefighters and Paramedics

For more informationabout the 911 FUNDand how to get involved,please visit our website at

www.911fund.orgor call us at 914-479-8800

facebook.com/The911FUND

911 FUNDEnhancing Public Safety Worldwide

46 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

 GOVERNMENT | POWER MARKETING ADMINISTRATION

Creating Sustainable Continuity of America’s Transmission LinesINTEGRATING RENEWABLES ON THE GRIDB Y K E L L Y D E L A T O R R E A N D E M I L Y H A G G S T R O M

ccess to affordable energy is what has linked developed nations to eco-nomic prosperity and continued innovative advancements over the last 50 years. Largely, Americans are more connected than ever before to de-vices that allow them to go anywhere and do anything, with more energy being consumed than ever before.

With power stations located intermittently across the country, ensur-ing cost-effective power to consumers has been a topic of discussion between government officials and organizations since the early 1900s.

Unlike areas on the East Coast that are very densely populated, the western United States is defined by vast land expanses and exceptional geographic diversity, with the Mojave Desert at one end of the spectrum and the Rocky Mountains at the other.

A

Because the population distribution within these vast land expanses is so spread apart, there is a big role for the Power Marketing Administration (PMA) to define how to electrify the West.

In the 1930s, it was common for urban and more densely populated areas to be fully electrified while the adjacent rural communities were without power because the private utilities did not con-sider investment in these areas feasible. Recognizing the value of electrification, President Franklin Roosevelt and others promoted rural electrification and envi-sioned that power could be provided to these customers at a cost that was com-parable to the urban areas. To make these investments feasible, federal support was necessary. Today, access to affordable en-ergy in the United States is due essentially in part to the nation’s largest and most complex machine ever built, the United States’s electric grid.

The grid, mostly built out before the 1970s, is a vast interconnected transmis-sion system principally maintained by four federally owned PMAs under the Depart-ment of Energy, who deliver and market power in 34 states through linked govern-ment hydro facilities and power stations to power purchasers and eventually to con-sumers. Under the law, preference is given to consumer-owned utilities that provide power to more than 60 million Ameri-cans in the 34-state system, according to the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), one of the four PMAs who sell federal power at cost-based rates.

Consequently, as the need for electricity has increased, not just in load centers but rural areas as well, there have been con-cerns about the grid’s ability to distribute

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 47

power across lines economically as intermittent renewables are slowly integrated onto transmission lines after new policies were enacted requiring electricity producers to supply a minimum amount of electricity from renewable resources each year.

This dated infrastructure is also in desperate need of upgrades, efficiency improvements through transmission construction and increased capacity. So while serious reliability issues have yet to surface, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) would like to see build-out started before issues begin to occur. “Tens of thousands of miles of new transmission is needed,” they say.

Equally important is the need for increased capacity as new energy sources are added, drawing debate from all sides of the energy spectrum on how to efficiently use and integrate all forms of energy available onto the grid. In an effort to “build a more secure and sustainable electric sector,” Department of Energy (DOE), Secretary, Steven Chu, issued a memo to the PMA in March asking them to, “Help lead the 21st century transformation of our nation’s electricity sector to better protect our economic and national security.”

The memo called for transmission upgrades in an effort to “in-crease connectivity” to more Americans while integrating cleaner technologies that “take(s) advantage of our indigenous and inex-haustible resources.” Sharp criticism quickly came after the memo’s release, as members of the House and Senate worried how con-sumers and ratepayers would be adversely affected by the up-front and long-term costs of such upgrades and accelerated renewable additions beyond state renewable portfolio standard allocations.

A letter to Chu was quickly drafted by the Committee on Natural Resources to testify at an oversight hearing in regards to their concerns over various possible cost implications and to answer questions. After denying the committee’s request, Chu was issued two more bi-partisan letters from 166 congressional leaders and Senators saying, “While we have been told by your staff that the Memorandum should serve as a ‘vision statement,’ the undeniable fact is that this document issues directives to PMAs.” It went on to say, “We strongly believe that no actions with respect to this Memorandum should move forward until the Department can demonstrate that it has worked within a robust, transparent, public process with stakeholders, including members of Congress and ratepayers.”

At the behest of its intermittent and wholesale power customers, the WAPA along with the DOE held a joint stakeholder workshop in late July, followed by a public comment period through August 28th. So far, there have been legitimate concerns raised from both sides on how to allocate costs of infrastructure expansion and up-grades, namely as it pertains to, “Who pays for what, at what cost and at who’s benefit,” asked Tri-State’s senior manager of public affairs, Lee Boughey?

Concurrently, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) felt that the public’s assets already being used by the PMAs should “play a greater role in advancing our nation’s broader energy inter-ests, including the deployment of renewable energy.”

One thing is sure, power customers and consumers are going to have to consciously implement and support existing legislation and work together towards making improvements to the grid that will positively impact all stakeholders involved in the build out of this intricate, yet dated system.

THE IMPORTANCE OF INTEGRATING RENEWABLES

In addition to an abundance of newly discovered, technically recoverable, domestic fossil fuels the United States

boasts the second highest production of intermittent renewables in the world after China. While the U.S. produces roughly 13 percent of its utility-grade power from re-newables according to the EIA, renewable generation is expected to grow.

Despite low gas prices, many analysts and energy insiders believe that after 10 years on the transmission system, wind energy is nearing grid parity, providing a competitive advantage for the resource, which is valuable in assisting power pro-ducers to meet imbalances and account for enhanced operational planning.

While there has never really been an enforced policy to build out genera-tion sources, there is now a push by the Obama administration to move forward with transmission construction and renewable integration for America to be more globally competitive and to increase energy security.

“Co-ops will have to face that everyone will need to build out their portion of the grid eventually,” said Patton Boggs, En-ergy and Natural Resources Partner, Eric Drummond, “ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) has already had to face concerns over costs when the state began to integrate wind into their portfolio at the same time they were anticipating bringing up over $5 billion in transmission. How-ever, it was reflected in a May 2010 study that the Texas system as a whole received approximately $30 billion in system ben-efits–hedging fuel costs and bringing up wind and transmission infrastructure that helped to offset costs.”

Like Texas, many ratepayers in the West are willing to pay a small premium to get non-carbon power. Texas was successful because it brought the right parties to the table. The state also worked with the rural ranchers and farmers to establish monthly and annual lease payments beneficial to rural economies. “There is of course, the likelihood of short-term costs for ratepay-ers, but nobody really knows what that cost increase would be,” said Drummond.

“The greatest threat to WAPA’s pref-erence customers is not having access to affordable and reliable power in the

There have been legitimate concerns raised from both sides

on how to al-locate costs of infrastructure

expansion and upgrades.

48 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

 GOVERNMENT | POWER MARKETING ADMINISTRATION

future–due to WAPA’s failure to make sensible investments,

such as proposed grid reforms,” stated AWEA in a public comment.

According to the DOE, the United States risks more serious consequences if we continue to rely on outdated and inflexible infrastructure. Blackouts and brownouts in 2011 were the result of transmission failures due to improper and unreliable planning.

While human error seems to be a large part of grid inefficiency, the longer the grid takes to be updated, customers and consumers alike look to face bigger and more expensive challenges in system up-grades. The integration of renewables onto the grid will have to happen sooner rather than later. And while some say the timing of upgrading the system is a detriment to energy customers and consumers, there never seems to be a right time. Establish-ing distribution of renewables is not only important to diversifying our energy port-folio, but it will assist in attaining greater energy independence in the years to come.

STAYING TRUE TO THE MISSION OF LOW-COST, AFFORDABLE ENERGY

The mission of the PMA consum-er-owned utilities is to provide affordable and reliable electricity

to the consumers in their territories. In the west, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. is a not-for-profit wholesale electric cooperative based in Colorado. Its mission is to provide reliable, cost-based wholesale electricity to its 44 non-for-profit member systems (electric cooperatives and public power districts) while maintaining high environmental standards.

Tri-State testified during a recent hear-ing on “Increased Electricity Costs for American Families and Small Business: The Potential Impacts of the Chu Mem-orandum” that “hydropower purchased from WAPA accounts for approximately 12 percent of our generation needs.” The ability for Tri-State to provide reliable, affordable power is further complicated by the fact that on average, their member systems service five consumers per mile compared to 37 consumers per mile served by investor owned utilities, and some systems support the poorest local economies in the country.

For the rural electric cooperatives, Secretary Chu’s memo appears at odds with the history of the role of federal hydropower. “Historically, one of the keys to providing affordable electricity by coop-eratives across the country has been access to electricity produced at federal dams and marketed by the four Power Marketing Administrations,” according to testimony of the Honorable Glenn English, CEO of the National Rural Electric Coopera-tive Association before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources on April 26, 2012. The system is further complicated by the nature of transmission in the west. In the simplest of terms, electrical power transmission in the west is based on two guiding princi-ples: (1) beneficiary pays and (2) bi-lateral contracts.

A primary concern of the American Public Power Association (APPA), a non-profit service organization for the nation’s more than 2,000 community-owned elec-tric utilities, is that the changes proposed under the Chu Memo would impact the “beneficiary pays” principle that has governed the PMAs operations. For these utilities, “the rates that they pay for the PMA-marketed hydropower cover all of the costs of generating and transmitting power, interest on the federal investment in the project, and ongoing operation and maintenance,” testified Mark Crisson, president and CEO of APPA. Under this system, “the power customers who re-ceive the benefits of these upgrades repay the government for them.” This princi-ple that the beneficiary pays, underpins PMAs operations. The concern is that through this DOE mandate, the PMA customers would be required to take on upgrades that would benefit the system as a whole.

Furthermore, there is concern that rural consumers may be required to shoulder costs for the benefit of for-profit utilities as a result of the Chu Memorandum. Tri-State testified that their members have shouldered the cost of developing a signif-icant renewable energy portfolio and have complemented this portfolio by develop-ing distributed generation projects.

“If the Chu Memorandum were to be implemented,” testified Joel Bladow, senior vice president of transmission, “Tri-State members would be required to pay the costs for other utilities’ renewable

integration costs. For example, in Colo-rado the majority of the electricity demand is in the Denver Metropolitan Area. How-ever, the utility providing electricity to this region has almost no interstate transmis-sion connections which would reward this utility by allowing it to use WAPA’s interstate transmission system without compensating Tri-State and WAPA’s other customers that paid for the construction and continue to pay for the maintenance of the system through their rates.”

Another major concern of the Chu Memorandum is a potential shift in juris-diction from state and local authorities to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commis-sion (FERC). In the Western Intercon-nection, utilities either generate power from resources that they own or purchase power through competitively negotiated bilateral contracts for power. Any addi-tional mechanism to manage transmis-sion in the west is generally viewed to run afoul of the vertically integrated, cost-based model that keeps electricity costs to consumers low. The additional mecha-nism discussed in the Chu Memorandum is implementation of a regional energy imbalance market (EIM).

The EIM is the concept that imbalances in one area could be smoothed out if that area were coordinated with multiple other areas within the Western Intercon-nection. Commissioner Marks explains it this way in his testimony in the Over-sight Hearing on the Chu Memorandum. “Today in the Western Interconnection, we have 37 separate balancing authori-ties (Bas). Each works continuously to keep electric generation in balance with fluctuating loads . . . The imbalances that

Establishing distribution of renewables is not only important to diversifying our energy portfolio, but it will assist in attaining greater energy independence in the years to come.

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 49

must be addressed within each BA can be either too much or too little electric sup-ply relative to the real-time demand. By summing real-time demand and supply across multiple BAs, we can expect that a portion of the deviations will wash-out on their own, reducing the need for active dispatch by the EIM operator.” According to Marks, the savings would come from decreased fuel costs, less wear and tear on generators due to less cycling, and use of existing but underused lines.

In contrast, Crisson argues that an EIM for the West would be costly and unnec-essary and that implementation and oper-ation could, in some scenarios, outweigh the estimated benefits. In addition, Crisson argued that, “critical details of the EIM such as governance, the market operator, market monitoring, and mitigation have not yet been determined by either the stakehold-ers who have proposed it or DOE.” An additional concern is that an EIM is the first step towards evolution to a Regional Transmission Organization (RTO). In the West, the RTO structure is considered a mechanism that will “adversely affect the consumers they serve.” According to Crisson, a multitude of problems, includ-ing burdensome administrative costs and complicated and unresponsive governance structures can impact the existing system for transmission in the West.

Simply put, the answer to addressing electricity in the West is not simple. Presi-dent Roosevelt recognized the benefits that delivery of reliable and affordable electric-ity to rural areas brings to our country. “The business relationship between elec-tric cooperatives and PMAs represents a longstanding partnership between electric cooperatives and the federal government,” testified the Honorable Glenn English. “It is also a good deal for taxpayers, as it provides a mechanism through which federal investment is continually repaid by users of the federal power system.” When listening to the public power entities, it is clear that the framework under which the PMAs operate is continuing to evolve, however, it is equally clear that there is a fear that Secretary Chu is seeking to un-dertake significant new programs without input from PMA customers or Congress, and that this movement will detrimentally impact the mission of the PMAs to pro-vide reliable and affordable power–power that drives our economy.

50 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

BUSINESS | TRI-STATE GENERATION & TRANSMISSION ASSOCIATION

Energizing the West with a Cooperative Spirit for 60 Years

Tri-State Generation and Transmission AssociationB Y K E L L Y D E L A T O R R E

Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association is a Denver-based, wholesale power provider to 44 electric cooperatives and public power districts that serve more than 1.5 million people and businesses throughout rural Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Nebraska.

With 1,475 employees stationed at a variety of facilities throughout its four-state service territory, assets totaling $4.2 billion and annual operating revenue topping $1.2 billion, some people say Tri-State is one of the largest and most successful–yet lesser-known–corporations in the region.

“One reason for that might be that Tri-State strictly sells our commodity–electricity–on a wholesale level, meaning we do not make any retail sales to end-use consumers,” explained Ken Anderson, Tri-State’s executive vice president and general manager. “Another reason might be that we are a not-for-profit cooperative, as opposed to a publicly traded, investor-owned utility such as Xcel Energy or Public Service Company of New Mexico,” he said.

Established in 1952, Tri-State boasts an impressive six-decade résumé featuring growth and stability. It has stuck to its core mission of providing affordable and reliable electricity by relying on a combination of owned baseload and peaking power plants that use coal and natural gas as their primary fuels, supplemented by purchased power, federal hydroelectricity allocations and a variety of other renewable resource technologies.

The shared success that Tri-State and its member co-ops have experienced over the past 60 years is firmly rooted in the cooperative business model, which was founded on seven cooperative principles–guidelines by which cooperatives put their values into practice.

In 2012, designated as the “International Year of Cooperatives” by the United Nations, Tri-State has joined with co-ops across the country and around the world to celebrate the cooperative mission, cooperative unity and the cooperative spirit.

Cooperative Principle #1: Voluntary and Open Membership

Tri-State and its member cooperatives are owned and operated by the member-consumers who benefit from the electricity that energizes their lives, businesses and communities.

Besides defined service territories, there are no boundaries as to who can receive power and other services from an electric co-op and also participate as a member-owner. In fact, today, approximately 42 million Americans in 47 states are members of electric co-ops.

“Years ago, rural residents joined together to form electric cooperatives because the large power companies wouldn’t serve them due to lack of profitability,” Anderson explained. “In turn,

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 51

» Colowyo Mine

eventually the co-ops combined resources to create their own power suppliers–generation and transmission associations like Tri-State–creating a value chain uniquely suited to deliver a reliable and affordable supply of power to rural communities.”

Cooperative Principle #2: Democratic Member Control

Tri-State and its member cooperatives are democratic organizations governed by their member-owners, who actively participate in developing policies and strategies.

There are Wall Street boards, and there are Main Street boards. Directors on co-op boards are local residents who oftentimes have deep roots in their communities with financial and emotional investments to match.

Current Tri-State board president Rick Gordon, who represents Limon, Colorado-based co-op Mountain View Electric Association, said, “The cooperative business model’s democratic structure provides for self-regulation and governance by and for its members. Serving as the governing body of this organization, the board’s goal is to make decisions that are in the best interests of the entire membership.”

In other words, each of Tri-State’s 44 member co-ops are equally represented in the governance, policy development and

strategic planning process. “As such,” Gordon explained, “the board continually crafts and refines its strategic goals and initiatives aimed at best serving the membership as a whole and effectively delivering on our mission of providing affordable, reliable and responsible power to our member co-ops.”

Cooperative Principle #3: Member Economic Participation

Working together, the cooperative business model provides financial strength to Tri-State and its members, which in turn delivers value to the co-op member-owners.

Co-ops work for people, not for profit. As not-for-profit entities, electric cooperatives’ operating budgets are established to cover the actual costs of running and maintaining their systems. Positive margins that may be generated are oftentimes returned to the members in the form of capital credits or reinvested in the organization’s local infrastructure.

“We recognize that we are stewards of our membership’s assets,” Anderson said. “With our board’s leadership, we are in a strong financial position that has sustained investment-grade credit ratings.”

In addition, many of Tri-State’s member co-ops recently have taken advantage of board policies and incentives and have

52 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

THE VALUE OF AMERICA’S ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES

• Today, 841 distribution and 65 G&T cooperatives serve 42 million people in 47 states – that’s 12 percent of the U.S. population.

• Electric cooperatives own assets worth $112 billion and own and maintain 2.5 million miles, or 42 percent, of the nation’s electric distribution lines.

• Electric co-ops employ 70,000 Americans, pay $1.4 billion in state and local taxes and retire $545 million in capital credits annually.

» Craig Station

BUSINESSTRI-STATE GENERATION & TRANSMISSION ASSOCIATION

invested in their communities through the development of more than 40 megawatts of local renewable resource projects, including small hydropower, solar farms and heat recovery systems, as well as net metering projects. The initiative assists Tri-State members that make investments to diversify their resource base while helping to meet their renewable portfolio standard requirements.

“We recognize that our members have a unique opportunity to participate in local renewable energy projects, so the board adopted a first-of-its-kind in the nation program that supports the development of these projects within the members’ service territories,” Gordon said.

Cooperative Principle #4: Autonomy and Independence

Tri-State and its member co-ops are autonomous, self-sufficient organizations working together to effectively meet their long-term power requirements.

Self-sufficiency is one of the many characteristics that gives strength to the cooperative business model. Because co-ops are organizations that are governed and operated by the people and for the people, the sense of independence is not only deep-rooted, but a vital component of co-ops’ can-do attitude.

“We are owned and operated by the people we serve, so we’re focused on doing what’s in their best interest,” Anderson stated.

Tri-State’s self-reliance historically has been illustrated by its ability to secure and maintain an efficient and stable electric generating resource portfolio and transmission network to effectively serve its members’ long-term power requirements.

Toward that end, in 2011 the association was involved in two major resource acquisitions. In mid-September, Western Fuels-Colorado–the fuel supply organization in which Tri-State is the majority owner–purchased the Colowyo Mine in northwest Colorado. “Ownership of the mine ensures us a reliable and affordable supply of fuel for one of our primary power plants in the area to the extent of its projected useful life,” Anderson explained.

Tri-State also acquired a 272-megawatt natural gas-fired combined cycle generating facility in Fort Lupton, Colo., a plant that helps meet Tri-State’s need to add intermediate generation to its fleet and provide operational flexibility in a high-growth part of its system.

Although the majority of its operational and resource-planning activities are carried out in an autonomous manner, Anderson was quick to point out that Tri-State’s board and management “stringently abide with the numerous regulatory and compliance processes in place while continuing to make decisions and pursue opportunities that ultimately provide the greatest benefit to our membership.”

Transmission infrastructure is uniquely important to electric co-ops that serve sparsely populated rural areas. While investor-owned and municipal utilities serve on average 35 and 47 customers per mile of line, respectively, cooperatives average only about seven customers per mile. In fact, while co-ops deliver 10 percent of the electricity in the United States, they operate 42 percent of the electric distribution lines that cover three-quarters of the nation’s land mass.

Tri-State owns and operates more than 5,000 miles of transmission line across its 200,000-square-mile service territory and continuously invests in the system to reliably serve its member systems’ loads, access power markets and interconnect generation resources.

Cooperative Principle #5: Education, Training and Information

Tri-State puts a high priority on engaging its member-owners, employees and other important constituents, so they can contribute effectively to the success of the association.

Electric cooperatives have always put a high priority on engaging their members, employees and other constituents. As the utility industry has evolved over the years, having the right tools, training, information and education have become increasingly important.

Equally essential are the continuous efforts put toward communicating with the end-use member-owners–a powerful grassroots network that, when called into action, can make its unified voice heard and have a tremendous impact in a number of

arenas. “The foundation of consistent, two-way communication with our co-op constituents is one of many key elements of the valuable relationship that makes the entire network stronger and more effective,” Anderson stated.

One issue that Tri-State has embraced and advocated for on behalf of its members and the entire consumer base is affordability and proposed public policies and regulations that would significantly increase the cost of producing and delivering electricity.

“The message and mission of sustained affordable electricity and its importance to rural economies is one that Tri-State has integrated throughout the fabric of our entire organizational

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 53

"The cooperative business model’s democratic structure provides for self-regulation and

governance by and for its members."- Rick Gordon

» Training in Brush, Colorado

structure, ensuring that member-owners are aware of these issues and have their voices heard,” Anderson said.

Cooperative Principle #6: Cooperation Among Cooperatives

The nation’s network of electric co-ops share common ideals and goals, allowing them to work together toward mutually beneficial solutions for the good of the whole.

The funny thing about cooperatives is that they are doggedly independent by nature, but are quick to come to each other’s aid and work together toward common goals and objectives. Never is that more apparent than when disaster strikes–whether it be the recent wildfires or other severe acts of nature. Crews from neighboring co-ops are quick to lend a helping hand to their fellow co-ops–asking nothing in return because they know they will receive equal support if and when the time comes.

“We sometimes refer to ourselves as an electric co-op family,” Anderson said. “We’re a consortium of independently operated utilities all dealing with our own circumstances, but our commonalities far outweigh our differences. We share ideals and core values, and we rely on one another and support each other from beginning to end.”

Cooperative Principle #7: Concern for Community

Tri-State and its member co-ops work for the economic development and well-being of their communities, striving to make life better in the areas they serve.

A telling characteristic of cooperatives that sets them apart from other businesses as much as any other is the commitment to the communities in which they reside and that they serve. “Our number-one mission will always be to ‘keep the lights on,’” Anderson explained. “However, not only do we and our member

co-ops energize communities with a reliable, not-for-profit supply of electricity, but we also drive economic development, fund scholarships, support local charities and work to make life better in the areas we serve.”

Tri-State and its member co-ops have a long track record of supporting and giving back to society in the cooperative spirit through fundraising activities, sponsorships, volunteer efforts and contributing time and money. Two world-renowned organizations that have received long-standing support from Tri-State and its members are St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Ronald McDonald House Charities, both of which provide a vital service to rural families in need.

Preserving Western heritage and investing in the next generation of electric co-op member-consumers also is a priority. For many years, Tri-State and its members have supported tomorrow’s rural leaders by supporting several Future Farmers of America and 4-H youth programs, Ag in the Classroom educational initiatives, the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo and the Colorado State Fair Junior Livestock Sale.

“Today, we as an organization and the electric utility industry as a whole face many challenges,” Anderson summarized. “But that’s nothing new,” he noted. “Tri-State’s 60 years of existence has been an evolution of sorts–full of growing pains, overcoming countless obstacles and enjoying a number of different accomplishments. Going forward, we will continue to deliver on our part of the value of the cooperative business model to the benefit of our 1.5 million member-owners across the West.”

54 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

BUSINESS | FAEGRE BAKER DANIELS LLP

Faegre Baker Daniels LLP

Two Firms Come Together to Ensure Success Over Time

B Y K I M D e C O S T E

The law firm Faegre Baker Daniels LLP is a fresh example of business continuity that came together on January 1st of this year, and is the result of a combination of two well-established firms, Faegre & Benson and Baker & Daniels. The two firms brought together virtually identical core values that its partners wish to continue,

enabling the new firm’s leadership to quickly and easily articulate three guiding principles: 1) clients first, 2) high performance and 3) one firm. With this important value-based step forward, Faegre Baker Daniels set in motion a plan to establish itself as one of the top 100 law firms in the United States. The firm recognizes that lasting success requires growth and change, while still being committed to maintaining consistency.

The two legacy firms were fortunate to have no offices in the same cities, and leadership agreed to continue operations at each office. Faegre Baker Daniels now has 10 U.S. and three international offices, offering a full complement of legal services to clients ranging from emerging enterprises to multinational companies. The firm's 750-plus legal professionals handle complex transactional, regulatory and litigation matters, and FaegreBD Consulting, the firm’s advisory and advocacy division, based in Washington, D.C., provides public policy, regulatory and technical services to key sectors of the economy.

Industry-focused teams were also important to both legacy firms and continue at Faegre Baker Daniels. One of the firm’s key areas of focus is on energy, resources and clean technology industries, where it has the breadth and depth of legal and policy experience to serve clients whose needs range from the comprehensive to the specific. Jim Spaanstra is leading this effort, which the combined firm now calls its “EarthTech industry group.” Spaanstra told ICOSA, “It has been exciting to be a part of the EarthTech industry group over the last two and a half years, and especially since the combination took place. The professionals from both legacy firms who provide services to clients across the industry segments are pleased to be able to offer more targeted solutions as a result of collaborating with the much-expanded talent base we now have in place.”

The legal professionals in this industry group represent a broad spectrum of businesses, including:

• Utilities• Project developers• Financial sponsors • Power equipment manufacturers• Power technology developers• Natural gas and oil producers, distributors, processors and

transporters• Renewable energy companies including ethanol, biofuels, wind,

solar geothermal and waste-to-energy companies

The firm is a national leader in working with clean technology companies throughout all parts of their businesses and in assisting other energy and resources companies with potential clean technology aspects of their businesses. In addition to providing counsel on intellectual property rights, their expertise includes working with construction firms to address green building regulations, as well as with energy alliances, and with universities and research facilities. The firm has also been an active sponsor of the Cleantech Open (www.cleantechopen.org), a nonprofit cleantech industry competition ICOSA has covered in the past. Cleantech Open seeks to find, fund and foster cleantech start-ups. Regional Director, Dick Franklin, told ICOSA, “They have been a key partner since we began the national expansion. The firm has been generous both with their fiscal support as well as with other resources to help CTO succeed and grow year after year, and we are most appreciative. They have been instrumental in helping with our regional expansion as well. They are outstanding sponsors to Cleantech Open.”

In addition, the firm’s energy policy consultants in Washington, D.C., are uniquely positioned to assist clients in understanding the potential threats and opportunities presented by the federal regulatory landscape and in developing and executing federal and state government relations programs to realize their public policy goals. These strategic consulting services are offered to corporations, public policy groups, energy companies, industry associations, universities and units of local government affected by a variety of governmental initiatives in the energy and environment arena.

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 55

And for the third consecutive year, Faegre Baker Daniels is supporting the Western Energy Leadership Summit, which will take place in 2013 in Keystone, Colorado (www.westernenergysummit.com). It promises to be an exciting event! Through its sponsorship of the summit, the firm and many of its energy clients are able to bring their voice to the important policy discussions that will include leaders from corporations throughout the United States, federal and state agencies and governors from across the western states.

Several Faegre Baker Daniels lawyers and consultants will moderate panels at the summit as well. Bob Anderson, who will lead a panel on key financial topics related to power generation and infrastructure projects, sees this as an exciting time for the U.S. energy sector. Anderson notes, “Public and private financing of energy projects are at a crossroads today. We have a great opportunity as a country to lower our energy production and distribution costs and to continue to improve the manner in which we care for our environment. But, this will require us to work together in a spirit of compromise and focus on solid projects.”

Bill Weimer, who will head up an energy technology panel, believes that certain technologies are worth developing and investing in, while others have not proven themselves to the point of deserving significant investment. “Important technology innovations can happen in this industry in the near future. The energy industry has enjoyed a good run of technological gains, but now must smartly invest in specific areas, and avoid spreading our finite funds across all possible areas,” says Weimer.

To learn more about the Western Energy Leadership Summit, please visit www.westernenergysummit.com. To learn more about Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, please visit www.faegrebd.com.

ICOSA is working to support the Western Energy Leadership Forum in Keystone in 2013. We are excited to be working with event organizers, Randy Stratton of Ener4orum as well as with the other excellent sponsors such as Faegre Baker Daniels to explore the challenging questions around energy in the Western United States, around the country and globally. We believe firms like Faegre Baker Daniels bear testament to our notion that true success is not a one-time “spike the ball” incident. Instead, we believe true success is seen over time as businesses mature and grow. Businesses that are truly transformational change with the times and remain relevant by virtue of the changes they undergo. Faegre Baker Daniels is an excellent example of such a firm, and we are proud to welcome them as ICOSA collaborators.

FIRM AT A GLANCE

750+LEGAL AND CONSULTING PROFESSIONALS

150 YEARS AS FIRM

(In 2013, Faegre Baker Daniels celebrates its 150th anniversary)

100+NUMBER OF COUNTRIES WHERE FIRM CLIENTS ARE LOCATED (Clients in every U.S. state and more than 100 countries)

85PRACTICE AREAS AND INDUSTRY SEGMENTS

75 FIRM RANKING IN UNITED STATES

(One of the 75 largest law firms headquartered in United States)

16PRACTICE GROUPS

(Benefits and executive compensation, business litigation, client technology solutions, construction and real estate litigation, corporate, exempt organizations, finance and restructuring, government advocacy and consulting, health and life sciences, insurance, intellectual property, labor and employment, product liability and environmental, real estate, tax advocacy and wealth management)

13TOTAL FIRM OFFICES

(Beijing, Boulder, Chicago, Denver, Des Moines, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis-2, London, Minneapolis, Shanghai, South Bend and Washington, D.C.)

5INDUSTRY TEAMS

(Energy, resources and clean technology; financial services; food and agriculture; and life sciences)

56 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL SECURITY SOLUTIONS

The World is a Dangerous PlaceProtecting Your Most Important AssetsB Y G A R Y B L A C K

The Company

Integrated International Security Solutions (IISS) was born out of a passion to serve the men, women and families of our nation’s military service members, and to bring executive business experience to an industry that has failed, at times, to empower our own. Our American soldiers have sacrificed everything to make sure that our families, and our American way of living, are safe and secure. IISS, in conjunction with LifeQuest Transitions, makes it their responsibility to let these veterans know that they will walk beside them through their next mission: life outside of the military life that they have called home.

IISS respects that many international security firms are started by and hire our veterans. However, IISS believes that as military leaders and business executives, they must take things much further. They respect the fact that these soldiers are our future. They believe that with their combination of seasoned business executives and military professionals, they can change a corrupt, yet very crucial industry–an industry that many of our top U.S. companies are embracing at a rapid pace.

The Story

C.W. Conner, the managing director of IISS, LLC, is also the CEO and founder of LifeQuest Transitions (LQT), www.mylq.org. LQT is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering our nation’s military service members with life skills that enable personal growth; promote leadership development; and facilitate positive change during transition into, through and beyond military life. LQT has worked with thousands of wounded, ill and injured Americans through their unique multifaceted approach based on the physical and psychosocial health factors that contribute to the reintegration and self-sufficiency of our veterans and their families. The LQT model is a combination of science and practical sense that involves intense facilitation of adventure-based learning and cutting-edge fitness techniques in an environment of trust. LQT core services include physical training (PT), return to duty (RTD) and adventure programs.

When it was announced that our troops were returning home, the donations to LifeQuest literally stopped overnight. Our

country is getting frustrated by lengthy resolutions and tired of hearing about war. LifeQuest understands the fatigue; however, they realize that our soldiers’ war is just beginning. The war they battle here at home is their transition back to health, successful living and career stabilization.

When asked why this approach is necessary, Conner states that “As we continue to fight and believe in our returning soldiers, we must create education and business that empower them to be successful!” That is why IISS was born. Conner understood that he needed to develop an income generator to support the needs of LifeQuest. This solution would create steady cash flow in order to support our American heroes. He sees it as a privilege to work harder in order to make sure our veterans know that it is our time to fight for them.

IISS’s approach to your business is simple. We take an equitable approach to asset support and security. We implement a balance of services into your asset protection plan, including company-specific logistics, cutting edge technology and

experienced operatives. No environment is too challenging; no job too complex–from pipelines on foreign soil to vessels in international waters and VIP protection, we handle it all. Experienced professionals take ownership of your project and commit the proper resources to complete the job efficiently and effectively.

IISS EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE EXPERIENCE

Energy

The IISS Energy Department has more than 100 years experience in high-risk oil drilling on land and at sea. Our long list of contract success includes United States, Papua New Guinea, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Libya, Russia, Mexico, Central and South American countries and other volatile energy locations.

Transportation

The Transportation Department has more than 100 years experience in air and land transportation logistics, supply chain management, commercial risk management and technology.

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 57

Maritime

In-house maritime executives provide proven legal experience pertinent to the private security industry. He also has in-depth industry knowledge as an experienced independent contractor and corporate-level manager.

Military / Special Operations

IISS's Operations Department has more than 150 years combined senior military leadership–more than 100 of which represent special operations service.

SPECTRUM OF SERVICES

Personal Security

The IISS team asked ICOSA a question: “What is the most important asset you have? Is it your family, your business, your magazine, your web T.V. show? Or is it you?” We answered this question for them. It’s all of it!

Training and preparedness may be the determining factors in a life-or-death situation. The customized training programs at IISS will help prepare you as an individual, business group or family for the unknown threats that shadow us worldwide. No matter your current level of experience, our training in firearms, self-defense and hostage mitigation and survival will better prepare you for travel in any environment. This training will allow you to more effectively protect yourself, your family and your business.

We have developed a one-on-one full security assessment that will provide you with the most personalized, yet cost-effective, security solution. We are the full concierge security solution for your personal and corporate needs.

full-spectrum approach allows you to place risk mitigation confidently into the adept hands of IISS.

Technology–Implement and Control

We bring visibility and control to a new level. State-of-the-art technology includes software-based equipment to display and control security systems and assets from afar–allowing you to monitor remotely. We elevate visibility and control to a new level, offering real-time data from global systems in every field, building or rig you are monitoring.

Threat avoidance is key; anticipating a threat before it arises is imperative. Our technology provides detailed asset evaluation, allowing you and your IISS team to make the right decisions to ensure proper control.

Operatives–Protect and Sustain

Our selective hiring process ensures that only proven combat veterans become part of the team. All personnel deployed to critical locations are elite members of either the U.S. Army Special Forces–Green Berets or U.S. Navy Seals. All members who IISS deploys have gone through a careful selection process and detailed additional training on the latest tactics and techniques. Reassessment and retraining are a regular part of the operations cycle.

From the top down, your organization represents your values. Our operatives provide safety and protection of your assets with a professionalism and behind-the-scenes delivery to maintain your hard-earned reputation.

Integrated International Security Solutions is your

Executive, Personal and Family Foreign Travel Security Training

• Training for executive teams traveling abroad

• Individual and family home and travel security

• Specialized training for high-threat environments

• Situational awareness techniques

• Basic firearms training • Self-defense tactics • Women and children welcome

Disaster Preparedness Training

• Preparing for domestic disasters

• Foreign travel civil unrest preparedness

• Anti-kidnapping training • Hostage survival techniques • Carjacking preventative

measures

Firearms Training

• Basic pistol and assault rifle fundamentals

• Advanced pistol and rifle techniques

• Foreign weapons proficiency • Concealed and carry permits • Certified NRA instructors

INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS

Logistics–Assess and Empower

Our primary focus is the complete safety of your assets. Your IISS team begins the process with a one-on-one evaluation of every need–your resources and risks. This evaluation team consists of in-house industry professionals, field and managing directors.

Your specialized team uses a solid knowledge of the specific industry, mission expertise and corporate experience. This

turn-key solution for all your asset protection needs. Start to finish, we do it all–assess, implement and protect.

Affirmation

“When I decided to take my family to Africa, my first thought was the protection of my wife and daughters. I wanted this to be the memory of a lifetime for them, but I also I wanted them to be safe. Because we would be traveling through areas with a higher risk than what any of us were used to, I sought out the help of IISS. When I first met the staff, I knew this was a great decision. These are some of the highest quality people you will meet. In just two days, IISS trained my wife and me in firearms tactics and put my entire family through a readiness program that covered how to prevent and deal with attacks internationally. I wanted my family to be ready for anything and to be trained by the best. IISS was definitely the way to go. I would recommend IISS to anyone desiring the peace of mind of knowing they have properly prepared their family to identify and deal with the unpredictable threats that come with traveling abroad,” said Michael Willis, the president of a mutual fund company.

IISS has dedicated itself to empowering the very people who have given us freedom and recruits only the most professional and elite executives and operators. We will dedicate ourselves to the protection of your assets as we are the turn-key solution for all of your asset protection needs. Engage with Integrated International Security Solutions today and allow us to welcome you to the next generation of private security. Call today at 855-SOS-IISS, or visit us online at www.iissllc.com.

58 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

BUSINESS | TWINKLE BABY

Small Businesses

Surviving Challenging

TimesAn Interview with Twinkle

Baby’s Lara PebblesB Y K I M D E C O S T E

I COSA tells stories from all corners of the country and around the world. One small California-based company called Twinkle Baby is working hard to survive these challenging economic

times. Its founder and CEO, Lara Pebbles, is diligent in keeping her family, her home and her business running smoothly. California’s regulatory and lending environment is particularly challenging, and she has faced more than a few hurdles in recent years. It is interesting to hear how she is managing in these unsettled times. She serves as an example of many small businesses around the country right now. Here is our interview with Lara. ICOSA: Lara, tell us a bit about you and the history of your company.PEBBLES: Thank you for asking for my thoughts as a small-business owner on continuity and success over time for a California-based business. Twinkle Baby is a Santa Cruz, California, company established in 1997. We manufacture children’s specialty products, like the Twinkle Baby Bonding Doll, which is our signature product, and various styles of blankets and hats. We pride ourselves on the quality of our products, our customer service and our contribution to the community. We are committed to staying with our original idea of being a Made in America company.

ICOSA: What is your focus as you manage your business in a tough economy?PEBBLES: I firmly believe that to sustain a small business with continuity and success over time, one must focus on several key factors: (1) reducing costs, (2) creating competitive designs, (3)

the larger chains where the price-point was lower. We had to restructure, refocus and become more aggressive to win back our customers and gain new ones by providing attractive incentives, offering bigger discounts and being extremely price-competitive. We had to reconnect with our old customers, connect with new ones and give back to our community. We kept our Made in America integrity and continued to manufacture here in the U.S. We believe that all of our customers appreciated this continuity and have continued to purchase: and we believe that our recognizable branding really connects with the consumers and retailers in our market demographic area.

ICOSA: As a result of the pressure on your business, what have you done that is new or different in recent years to keep things moving in the right direction?PEBBLES: It has become essential for us to develop and implement different marketing tactics, based not only on the downturn in the economy and the competition, but also on the differences among potential customers to effectively increase market share for our particular product. This is challenging for any organization to do, but because we are small and we did not have a lot of resources (human or capital) to spare or to waste, it was really challenging.

seeking new markets, and (4) maintaining superior customer service. It is, however, equally important to retain good employees, which is tough too. Even in a down economy, where there are plenty of people looking for work, employers want to keep their best people. One must not only provide a good working environment, but implement a training and retention program to maintain the highest skill levels possible. At Twinkle Baby we find that a happy employee will provide quality products, which in turn will keep our customers happy. Ultimately, all of these factors represent the difference between success and failure.

ICOSA: What do think the role of small business is in the economy right now? How has it been for you and your employees?PEBBLES: I believe that small businesses are what drive the U.S. economy because they provide jobs–small businesses are critical to our economic growth and help keep America strong.

As a small business owner during this economic downfall, it became very clear that in order for the company’s direction and growth to be positive, we had to maintain our focus on keeping costs down, producing quality products, and providing consistent customer service. How did we maintain the same consistency when stores were closing and customers weren’t purchasing? It was obvious that we couldn’t continue at the same level, considering the market we were serving was now at a higher price-point for our children’s specialty line.

While trying to maintain a U.S.-based company during the economic crisis, we found that customers weren’t willing to continue to purchase at the same level–customers were instead purchasing from

"We had to restructure, refocus and become more aggressive to win back our customers and gain new ones."- Lara Pebbles

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 59

We have a niche market that is very popular with our customers, so we focused on multimedia and using the Internet more effectively, and we offer discounts to customers and retailers as a tactic to maintain consistent revenue and grow our company. These are not new tactics–but they are new tactics for us–which are helping us draw attention back to our brand.

I firmly believe that quality and service have to be maintained. It is critical for small businesses to be proactive by lowering prices and dropping their baseline to survive during tough economic times. The consumers will continue to buy, and more companies will be able to survive if they work smarter and focus on what matters most not only to them, but also to their customers. Customers need to be reminded about why they choose particular brands and why they should go on choosing them. Every dollar spent is like a vote of confidence in the product or service!

ICOSA: Has there been a single challenge that you have struggled with more than others?PEBBLES: (Laughing). Well, there have been many struggles, and believe me, my legislators have heard from me! We are not unique in this issue, however, and we have heard the same thing from others in business across the country, and here locally. The downside for many small businesses is the difficulties encountered in getting funding to improve your business. It takes money to make money, and the lack of access to capital has been staggering. There are Small Business Administration loans and other governmental programs designed to help small businesses stay afloat, but too often these programs have requirements that are just too hard for small businesses to meet–especially during

a downturn in the economy. There are just too many hoops to jump through. The reality is that unless a small-business owner has a stellar credit rating, neither the government nor the banks are giving loans, and maintaining that stellar credit while balancing work and life challenges is exceedingly difficult.

ICOSA: What do you think the outlook is, and how are you feeling about Twinkle Baby’s future and your own?PEBBLES: I am trying to stay optimistic. The reality is that during this tough time, I have managed change in my family life. I have helped a couple of friends try to hold on to or maintain their own small businesses, and I have children approaching graduations and college. I am lucky to have a tremendous network here in Santa Cruz who really have stood by me through the difficulties, and I have amazing

children, so that is all good. But it is getting harder. A couple of friends recently have given up, closed up shop and are back on the job market. I am trying to be as creative as I can be to balance my personal income needs with the costs of doing business, and hope that we can stay afloat.

Whatever happens, Twinkle Baby and the experience of building this little company from a dream to reality has been instructive and made my life so much richer. I know I have skills that would allow re-entry to the job market if I have to, but I hope to continue building our customer base so the company can grow.

If nothing else, Twinkle Baby is a chapter in the story of my life that is allowing me to build tremendous relationships with all kinds of people, whom I would have otherwise not met. Relationships with new people are a kind of capital themselves, and they often help bring about exciting new things–like the chance to talk to ICOSA! Thanks so much for letting me share with your readers!

Lara Pebbles is the mother of three amazing children, CEO of Twinkle Baby, and sits on several nonprofit boards in the Santa Cruz area. For information, please visit: www.TwinkleBaby.com.

"The experience of building this little company from a dream to reality has been instructive and made my life so much richer."- Lara Pebbles

60 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

BUSINESS | ADAPTING TO CHANGE

Listening and Adapting to Change for Long-Term Success

B Y D I A N E I R V I N

For sustainable, consistent growth, businesses must listen to their clients, adapt and evolve to meet their ever-changing needs. The risk of change in a business can be substantially reduced if leaders have a quality baseline assessment of their organization’s current reality, make data-driven business decisions, and track trends against

that baseline over a period of time. In service industries, such as hospitals or trucking companies,

where labor is a significant budget item, having the tools, processes and professional expertise to monitor the impact of change on the workforce is essential. In fact, seven engaged employees, whose hearts, minds and energy are focused on quality, can do the work of 10 merely satisfied employees whose hands and feet may do the job, with one eye on the time clock. Management can ill afford not to be attuned to the needs of the organism–the dynamic entity that is their organization.

Listening Through Quality Data

Expertly surveying the workforce to collect enough reliable data for a baseline is key to making successful decisions. Quality responses from the workforce can provide leaders with deeper insight into what they may have suspected intuitively about the organization, while creating an environment of trust in which innovative solutions can germinate.

In today’s data-rich yet information-poor environment, it can often be overwhelming and difficult to determine what information is valid and reliable. Internal surveys of employees do not result in the quality of data that can be collected by external third-party experts in research. Unless it is a regular part of their jobs, human resource professionals can rarely devote the time needed to assess employee opinions, develop reports and analyze the data. The objectivity on internally conducted surveys is skewed by auspices bias–the respondent’s tendency to answer according to the surveyor’s preference and employees fears of breach of confidentiality. Therefore,

decision makers who want to listen to an organization through employee surveys should rely on an outside human resource research and consulting firm.

In order to collect reliable data, the complex process begins with communicating to employees the purpose of the research and establishing trust in the researchers and the process. The data collection process continues by conducting the research according to protocols that produce high participation, reporting and interpreting the results, summarizing data trends, working with stakeholders to set priorities, outlining an action plan and delegating responsibility for outcomes according to an agreed-upon timeline. Expertise in each step of the process is required to ensure that the data will be collected effectively, understood completely and used successfully to achieve the organization’s objectives.

Data-driven decisions create trust and reduce the risk of change, partly because leaders and other stakeholders share

a clear understanding that is based on data, rather than ego, status, power or politics. As our healthcare and trucking industry clients can attest, using data to create a goal-oriented map is a long-term process, not a one-time event.

Using Data to Reduce Costly Nurse Turnover

Registered nurse (RN) turnover in hospitals conservatively costs $90,000 per RN, and is a major contributor to the high cost of healthcare. One of the nation’s largest healthcare systems uses RN exit interview data to identify ongoing trends that drive

Turnover in hospitals conservatively costs $90,000 per registered nurse, and is a major contributor to the high cost of healthcare.

14

YEARS 1-3 TURNOVER REDUCTION

12

10

8

6

Ann

ualiz

ed

Turn

over

%

All Jobs RNs

FY07 Q1FY07 Q2

FY07 Q3FY07 Q4

FY08 Q1FY08 Q2

FY08 Q3FY08 Q4

FY09 Q1FY09 Q2

FY09 Q3FY09 Q4

FY010 Q1

Time

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 61

turnover among nurses in its hospitals. When Strategic Programs, Inc., began conducting exit interviews for its 43 hospitals, the healthcare system had above-average nurse turnover. Determined to improve, they identified a percentage of turnover that was acceptable and established a baseline measurement of their turnover.

Over a period of eight years, they repeated the process for improvement–interpreting exit interview data, outlining action plans, implementing interventions and measuring the results of interventions–and succeeded in reducing turnover 4.2 percent beyond their established goal.

Once the system reached its turnover percentage goal, they continued the process for improvement by celebrating their strengths and successes, while outlining an action plan for new successes. While system leaders committed to continue monitoring turnover, they expanded their focus to employee engagement–making a conscious effort to involve staff in listening to their survey data, conducting data-driven action planning and implementing interventions. As a long-term result, they reduced unwanted turnover among clinical staff, thereby reducing patient safety incidents and re-admissions and improving employee morale and productivity.

Using Data to Encourage Cultural Change

A Strategic Programs, Inc., trucking client has its own success story that began in 2005, when they were experiencing high turnover among the drivers and misinterpreted early improvement as permanent improvement. While Boyd Brothers had been relying on data from surveys to offer short-term solutions to its personnel problems, its leadership realized that utilizing data from employee surveys could also help them implement cultural change and keep the focus on a long-term solution.

“In the beginning surveys were a reliable way to identify some low-hanging fruit, which offered quick rewards and motivated us to continue improvements,” said Richard Bailey, president of Boyd Brothers. “Once the pain had eased, it was too easy to turn to other problems and lose sight of the original one,” he explained. Partnering with experienced human resource consultants helped Boyd Brothers keep their focus and continue their successful journey to change and stabilize their company culture.

During the recession, the company was forced to cut driver pay four times. However, during this difficult economic time, driver

morale actually improved. Why? Leadership clearly communicated the rationale behind the cuts, and also took pay cuts alongside the drivers. “We were able to make good decisions because we knew what our drivers were thinking,” said Bailey.

The Boyd Brothers journey toward cultural change required commitment, persistence and focus. Through data collected by third-party interviews, the leadership actively listened to their drivers and identified specific fleet managers whose ineffective practices were directly contributing to driver turnover. Leadership then provided coaching and training to help these managers learn more effective communication techniques. Consequently, their fleet

managers eventually met and then surpassed industry scores. By 2010, Boyd was named “Best Company in North America to Drive For,” largely because of their excellent fleet managers. Listening to their drivers, and developing an action plan to train their managers, took Boyd Brothers as a company from good to great.

Collecting reliable data by a third party over a period of time is the best way to listen, and then make informed data-driven decisions. While short-term success can be motivating, it can also be misleading. Commitment to the process of improvement is crucial to continuing success over time.

When businesses operate effectively and leaders listen to employees through quality surveys, they have reliable data to drive decisions, which improves the work life of their employees, partners, clients and communities, which ultimately expands to the global economy. Together, historical trends and real-time data create a roadmap that can drive success. It all starts with listening.

Diane Irvin is the senior vice president and co-founder of Strategic Programs, Inc. For more information, visit www.strategicprogramsinc.com, or call 1.800.800.5476.

62 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

BUSINESS | CONSIGLI CONSTRUCTION

» Westover Readiness Center » Cambridge Public Library

Generations of SuccessHow One Family Owned Business Carries on a Passion for BuildingB Y H E L E N N O V A K

Creating a Legacy

W ith his humble roots as a masonry contractor in suburban Massachusetts, one could reasonably speculate that Italian immigrant Peter Consigli never imagined that in 100 years

his great-grandsons would be leading a construction management firm currently ranked as the 78th largest in the country, with gross annual revenues more than $633 million, a bonding capacity of $1 billion, and more than 600 employees building projects for private and public clients throughout New England and New York.

Commonly quoted family owned-businesses statistics state that 30 percent make it to the second generation, 10-15 percent to the third, and three to five percent to the fourth generation. Luckily for Consigli, the work ethic, integrity, family cohesiveness and passion for building that began with Peter and his sons in 1905 are clearly alive and well today. Into its fourth generation of leadership, Consigli is one of the few family owned businesses that have not only endured, but flourished.

Until the early 1990s, the small construction firm operated primarily in and around Milford, Massachusetts, a western suburb of Boston, providing building and masonry work, including snowplowing, utility work and grave excavation for all the local cemeteries. As each new generation took the reins, the following generation would cut its teeth in the business by plowing snow in the winters and digging graves during the summers.

In the mid-1990s, at the age of 28, Anthony Consigli followed in his father’s footsteps and took on the role as president. Shortly

thereafter, his younger brother Matthew joined as vice president. At the time, the recession was hitting the building industry pretty hard, and Anthony and his brother knew that the old business model wasn’t going to work any longer. Consigli had to grow or die.

Standing Apart

Several things needed to happen. In order to ensure the company’s continued health and growth, the brothers knew that clear competitive distinctions needed to be identified and marketed to prospective clients. Consigli’s significant differentiator always has been its ability to self-perform work in the field. With specialized trades on staff, Consigli could exert

more control over the job sites, which meant more control over the budget, housekeeping and safety, as well as schedule.

By building on the strength of its self-perform work, Consigli could deliver old-world, hands-on craftsmanship unmatched by many construction managers in the industry–who mostly outsourced that skilled labor. By combining construction management with genuine builders, particularly in complex restoration projects, Consigli would be unique in the building industry.

Another distinction is the consistent involvement of Anthony and Matthew in every aspect of the business. This keeps the decision-making process more nimble, more responsive and efficient, giving the feel of a smaller company

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 63

while offering all the resources and technologies of a larger, multinational company. The result is a better experience for clients.

Anthony explains, “We recently went through a negotiation on a very difficult project with a client that does a lot of work with a lot of different firms. The entire negotiation took an hour, with just me going through all the points directly with the client–no attorneys. At the end the client said, ‘This is the easiest client negotiation we’ve ever had.’ Usually there are layers of people internally, another construction manager and other lawyers involved, and it can make for a very cumbersome process. But for Consigli, it’s either me or my brother; there’s no one else. We are the ultimate decision-makers.”

Focusing on Your Passion

Early in his career at Consigli, Anthony served as project manager on a utility project that did not turn out well. Local papers publicized the failure. Although quite painful, and momentarily damaging to the company’s reputation, this seminal moment would help to bring about significant positive change. Anthony decided that the company would no longer do utility and civil work–the renewed focus would be on what the people at Consigli loved to do the most, and that was building buildings. Because masonry represented the company’s initial roots and has continued to be a mainstay throughout its history, a specialty was built around building restoration, which remains a primary market today.

“One of the things that I see in our industry is that as a family owned builder in New England, Consigli competes a lot against larger, pure construction managers, who are very good at what they do. But I think that one of the differences a client might see on our projects is that we approach a job with a bit more emotion and passion, care and concern. We love the building process. For us, a project is a great opportunity to build something that’s going to last for a long time. We get excited about that. We don’t look at our projects as a job number on a financial transaction sheet; we look at them as pictures, in plans, and relationships, and with enthusiasm–and that brings about a whole different level of excitement to a project and makes for a better experience. We want to get to the end of the job and hear the client say, ‘Hey that was great, I want to do that again,’” says Anthony.

Living by Your Values

Construction is an inherently risky business, and problems crop up with every project. Consigli prepares for those situations ahead of time by holding fast to some non-negotiable principles. Putting safety first is one, providing quality workmanship is another, and accountability is probably the most important.

A few years ago, Anthony was at a town meeting and saw someone he had met before and felt he should know, but couldn’t place. He also vaguely remembered that the prior experience with this person was not good. The woman approached him and said, “It’s so nice to see you Anthony! We had such a good experience working with you!” Then it all came back to him. Several years earlier, there was a large building renovation project in which the new windows were beginning to show signs of future leaking. And although there was no demand from the client or claim to replace them, the superintendent on the job notified Anthony and recommended full replacement of all the windows. Anthony agreed, saying, “It was the right thing

to do. This was a building that was going to be there for another 100 years, and we certainly didn’t want our name to be associated with a building with windows that were leaking.” Anthony kept one of those replaced windows. It sits in his office as a reminder–to not only uphold the quality of work, but also to remember that a quick response and care for the work must be of primary importance over profit and loss. That woman at the town meeting didn’t remember the problems on the project; she just remembered that Consigli took care of everything, and that the building turned out great.

“It all boils down to integrity, honesty and doing what you say you are going to do–which was something my great-grandfather, grandfather and father were committed to,” says Anthony.

Planning Ahead

Committed to systematic planning, the brothers had the patience and perseverance to plant the seeds for future work to put Consigli in the healthy position to pursue projects strategically in the down economy. Despite the strength of some building markets in the mid-1990s, they were determined to diversify Consigli’s work to weather any future market dips. They pursued federal work, while other firms were busy building high-rise luxury condominiums. When Consigli won four significant federal projects in 2008, the building industry hit a standstill in other markets, and competitors began scrambling to pursue federal and state work. Well, Consigli was already there.

The economic downturn also caused increased enrollments at public colleges, which now needed

64 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

BUSINESS | CONSIGLI CONSTRUCTION

» West Point USMA Science Center

renovations and additions. With Consigli’s solid experience working for institutions and private colleges, they were well-positioned to take on this new influx of work. And, the company’s healthy backlog enabled it to offer excellent employment opportunities to some of the most experienced construction management and tradespeople in New England who were being laid off. By actively recruiting professionals in a variety of specialties, Consigli was able to fill many skill sets in its workforce and maintain its talent and volume of work by broadening its reach into new markets, such as life sciences.

Reinventing and Reinvesting

Reinvesting in the company also created the opportunity to grow during a recession and take advantage of the next trends in building and growth markets. Committed to taking calculated risks and reinvest in the business, Consigli acquired a small construction firm in the Hudson Valley region of New York in 2009. This enabled the company to expand its geographic reach beyond New England in an area that offered much in the way of academic, historic, health care and cultural projects, which represent some of the company’s core specialties. By this time, the firm already had thriving offices in Portland, Maine, and Connecticut.

In order to keep growing and evolving, Anthony and Matthew knew they had to challenge themselves and their employees to continually embrace advanced building technologies and tools such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Vela, and to innovate and devise solutions to the most complex construction problems.

“BIM provides one of the biggest positive changes for our industry in a long time. We are promoting it internally and externally as a better tool to plan our work. Whether it’s in the coordination of the mechanical or electrical systems, or it’s in thinking about the schedule, or just allowing the superintendent

to think about the sequence of how they are going to put their work together. I think it is going to be something that we continue to promote hard and invest in, and I think that it’s really one of the catalysts for positive change that we’ve seen in this industry in a long time,” says Anthony.

Growing Future Leaders

Since the formation of Consigli, its mission has always been one of customer service and building great buildings, but it evolved in later years to also focus more heavily on its employees and on becoming one of the best places to work in New England. As a result of this focus, Consigli received both the Massachusetts and Central Massachusetts Family Business Awards in 2009 and has been ranked one of Massachusetts’s “Best Place to Work” for six years running and, in 2011, was named Maine’s #1 Best Places to Work in the large firm category.

The current company mission, “Consigli will be the most desired contractor to work with and for,” embodies values that emphasize world-class treatment of employees and clients. This mission reflects the Consigli family belief that employees who enjoy coming to work will take greater pride in their performance, and as a result, will give clients the best experience possible when they choose to work with Consigli.

Consigli’s approach to business and to creating a work environment that empowers employees has built a culture of responsibility to the company, its clients and to each other. Embracing the mantra of creating “Raving Fans” of clients and making that part of the company directive has sparked new

meaning behind client service and quality work. Building teams have a renewed sense of urgency and improved work ethic.

“Our people have a passion for building above all else. We thrive on complex projects that challenge our creativity and call for innovation. We know we must compete and earn our work every day, and that leaders do that best. We know that sustaining our team requires that we recruit, train, mentor and motivate,” says Anthony.

Despite the fact that both Anthony and Matthew have many years left in their careers, they have established a formal leadership development program to cultivate future leaders across all departments.

“One of things I am most proud of here at Consigli is the family of people that we built around us over the years. Making sure those people stay committed, stay happy in their work, and enjoy what they do is extremely important,” says Anthony. “A big part of leadership is setting goals and then guiding our people and organization to meet those goals. A bigger part of leadership is how we get to those goals. It’s about keeping people together when things get difficult. It’s about resilience and perseverance during hard times and doing the right thing–showing character and class when it matters.”

Helen Novak is public relations manager at Consigli Construction Co., Inc. Based in Milford, Massachusetts, Consigli is a full-service construction manager and general contractor serving academic, health care, institutional, life sciences, corporate, landmark restoration and federal clients throughout New England and New York State. To learn more about Consigli, visit www.consigli.com or contact Helen at hnovak@consigli.com.

"It all boils down to integrity, honesty and doing what you say you are going to do–which was something my great-grandfather, grandfather and father were committed to." - Anthony Consigli

US DOT Region 7 University Transportation Center

Inform. Innovate. Impact.

For more information about MATC or to sponsor a student in our K-12 afterschool program please visit matc.unl.edu.

MATC is a consortium of 8 universities headquartered at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Partners include the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, the University of Missouri, Lincoln University, and the Missouri University of Science and Technology.

The Mid-America Transportation Center (MATC) facilitates world class education, workforce development, and technology transfer initiatives. MATC’s research portfolio surrounds the central theme of improving safety and minimizing risk associated with increasing multi-modal freight movements on the U.S. surface transportation system.

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is an equal opportunity educator and employer.

US DOT Region 7 University Transportation Center

Inform. Innovate. Impact.

For more information about MATC or to sponsor a student in our K-12 afterschool program please visit matc.unl.edu.

MATC is a consortium of 8 universities headquartered at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Partners include the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, the University of Missouri, Lincoln University, and the Missouri University of Science and Technology.

The Mid-America Transportation Center (MATC) facilitates world class education, workforce development, and technology transfer initiatives. MATC’s research portfolio surrounds the central theme of improving safety and minimizing risk associated with increasing multi-modal freight movements on the U.S. surface transportation system.

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is an equal opportunity educator and employer.

66 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

BUSINESS | SHINISE IN PRACTICE

» Sasaki Shuzou Sake Brewery

A Culture of CareShinise in PracticeB Y C A N D A C E R U I Z

In April 2012, I attended the SEE Conference (Sustainability, Ethics and Entrepreneurship) at the University of Denver where academic researchers from around the world present their work. At this event, we could see a shift in business practices that can produce a more just and sustainable world. As we begin the movement from shareholders to stakeholders, many top businesses are changing their practices to reflect their internal and external demands. But this has been going on for centuries in Japan. During the poster session at the SEE Conference, researchers from the

University of Northern Colorado and Kobe University displayed their investigation on the Japanese practices of Shinise. They recognized the carefulness in goods and services that were produced in Japan, and they set out to discover the mystery of these long-lasting companies. At a follow up interview with Dr. Keiko Krahnke, associate professor of Management, University of Northern Colorado, the spirit of Shinise was revealed.

The foundation of Shinise stems from ancient merchants called Ohmi, who traveled throughout Japan. These merchants showed integrity in actions and products, existed harmoniously with stakeholders, demonstrated fair and honest manners as the only way to succeed in business, and

valued the spirit of care and living simply.

Today, Shinise businesses are known in Japan as long-lasting companies that demonstrate sound principles of responsibility for their actions and products; they agree that when profits are up–more is given to society. Furthermore, they believe that companies should never waste even in times of abundance, and that they should demonstrate care for everything. They are small businesses, usually restaurants, hotels and artisans, some that have been in business for more than 400 years. Their common characteristics are intuitive methods of clarity and continuity of corporate culture and values, learning systems built on relationships, and balancing tradition with innovation through gradual change. They tend to shy away from notoriety and are thankful and humble to be able to stay in business each day.

Other commonalities are that many are family businesses but are open to bringing in top talent; they change with time, but the core business doesn’t change. They know who they are, including their values and strength. They do not invest in opportunities if not in alignment with core values, and they serve the community. The service to community is by building relationships. For instance, in a restaurant they know where all their ingredients come from, even the areas where the seaweed is harvested. Shinise values include honesty, excellence, tradition and intimate relationships with the natural environment.

Continuance, not growth, is the goal of a Shinise company. One can expect the handing down of tradition and values for the business, including understanding that it is not important to make money

» Hyotei Pine Forest & Tea House

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 67

but know how to spend it. The Western business practices of reduced prices and sales tactics are not used but rather fair pricing. Shinise companies usually don’t market or advertise. The company’s undisclosed skills and competencies make the company unique. Some other common elements among Shinise businesses are the value of trust, collaboration not competition, improved employee performance through mentoring, the use of intuition, review opportunities for innovation, and continuance not growth. They are businesses that live and operate on absolute trust, value continuance or the quality of their products, and rely on centuries-old wisdom.

To recognize a company with the spirit of Shinise, one should look for the Noren. This symbolic cloth may have the company logo or a symbol that hangs in the entrance. This cloth symbolizes that the business can be completely trusted to protect and continue the value and quality of the company. The Noren conveys to the world the gratitude of being able to operate the business another day. Another tradition that has influenced the business practice of Shinise is the tea ceremony, Sado. This ceremony allows guests to recognize the service is for them; serving the very best to the guests and showing transparency are two values shown in this ceremony. The next step in the ceremony is Wabi and Sabi, which help to recognize what is unnecessary and eliminate it–to focus on what is important. Other stages of the tea ceremony include value the work, appreciate each encounter and relationship, harmony, respect for others and quiet our minds so we appreciate the moment.

In Japan today, there are 145 companies that were founded before 1602. As trusted Shinise companies, they have used the principles to continue in business today. The central region of Japan has a significant number of Shinise companies. The 400-year-old restaurant called Hyotei is a tea house in a pine forest and is located in an old trekking region (like U.S. truck stops). Tired travelers stopped to change straw shoes but requested the restaurant serve more than just tea; herein developed the eggs known as “Hyotei Eggs.” Still in business, Hyotei is one of the most well-known and trusted restaurants in Japan for its excellent food and elegant presentations. With three stars on the Michelin Guide in 2009 and high-ranking officials visiting, guests will not see award plaques, framed newspaper articles or any sign of their prestige as humility is one of the important values handed down for many generations.

Japanese sandals are a recognized tradition and the 115-year-old manufacturer, Itochu, has followed the Shinise principles throughout time. The current owner acknowledges the external pressures to implement new ideas but emphasizes the importance of balancing the old with the new. Following the Shinise principles, he will ask the question, “Would this change be in alignment of who we are and what we are about? Would this be in our best interest?” He also described the dilemma of efficiency and effectiveness and explained that he would not consider efficient ways to management or manufacturing if it, in any way, diminishes their values. The tradition for sandal making always includes that the product is made with care, thoughtfulness and precision.

In the late 1800s Sasaki Shuzou, a sake brewery, started up in Kyoto. Shying away from a Shinise brand today because it was such

a young company, the current owner stated it is important to continue the values of the business rather than growing it. Included in the brewing process are new technologies and innovative ideas, but maintaining the quality and the taste of the traditional style are a priority.

The Shinise business relies on intuition to continue the brand. By examining Shinise business practices, Western companies have the tools to build long-lasting organizations. In fact, as my company develops to support the emerging market of social responsibility, we’ve come to realize that companies want to instill these principles in their company but are reluctant to accept intuition as their guideline.

Dr. Krahnke agrees. She emphasizes that the Western attitude in business is, “we make things happen,” or “we want nature to bow down to our needs and wants, and we ’tinker’ with nature.” People of Japan are accepting of what happens, and they show resilience. The Japanese culture is not so action-oriented. As the researchers continue their qualitative study, they are interviewing more companies to identify those traits of Shinise in Japan. The inspiration to study these practices was to identify the care Japanese take in their service and share the knowledge of why they have so much heart and care. What they were discovering was seeing that U.S. companies are not necessarily reflective.

In fact, Shinise businesses are more interested in slow or no growth and to trust their intuition and value more than any bottom-line number.

In Western business, we utilize corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices as a way to demonstrate to stakeholders the ethics, values and beliefs of a company. CSR is a learned practice that begins with empathy and guidelines beyond obeying the law. Will CSR be the Shinise of Japan? American business will find useful the methods of the Shinise practices–of care, understanding systems, embracing collectivism, and continuance and by looking and learning from the ones who have gone before.

Research provided from the unpublished paper, “The Spirit of Shinise: What we can learn from long-lived Japanese companies,” by Keiko Krahnke, University of Northern Colorado; Isaac Wanasika, University of Northern Colorado; Yasuhiro Kanbe, Kobe University; and a personal interview with Dr. Krahnke.

Candace Ruiz, MBA, is the co-founder and managing director, speaker, trainer and corporate social responsibility specialist at Business Service Corps, LLC (BSC). As a social enterprise, BSC assists companies with high-impact community engagement programs. The company has developed a unique experiential leadership training program focused on corporate, global and community citizenship. Candace is also a part-time professor of business in the Colorado Community College System. To learn more about Business Service Corps, visit www.BusinessServiceCorps.com.

Shinise businesses are more interested in slow or no growth and to trust their intuition and value more than any bottom-line number.

» Andy Boian

68 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

BUSINESS | DOVETAIL SOLUTIONS™

dovetail solutions™Stability in MotionB Y G A I L F R A N C E S , W I T H J U D Y T A Y L O R

Andy Boian chuckles. “It’s not rocket surgery,” an amusing malapropism borrowed from one of his two young children, one that Andy uses frequently to make a humorous point. Humor and humility stand out at the onset as one of his most endearing characteristics. It is no surprise that his unique boutique firm,

dovetail solutions™, of which he is founder and CEO, has become a distinguished model of success for more than seven years. Continuity is central to his personal and professional core, and continuity is the substance from which his character was rooted.

Both he and his wife are homegrown Coloradoans of second and fifth generations, respectively. Boian’s face lights up when he talks about his young family, his Colorado ancestry, and when he reflects on his well-grounded past. His philosophy began taking form early in his life at Regis Jesuit High School, an all-boys’ school, where he learned the value of service as a young, impressionable man in the program Men for Others. There he was taught about serving; serving as a son to his family, serving a partner to his spouse, and serving as a responsible community member. This is where he was also taught the unforgettable motto, “your community belongs to you and you to your community.” This stuck with him and became part of the filament from which his moral fabric was shaped.

Boian’s favorite high school teacher was the late Dan Sarlo, a Boettcher scholar and former Peace Corp English teacher. “Mr. Sarlo taught us about serving, and the importance of what happens worldwide,” which fit seamlessly into Boian’s selflessness and his natural penchant for connecting. In fact, he perfectly fits the descriptor “connector” in Malcolm Gladwell’s popular book, The Tipping Point, where the author elaborates on the "The Law of the Few," or, as Gladwell explains, “the idea that in any situation roughly 80 percent of the 'work' will be done by 20 percent of the participants.” Connectors are people who link us up with the world ... people with a special gift for bringing the world together. Connecting comes naturally for Boian, and it is one of his greatest attributes–it’s in his DNA.

In civics class he would listen intently to Carl Kasell on NPR, which was a much-anticipated unique highlight of Sarlo’s civics class senior source project that underscored worldwide awareness and nation-building for others. This was Boian’s early introduction into the fascinating world of political science, and it resonated with him.

When Boian was 25, he became a senior VP of business development for a large telecommunications firm based in Denver

and was responsible for marketing and community investment in 11 different markets nationwide. His team grew revenue significantly for four consecutive years. Later, he was instrumental in two different companies exceeding their community involvement goals, and he assisted numerous senior-level executives to become well integrated into the communities in which they worked and served.

In 1994, after graduating from the University of Northern Colorado with a major in political science and pre-law, he continued his studies with the goal of making his communication business more efficient. He graduated from the University of Colorado at Denver in 1999 earning a master’s in public administration (MPA). Never straying far from the academic world, Boian is a part-time professor of political science at Metropolitan State University of Denver and was honored to receive Metro State’s “Favorite Professor” award in 2003 and 2006. He is also an adjunct professor of international studies at the University of Denver and has taught at the University of Colorado. Moreover, he was recognized by his alma mater as an alumnus of distinction in 2011, the first in political science in

the history of the university.Another significant person

in Boian’s life was and still is Cole Finegan, longtime Denver attorney and Governor John Hickelooper's former chief of staff. Boian and Finegan worked together during the 1991 mayoral race, which provided the extraordinary opportunity for their relationship to develop. “Cole knows what community is about; he is very clear about intent and is devoted to public servitude.” He has been Boian’s mentor since 1991 and presently serves on his board. Once again, the mysterious laws of attraction manifested, and a great stroke of luck struck. Meeting Finegan was when preparation met opportunity again.

These early influences and influencers unquestionably made lasting impressions, as they are central to the elemental structure of dovetail solutions™, the privately held Denver firm Boian founded in 2005. “Key to a successful business is building one’s brand,” and he learned long ago that he cannot be “all things to all people,” so he very strategically aligned his firm with the B2B professional in mind. Service firms such as insurance companies, banks, law firms, engineering firms and CPA firms, to name a few, make up his discerning clientele.

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 69

“The ideal business climate is one that holds relationships to a higher standard. Trust, integrity, honesty and loyalty are key aspects of any great decision maker–in business, in politics, in life.” Boian and his team built dovetail solutions™ into a one-of-a-kind public relations, branding and positioning firm that specializes in strategic communications, crisis communications, social media, employee communications and their exclusive Strategic Community Investment–invest in the community and people will reinvest in you. dovetail solution’s™ campaigns integrate the client’s company into the communities they serve, promoting their business and leveraging their reputations.

The core values of the company reflect his personal and holistic core values–community, partnership and integrity. “Your most valuable commodities are your time and money.” And his firm is committed to help maximize both. These are not aspirations but affirmations that he and his team live each and every day. It’s really a simple philosophy:

• To be remembered, you have to show up.• Your best resource is your community. Make it a core part of your

business.• An effective market presence takes more than a good brand. It

takes relationships–good ones.

“Andy works really hard to make connections between people; whenever he gets involved in something he really engages and commits himself to the success of the project,” said Tami Door, president and CEO, Downtown Denver Partnership.

Although the firm has experienced laudable success, it has not been free from challenges. “We started late in the recession, and in the beginning had to do a little belt-tightening,” which is counterintuitive to a growing business, he said. “Starting the firm on the upside of the downward business cycle was a bit daunting, but we stuck to our guns knowing we were creating a firm that offered something unique.” Behind the scenes he worked strategically on his formula with his informal board with the knowledge that the customers who represent the clientele he serves “don’t buy from an ad on a bus.” So he connected the dots with strategic precision and began the process of growing his organization organically.

On November 2, 2011, dovetail solutions™ acquired Story + Welch LLP, a Denver-based public relations firm that focused on B2B, professional services and technology clients. The acquisition not only expanded dovetail’s client roster, but as part of the transaction Story + Welch co-founder Jeremy Story joined dovetail solutions™ as president, bringing more than 15 years of experience developing and executing high-profile communication campaigns for organizations ranging from Fortune 100 to private start-ups. This fortuitous event strengthened the dovetail management team and positioned the firm to continue significant growth.

Kittie Hook, senior VP of Cassidy Turley Fuller Real Estate, explained, “I enjoy working with Andy because he takes on a client and gives personal attention to their needs. He is always finding new ways to expose and market the client or project. He is genuine and caring for all his clients, and he has a sense for community. He helps his clients,

and the communities prosper at the same time. He is well respected in the community, and he is always in touch with current events and issues.”

True to form, Boian doesn’t stop with his business. He has also been actively involved in politics at the local and national levels, working on both sides of the aisle as a senior campaign adviser and speechwriter. In these capacities he has worked on numerous mayoral, gubernatorial and presidential campaigns over the past 21 years. He served on the transition team for a former U.S. interior secretary and also the nation’s 42nd president, Bill Clinton. His political work takes him to many locations throughout the United States.

“This has been a journey of both growth and self-discovery,” Boian says. “I’ve learned a great deal about myself from my mistakes. I’ve come face-to-face with my faults–which I’m eager to correct–so I can move forward in new, productive and positive ways.” Although he has built a talented and accountable team, the buck stops with him. His biggest lesson is that “I have learned to be more humble,” he said.

Philanthropy is also fundamental to Boian’s generosity of heart, and he is committed to the plight of the defenseless. He serves as board chair of the Kempe Foundation for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse. He admits sadly that his company and family resources are not enough to solve or even make a significant dent in the enormity of the problem of child abuse, but he intends to put forth everything in his power to tackle the problem head-on. He is committed and intends to serve that underreported population.

Besides his work with the Kempe Foundation, Boian is remarkably active in the Denver community. He is the founder of ExecConnect, vice chair of the Denver Botanic

Gardens board, chair of the Downtown Denver Partnership membership committee, a member of Colorado Succeeds board of advisers, a corporate committee member of The Children’s Hospital, a member of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation Board of Governors, member of CXO, a part of the 2011 DMCLF National Philanthropy Day selection committee, a member of numerous committees at the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and a part of the Public Relations Society of America. The company sponsors several nonprofits with professional services gratis and actively participates in the Denver Public Schools Foundation’s School Partners Program at Columbian Elementary School in northwest Denver.

Recently, so much has happened with the growth of the business that he feels the need to step back and take a look at the bigger picture. He is having a bit of a challenge learning how to get away from it all. Naturally, he wants his family to be there with him to take in all the pleasures he experiences. But with two young children, ages five and two, it’s not always easy to pack everyone up and get out of town. However, he does manage to carve out some time for the 50-mile Santa Fe Century Ride, a warm-up for the longer 150-mile MS Ride for Life. And, he thoroughly enjoys everything life has to offer.

Cole Finegan, now a partner with Hogan Lovells, says, “Andy has grown a thriving firm, despite a down economy and a slowdown in hiring. One of the keys to great achievement is the ability and desire to give back. I have known Andy for over 20 years, and he continues to be a person who embraces his civic role and gives back to our community.”

“Take a big breath,” suggests one of his colleagues. After all, “it’s not rocket surgery.”

“The ideal business climate is one that holds relationships to a higher standard. Trust, integrity, honesty and loyalty are key aspects of any great decision maker–in business, in politics, in life." - Andy Boian

70 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

BUSINESS | STRANAHAN’S COLORADO WHISKEY

What Do Success and Continuity Taste Like?

ICOSA Talks to Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey to Find OutB Y D A R R Y L W A T S O N

There are not too many people who can remember the nuances of flavor profiles over time. For most,

the recollection of a special occasion may be highlighted by what is consumed, but the drink itself rarely lingers in the memory most of us. In the beverage industry, however, continuity is a requirement for success. Whether one is talking about vintage champagne, a great craft beer or a special spirit, beverages constitute for many, one of life’s great pleasures. And for those tasked with production and quality control for iconic brands, it is a responsibility not to be taken lightly.

ICOSA sat down with head distiller Rob Dietrich of Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey at the Rackhouse Pub, and learned a few things about the creation of an iconic Colorado brand and the challenges of building it while maintaining 100 percent devotion to the quality of every single precious bottle.

ICOSA: How did you get started in the whiskey-making business?DIETRICH: In 2006, I met the original head distiller, Jake Norris, through a mutual love

of vintage motorcycles and alternative fuels. He wanted to fix his bike up to run entirely off the spent heads from the still, and I had been working on a diesel motorcycle, fashioned with an engine from a cement mixer, which used vegetable oil as its fuel. We hit it off. I started helping him with some bottling, and almost immediately he asked me to be a night distiller.

ICOSA: Now you are the head distiller at Stranahan's. What do you do?DIETRICH: I am in charge of all production, everything from the grain, to brewing, to distilling, management of the barrelhouse, barrel aging, barrel selection (20 barrels for each batch), and bottling. I also manage 12 full-time employees and six part-time tour guides.

ICOSA: The company is entirely based in Colorado, correct?DIETRICH: Stranahan's has always been in Colorado, and everything we do is homegrown and local, as much as possible. We are now owned by Proximo Spirits, based out of New Jersey, but operationally, we maintain the quality and care we have always had, and the good news is that we have a larger

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 71

budget, which has allowed us to get more equipment, and expand our rack house, in order to meet the demand for our whiskey.

ICOSA: Growth is a good problem to have. Can you talk about some of the challenges you faced from your start in the business up to now?DIETRICH: In 2004, we were originally housed in part of the Flying Dog Brewery's building, and we contracted them to brew our wash for us. They actually had pipes run from their side, over the building, into the still house, into holding tanks, and from that we would distill the product. We were making about three barrels a week, back then.

But then the entire brewery moved away! Flying Dog moved to Maryland, and we had to contract out for someone else to brew our wash for us. The loss of our contractor left us hanging, so for a bit, we had Oskar Blues brewing for us and transporting the wash in giant milk trucks.

ICOSA: Can you describe the process of making whiskey?DIETRICH: A lot of people ask how we make our mash, but the answer is that we actually make a wash. A mash is what you typically use to make bourbon, which consists of 51 percent corn and a variety of grains. Mash has an oatmeal consistency and is thrown in the still, constantly agitated, and then distilled where the alcohol is directly fermented from the mash. They pitch yeast in there, so everything goes right into the still. What we do is brew a beer, which we call a wash, which is what we extract our alcohol from. So, from grain to bottle, we start out in the production house, brew up thousands of gallons of wash a week, which moves into fermentation. We pitch yeast, which ferments about six days, and that goes into a wash storage vessel, at which point it is ready for us to draw off and charge our stills.

ICOSA: Why do you use copper stills instead of the aluminum-clad tanks you use for fermentation?DIETRICH: Copper ions naturally attract toxins and sulfur in the alcohol, so it acts almost as penicillin, pulling out residual yeasts and toxic compounds.

ICOSA: How important are barrels in the whiskey-making process?DIETRICH: The wash has a lot to do with the flavor of the whiskey, so we are using a 100 percent malt barley grain, and you'll get those natural sugars from the grain. But, almost 60 percent of the flavor comes from the barrel. We use brand new white oak barrels from World Cooperage in Lebanon, Missouri. We have them use a number three char, which is the deepest char you can get on a barrel. When you burn that wood, all the sugars and tannins rise to the burn surface, and the charcoal not only acts as a natural filter, but allows those beautiful rich sugars and tannins to interact with the whiskey.

ICOSA: Can you run more than one batch through a barrel?DIETRICH: No. We fill a brand new barrel and let it rest for no less than two years. The batches that I throw together are comprised

"We use brand new white oak barrels from World Cooper-age in Lebanon, Missouri. We have them use a num-ber three char, which is the deep-est char you can get on a barrel."- Rob Dietrich

72 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

BUSINESS | STRANAHAN’S COLORADO WHISKEY

of two-year, three-year, four-year and five-year barrels. Everything goes into one batch, so you are getting the best of all the worlds–complex notes from a two-year whiskey, as well as oaky notes from a five-year whiskey. So instead of releasing a two-year whiskey or a four- or five-year whiskey, we give it to you all at once.

ICOSA: How much whiskey does a barrel hold?DIETRICH: 53 wine gallons of 110-proof spirit; that's 5.04 bottles per wine gallon.

ICOSA: How many barrels do you produce a week?DIETRICH: Approximately 40-50 barrels per week. It’s a team effort–we work around the clock. I have a good team of distillers, operators, production people and administrators. We are a small, close-knit family. We have a lot to do, and we all wear many hats.

ICOSA: Stranahan's uses volunteers to bottle its product. How did that evolve?DIETRICH: In the early days, when we were bottling, we needed a couple extra hands, and all our friends, who liked the whiskey, would come in for about four hours. We'd listen to music, give the volunteers some sodas, feed them pizza

at the end, and give them a bottle that they themselves helped to fill, thus feeling part of the process.

ICOSA: Sounds great! How can one volunteer?DIETRICH: In the early days, it was just comprised of our friends because it was a fun thing to do, and fun to bring our friends in to do, and also was borne of necessity. We used to bottle every five weeks, but now we bottle every other Thursday. As it became more popular, we discovered that a beautiful side effect of this was the grassroots marketing approach. Now, we have a 5,000 person waiting list, which is drawn from in lottery style. So put your name on the list, and wait it out.

ICOSA: Stranahan's is essentially one recipe, but sometimes you bring out special batches from time to time–is that correct?DIETRICH: Correct, and this is where I get to have some fun. We release what we call a “snowflake”–our regular whiskey, aged at least two years in our oak barrels, extract it, and cask-finish it in a wine barrel. It doesn't even have to be a wine barrel; it can be a cognac barrel or a specialty barrel of some kind. This is why we call it “snowflake”–each special batch is unique in its own way, and will never be likely to be reproduced.

ICOSA: Do you ever have a chance to meet with other distillers and talk about your craft?DIETRICH: There is only a handful of craft distilleries in Colorado, and a handful of head distillers, and I am good friends with a few of them. It’s kind of fun because we are our own unique geek rat pack.

"What we are barreling now affects the future, what we harvest right now affects the present, and what we've barreled in the past affects everything."- Rob Dietrich

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 73

When we get together, we talk shop, and it is refreshing because there aren't a whole lot of people you can turn to at this level if you are trying to solve a problem. It is funny because everyone has their little secrets, so we are often guarded when we talk, but we are also candid on a lot of levels, as far as helping each other out. I am a Colorado native, and I feel that it is important to support the local community. There will always be friendly competition, and that's the way it should be.

ICOSA: What is your chief concern these days?DIETRICH: Our chief concern has been, and will continue to be, maintaining the quality of the whiskey. I am always telling people that I think in the past, present and future;

what we are barreling now affects the future, what we harvest right now affects the present, and what we've barreled in the past affects everything. We have to strike a balance between the demand that is now, and the need for the whiskey to simply age.

ICOSA: How much demand is there for your product? Is it a case of not being able to keep any on the shelf?DIETRICH: We are there. We used to distribute in 43 states and five countries. But we got complaints from home, with people saying that they love our whiskey, but they can't find it here. So we made the hard decision to pull back our distribution to only Colorado. This has now gotten us complaints from the fans we created in the other states, so our plan is to expand distribution back to other states. It is a production problem, but this is where our roots are, and we have to take care of our home base first.

ICOSA: You mentioned that you are interested in being a renewable and green company.DIETRICH: It is always a work in progress. We use a lot of energy and a lot of water in our production, and we are always looking for ways to

recycle and reuse that. For example, when we have a 204 degree still, which has ended its run, and we are emptying the tails out, we use that 204 degree water to heat up the wash that's going back into the stills. So instead of having a four-hour heat-up time, we have narrowed it down to a one-hour heat-up time. We do this in the brew house as well. All of our spent grain is picked up twice a day, every 12 hours, and it goes to feed cattle in Longmont, Colorado. We go through roughly 40,000 pounds of grain each week, and that all ends up feeding cattle. And we have a large building, so we are looking at solar to help reduce our energy footprint as well.

ICOSA: What does the future hold for Stranahan's?DIETRICH: We're here to stay. We've spearheaded the craft distilling business in Colorado, like New Belgium kicked off the craft brewing craze. There are so many distilleries popping up, but it’s how you make your product, the quality you put in it, that makes you a player or not. For Stranahan's, our future is here, we are in Colorado, and in a few years, we will be back to nationwide again.

In the meantime, Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey continues to build a mystique among whiskey drinkers. In 2010, a group of business people from the South Denver Metro Chamber of

Commerce traveled to Washington, D.C., for important fact-finding and exploratory meetings. They met with soon-to-be-candidate Newt Gingrich, with the entire Colorado contingency and with a four-star general at his private residence for a private reception. As a token of their esteem and thanks for the general’s service and kind hospitality, they brought a special gift, a bottle of Stranahan’s.

As the story goes, the group gathered for a reception at the general’s residence. Chamber CEO and president, John Brackney, pulled out the bottle and handed it to the general, saying, “Perhaps you have heard of Stranahan’s? It’s a special beverage to those of us in Colorado.” The general smiled enthusiastically, pulled off the top, and took a generous swallow straight from the bottle and then passed it around for everyone to try as he reached for the cigars!

Nothing brings people together on a memorable occasion quite like a special beverage, and Stranahan’s is just that.

"We've spear-headed the craft distilling business in Colorado, like New Belgium kicked off the craft brewing craze. For Stranahan's, our future is here, we are in Colorado"- Rob Dietrich

74 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

 COMMUNITY | 9-11 FUND

THE MORETHINGS CHANGE

Continuity and Change in the Fire ServiceB Y D R . S T E P H A N H I T T M A N N

Who was it who said, “Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents. They gobble their food. They tyrannize their teachers.” And what’s the connec-tion between these comments, and a discussion of continuity and change in the fire service?

The dictionary defines “continuity” and “change” as being nouns when they refer to an indi-vidual’s ability to lead or transform. I believe they are really verbs, in that leadership influences people, provides purpose and motivates others to act.

More a role than a concept, continuity and change foster leadership at every level of an organization, even at the lowest level. To confirm the obvious–having a title, rank or seniority doesn’t in and of itself earn respect–you have to work for it, and then earn it!

Continuity and change are also less about ego, ideology or about those who want to be something, more than they want to do something. Cultural change is complex and ambitious in the best of times, requiring leadership from individuals who have a unique blend of skills and attitudes, not the least of which are humility, humor, patience, street smarts and a sense of urgency. Leaders also need formal training and an intuitive sensitivity to the dynamics of organizational change.

The need for continuity and cultural change in government, industry or the fire service isn’t for the faint-of-heart. They’re the realm of the pragmatic idealist; the leader who understands that the health of an organization depends on the health of its organic parts. Our greatest legacy, then, is how well we prepare others to lead, embrace organizational continuity, and understand that the real test of both is in their vision and their execution. Visions that are sim-ply slogans can’t ever be successfully executed, with execution often being the missing link between aspi-rations and results.

That said, how then do we link the past to the pres-ent, as we prepare for the future? And how do we rec-oncile the definition of continuity as being an uninter-rupted connection–the belief that the foundation for a better tomorrow must be laid today, with the pre-sumption that change doesn’t assure progress, but progress requires change?

Each industry sees “continuity” through its own lens. Technology and business continuity refer to protecting clients from unanticipated business interruption. Cin-emagraphic continuity refers to thematic consistency (e.g., over eight Harry Potter movies). Medical continuity refers to ensuring clinical operations, patient care and other essential services. Philanthropic continuity refers to charitable consistency. Media continuity refers to the availability of news and entertainment programming

wherever and whenever you want it. Repu-tation continuity refers to protecting your most prized and vulnerable asset. Emer-gency response continuity refers to imple-menting and maintaining organizational and community-wide preparedness for nat-ural or human-made disasters. And continu-ity in the fire service can best be summarized by its unspoken motto, “We’re 150 years old unimpeded by progress.” Let me repeat that: “We’re 150 years old unimpeded by progress.” What’s really meant by such an acerbic con-cept, and how can we use the words “change” and “continuity” so interchangeably?

Change! What is it? People talk about it, they say they believe in it, they say they en-courage it–they just don’t want to do any-thing differently. Sound familiar? Most orga-nizations, like most generations, think they have all the answers. In the same vein, few think that the next generation is particularly credible. What’s my point? No organization can realistically shape its future without a plan that indicates where it wants to go, and how it wants to get there.

While the impact of organizational change, for better or worse, is eventually un-derstood, many still, quite mistakenly, view continuity as corporate stasis, at best main-taining its status quo or at worst being ac-tively resistant to change. I see it differently, wherein the seemingly conflicting forces of continuity and organizational change in these “new normal” times are little more than a misconception.

The “Yin Yang of Leadership,” as some have called it, requires leaders to navigate continuity and change as a prerequisite to the success of any business. Add to that the extent to which organizations change over time, referred to as “path dependence,” which presuppose that organizational conti-nuity and change are intimately interdepen-dent elements crucial to organizational sus-tainability. Thus, embracing the challenges and tradeoffs that occur as leaders work to bring about change necessitates maintain-ing continuity and consistency as an orga-nizational dynamic. Lastly, it strives to bring people together and avoid cultural clashes–an “us versus them” environment. Managing continuity also challenges visionary leaders to incorporate salient aspects of the organi-zation’s core values, traditions and shared meaning from the past–its “pearls of wis-dom,” if you will.

Leadership, then, in its most basic form, is about moving an organization from point

Our greatest legacy, then, is how well we prepare others to lead, embrace or-ganizational continuity, and understand that the real test of both is in their vi-sion and their execution.

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 75

76 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

 COMMUNITY | 9-11 FUND

A to point B. In today’s world of escalat-ing expectations and declining resources, the long-term success of these efforts em-brace continuity, define how organizational knowledge is effectively transferred, and create a culture of engagement, opportu-nity, validation and inclusion.

The fire service accomplishes this through its ongoing investment in training, educa-tion and succession planning, linking prac-tical change to measurable outcomes, and never forgetting its rich past as both prelude to and precursor of the future. From an op-erational perspective, the fire service has successfully balanced the demands of conti-nuity in today’s changing, increasingly com-plex environment, via its reliance on several variables, namely:

• A fundamental commitment to both preservice and ongoing in-service training (perhaps best personified by the credo of the New York City Fire Academy, displayed in large letters and which says with irrevocable conviction above its entranceway: “Let No Man’s Ghost Return To Say His Training Let Him Down”).

• Practical experience in each skill area needed on an emergency basis.

• The existence of an outstanding faculty.• A highly motivated workforce.• A supportive administration.• A history of holding everyone

accountable, all of the time.• Our reputation. • And perhaps most important, the love of a

grateful nation.

While we’re obviously proud of this, the fire service, like other industries, needs to balance the importance of its rich history with a continuing need to change. It also needs to change because of September 11, and because society is changing.

New technology and the additional chal-lenge of homeland security, in the fire ser-vice as elsewhere, test the resources of many organizations. They also require a new level of coordination and cooperation, coupled with a cultivation of organizational leadership, all the while maintaining a bal-ance between distaste for the status quo without being a prisoner of ideology. More than the proclamation of a lofty goal, these challenges also require each individual on the front line to know exactly what to do and when to do it to achieve a defined goal.

In my experience, too many of us, to our discredit, focus on what’s already happened,

as opposed to what’s about to happen. That has to change, and it can change by a better understanding of what needs to be done in advance of a problem, then ensuring that the right people are involved from the onset.

If denial blocks change, or if leaders or operations personnel have limited prior experience in dealing with the effects of change, potential gains can be lost, thereby necessitating a variety of recovery options. Discussing and planning for change-related problems, and then exercising these plans, is a start. The real issue, though, is how we go about mitigating problems before they occur. In prevention we have a cure, and it’s in this area that government and industry must collaborate both in planning, in con-sequence management, and in support of those who everywhere, every day, are every nation’s first line of defense.

Whether it’s a tsunami in Japan, an earth-quake in Haiti, a train derailment in India, an act of terrorism in Bulgaria or a forest fire in the United States, leaders channel their expe-rience as a basis for current and prospective action. In circumstances such as these, the fire service also relies on its past experience, working to optimize its organizational effec-tiveness as it factors in prior per-formance indicators. It also works to maximize the value of its most important asset, its personnel, who see themselves as a family to be called upon in times of trou-ble. Here then is the difference, as this is a family of men and women who are linked by a special bond and a noble calling, that is to save lives at whatever cost.

Firefighters put themselves in harm’s way to protect the cit-izens of all nations. These same firefighters are also ready to sup-port one another whenever and wherever necessary. This was never truer than in the days fol-lowing September 11, when we suffered such devastating losses, and the international fire com-munity, and society in general, came to our aid.

While this respect and cama-raderie are much appreciated, if you think about it, it’s really a small measure when compared to the risks involved in doing this job on a daily basis. Like in the military, incomprehensible as it

might seem to some, firefighters know and accept the fact that, literally, on a moment’s notice, they could be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice. If that’s not defined as leadership, then what is?

While the fire service can be rigid and de-manding, expecting people to "do what we say, because we say so,” we recognize that this approach doesn’t always work. That said, we have worked hard to redefine lead-ership as "getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.”

For hundreds of years, the fire service has gone from practice to theory. The phrase “iron men and wooden ladders,” referring to an era when the fire service did little else but fight fires, embraces an a posteriori tra-dition as it adjusts to a priori change in an uncertain future, placing new emphasis on preventing fires as opposed to simply put-ting them out.

Being progressive in such an environment involves supporting organizational needs and requirements while effectively pre-dicting the future. To do otherwise would

be to remain stagnant, simply waiting for the next crisis to manage.

The phrase “the more things change” inexorably links con-tinuity to change, as Socrates noted 2,500 years ago when he said, “Children today are ty-rants.” If we have learned any-thing from the fire service, it is that one doesn’t have to turn on a television or go to the movies to find a hero. Our he-roes are simply down the street, at every local firehouse.

In an ever-changing world in which we embrace continuity, change and leadership, the fire service honors those who died, by protecting those who live. As we tell every new firefighter on his or her very first day of training: “Be proud! Be brave! Be strong! But most of all, Be prepared!”

Stay safe.

To contact Stephan Hittman, president of the 911 FUND, INC.: 441 Central Park Avenue, P.O. Box 644, Hartsdale, NY 10530-0644; 914-479-8800 tel; 914-725-7733 fax; www.911fund.org; or email at hittmann@911fund.org.

The 911 FUND was created in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, by FDNY personnel who were privileged to work at the World Trade Center that day and for many days thereafter. Ever since 9/11, we’ve worked to acquire apparatus, firefighting and medical equipment, then to donate it, along with training, to needy volunteer fire departments and communities around the world. 100 percent of the apparatus and equipment that we receive is donated to the 18 countries where we have worked (to date), for whom access to these items often means the difference between life and death for the firefighters we're working to help.

Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association • P.O. Box 33695 • Denver, CO 80233 • Wholesale power supplier to 44 electric cooperatives in Colorado, New Mexico, Nebraska and Wyoming.

www.tristate.coop

OVER THE YEARS, WE’VE SEEN THE USES FOR ELECTRICITY CHANGE. BUT ITS VALUE HASN’T.If you question the value of electricity, consider its role in your daily life. From the

comforts and conveniences of home to the time-saving tools at work, electricity is vital

to how we live. In 1952, Tri-State was formed as a consumer-owned power provider with

the mission of delivering reliable, affordable electricity throughout the rural West. Today,

we generate and transmit electricity to our 44-member co-ops who, in turn, serve more

than 1.5 million people across a 200,000 square-mile territory. Collectively, we know

we’re delivering more than electricity. We’re delivering quality of life.

78 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

 COMMUNITY | MORE EFFECTIVE PHILANTHROPY

10 STEPS TO BECOMING A MORE EFFECTIVE PHILANTHROPIST

B Y B R U C E D E B O S K E Y

Many donors look at their charitable efforts and wonder: Are the nonprofit or-ganizations I'm supporting really having an impact? What can I do to make my philanthropy more effective? How can I pass my values on to my children, grand-children and future generations? How can I find more joy and meaning in my

philanthropy? Being an effective philanthropist doesn't depend on the amount of time or money you give, but rather upon how you approach your giving. Here are 10 steps to becom-ing a more effective philanthropist:

1Determine why you're giving and what outcomes you want to achieve. The reasons individuals and families give to charitable causes might include compassion, gratitude,

tradition, religion, status, peer pressure, tax advantage, guilt, moral duty, ego, reputation, set-ting an example for or passing values on to family members, creating a legacy and more. You may also seek to help others in need; find a cure or solution to a problem; repay an advantage or opportunity that was provided to you; advance a cause; or preserve some value, principle or thing you believe is important.

2Develop a strategy to achieve your goals. As with any investment, you must develop a strategy in order to achieve the desired return. First determine why you're giving money

to others, and then ascertain what outcomes you want to achieve. These are the first two building blocks of any philanthropic strategy. While determining your strategy, seek input from the four legs of the philanthropic planning table: your tax, financial, legal and philan-thropic advisers. Each adviser brings expertise to the table to help you make better, more informed and more strategic philanthropic plans.

3Volunteer your time. Some people have more time than money while others can con-tribute both. Volunteering for a charity or cause that is important to you can bring you

great satisfaction, help you learn more about the work being done, and it brings skills and energy that achieve even greater impact. Helping a nonprofit organization do its work brings tangible and intangible benefits to both the volunteer and the recipient.

4Involve your family. Whenever possible, involve your children, grandchildren, siblings, parents and grandparents in your philanthropic endeavors. Every generation has much to

teach and to learn from the other. Just as it is incumbent upon older generations to teach those that follow about philanthropy, younger people have much to share with their elders. Working together as a family can help you weave a common thread of shared values, collaboration and purpose that extends beyond philanthropic initiatives and could last for generations.

5Research before you give. With more than 1.4 million nonprofits in the United

States–500,000 of which were created since 2000–it takes more than a glossy brochure or snappy website to tell you which ones are achieving real outcomes and which are not. Research and analysis helps you determine which charities are worth your investment of time and money.

6 Give boldly during your lifetime. Peo-ple rarely donate so much money or time

to charity in their lifetimes that they can no longer take care of themselves or their loved ones. Many have the capacity to give far more than they do without sacrificing the quality of their lives or that of their descendents. Work-ing with a financial adviser, you can determine

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 79

your philanthropic capacity to give. Not only does giving during your lifetime create more opportunities for satisfaction and greater im-pact, it enables you to change your strategy if desired outcomes are not being achieved.

7Add charity to your estate plan. That said, your last will and testament is the

last chance you will have to pass on more than money to your heirs and to make a difference that lives on in the world. Your will can be a reflection of your values and priorities and can help inform your descen-dents about what is and was important to you during your lifetime. Shape your phil-anthropic legacy thoughtfully and strategi-cally–it will help create a better world after you're gone, but you’ll also help those who

will follow you understand you and what you cared about.

8Go deep, not wide. Focus your giving and volunteering on fewer charities

where you can make a real difference rather than spreading them thinly across many beneficiaries. Going deep enables you to learn more about the causes you support, develop a more productive partnership with those organizations, and achieve more sig-nificant outcomes.

9Evaluate and change. Many people do-nate to the same charities year after year

without learning whether any real progress has been made toward achieving their de-sired goals. When your donation is made,

ensure that the nonprofit beneficiary will be responsible for providing you the informa-tion you’ll need to evaluate the real impacts of your philanthropic initiatives. Revise your strategy if they are less than optimal.

10Start now! Your community, nation and world need you today. Philan-

thropy is like love–the sooner you make philanthropy a cornerstone of your life, the sooner you will deepen the joy, meaning and purpose of living.

Bruce DeBoskey is a Colorado-based philanthropic adviser helping families, businesses and foundations with their philanthropic initiatives. Reach him at bruce@deboskeygroup.com.

80 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

The Denver Art MuseumB Y M A R I A E . L U N A

 COMMUNITY | AN APPROACH TO VARIABLE MEDIA

An Approach To Variable Media:

MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART CONSERVATION

The celebrated Denver Art Mu-seum has embraced the next stage in the evolution of contem-porary conservation. The vari-

able media program benefits from the en-lightened goals of Kate Moomaw, assistant conservator for modern and contemporary art at the Denver Art Museum. In creating a program to preserve media such as film, audio and in general art using technology takes collaboration between artists, conser-vators and museums. The physical fragility of film, the technology challenge and the transforming experience of the Internet are taken into consideration by art collectors and curators in how, if at all, to maintain vari-able media. Within modern and contempo-rary conservation, accounting for electronic elements has proven to be much more com-plex than the more established traditional methods. And so, a look behind the scenes at the Denver Art Museum with Moomaw is both formative and exciting.

ICOSA: What prompted the creation of the variable media program? MOOMAW: The Denver Art Museum (DAM) has rather organically collected a number of variable media artworks in the past few decades, and at the same time, awareness of the complex preservation needs of works like these has grown within the art conserva-tion community. There are now specialists in the conservation of variable media working in museums such as the Tate, the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim, and there is even a master’s program dedicated to this specialization in Bern, Switzerland.

A few years ago, it had become clear that the museum had amassed a small but rich collection of video, audio, light, sound and kinetic artworks and that (1) these works from the collection could make up a com-pelling exhibition and (2) we needed to con-vene a group of staff with a number of skill sets to prepare them both for exhibition and their long-term life in the collection. The re-sults were the exhibition “Blink! Light, Sound and the Moving Image,” which was on view at the DAM in 2011, and was curated by Jill Desmond, and the formation of the vari-able media task force, made up of curators, registrars, collection managers, information technology specialists and conservators. The process of preparing works for “Blink!” brought to the forefront the complexity and fragility of this class of artworks, and

» Alan Rath, Family, 1994. Suitcase, handcuffs, chain and CRTs. Denver Art Museum; Gift of Vicki and Kent Logan to the collection of the Denver Art Museum. Image: © The artist; courtesy the artist.

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 81

the success of "Blink!" made it clear that our collection would continue to grow. Thus the task force has carried on to put in place pro-tocols for processing newly acquired works, and ensuring that works already in the col-lection will be exhibitable down the line.

ICOSA: What roles do you have in the program?MOOMAW: I am the museum’s conserva-tor for modern and contemporary art, and I focus on the conservation of modern and contemporary sculptures, three-dimen-sional objects, and those works that fall under the variable media umbrella.

As a conservator, my first concern is for the long-term preservation of the works of art under my care. I have some training in the archiving of film, video and audio ma-terials, and am working now to determine which works in the collection are highest priority for this type of preservation work. For these materials, preservation often means migrating, basically copying, the content of video or audio recordings onto a new tape format, or increasingly, into a dig-ital file that is stored on a server. Migration is necessary as the tapes themselves can de-grade over time, putting the content at risk, or types of tapes can become obsolete as playback equipment and parts are no lon-ger manufactured.

I rely on our associate collections man-ager, Julie Brown, and her expertise in stor-age protocols to store our tapes and play-back equipment properly, and I also work closely with Julie and associate registrar, Sarah Cucinella-McDaniel, to ensure that

these artworks are documented carefully on our collection management database. Docu-mentation of the original state of these artworks (through photography, technical descrip-tions, visual descriptions, charts, diagrams, etc.), of the artist’s views on the works and their changing states and of all migrations or changes made to the works over time is essential to our understanding of them now and in the future.

ICOSA: Are you a practicing artist?MOOMAW: I am not a practicing artist. However, Andrew Edwards, one of our IT specialists on the variable media task force, is pursuing his master’s degree in digital arts at the Univer-sity of Denver and brings to the table an artist’s perspective along with technical know-how in digital video.

ICOSA: What is variable media at the DAM? What processes and practices are included when determining what artwork will be recreated? MOOMAW: To us at the DAM, this class of artworks includes video, audio, software-based, electronic, kinetic, installation and other types of artworks that have special preservation needs that depart from the traditional preservation paradigm. Preservation of traditional art-works aims to bring deterioration or change to a halt, and to keep the object in the most static state possible. On the other hand, variable media artworks either change as a part of

their nature, or must be physically changed in some way in order for them to remain viable and exhibitable. Many such works need to be remade, or copied into a new format, to address technological obsolescence. Some are designed to be remade each time they are exhibited. Some may change in dimensions or arrangement for each new exhibition location. Informa-tion about all of the various forms of these artworks must be carefully created and retained to understand the work as a whole, and to ensure the works’ authentic existence in the future.

The process of determining the preservation needs of an individual artwork is driven by a number of different things. At present, I am conducting a survey of the video artworks in the collection to determine which works are most at danger of loss or damage from

» Mark Amerika, CODEWORK, 2003. Digital projection with surround sound, 8 minutes. Denver Art Museum; Polly and Mark Addison, Alliance for Contemporary Art and departmental acquisition funds. Image: © The artist; courtesy the artist.

"The process of preparing works for “Blink!” brought to the forefront the com-plexity and fragil-ity of this class of artworks, and the success of "Blink!" made it clear that our collection would continue to grow."- Kate Moomaw

82 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

 COMMUNITY | AN APPROACH TO VARIABLE MEDIA

degradation or obsolescence of the tapes. Those most at risk will be higher priority for migration to new formats, by experts in video postproduction.

Some changes to artworks are necessi-tated by exhibition. When a variable media artwork is exhibited, conditions may have changed since the last time it was displayed. For example, we have one work in the col-lection by the artist Nam June Paik called “Electronic Fish” that originally relied on an-alog TV signals for it to function. However, these days all TV signals are digital, so a digi-tal to analog converter had to be installed in this work in order for it to operate.

In the world of variable media preser-vation, it is often said that the best way to maintain these types of works is to put them on display. This is when realizations are made about changes in technology that affect the artwork or when playback and dis-play equipment can be assessed for condi-tion problems. Frequent exhibition of these works assists in addressing these problems before technology has completely out-paced the artwork, and while parts for old playback equipment and knowledge of re-pair are still available.

ICOSA: What artwork have you found challenging to preserve?MOOMAW: Some of the most challenging artworks to preserve are those that are unique objects made out of ephemeral or unstable materials. Though some artists create works from materials like cut flowers, chocolate, or even ice, and intend them to change, or fall

apart over time, other artists choose ephemeral materials because they are at hand, inexpensive, easy to use, or they simply like their unique material properties. One such artwork that I worked on at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., was the sculpture “Fish-man” by Paul Thek. “Fishman” was made from a mold of the artist’s own body and was cast in latex rubber. One can speculate that Thek liked the skin-like elasticity of the rubber when it was new and its ability to pick up the fine details of the mold, the fine hairs, the pores of his skin and the like. Unfortunately, latex is a fairly unstable material and degrades quickly with exposure to air–the only way to significantly slow down deterioration is to place it in an oxygen-free envi-ronment. “Fishman” was made in 1968, and by the late 1990s the latex had become hardened, distorted, brittle and much darker in color. I made several repairs to “Fishman” in 2010, and it went on display at the Whitney Museum in the Paul Thek retrospective. However, it was clearly much changed from its original state, and in this case, for a number of reasons, making a copy was not an option. For artwork like this, there is a fine line between the work living to convey something of what it originally was and simply lasting on as a mere relic. The difficulty lies in making this call and providing the interpretive context in which a much-altered work might succeed.

For variable media works, we do often have the opportunity to migrate media onto new for-mats and keep ahead of physical deterioration like that of “Fishman.” However, technological

Artists and conserva-tors often look at art-works from very dif-ferent perspectives. One classic case is the conservator who is trying to preserve an older work in its original state and the artist who sees a conservation treat-ment as a chance to improve or fix the work. - Kate Moomaw

» Nam June Paik, Electronic Fish, 1986. Mixed media sculpture with a 1948 Philco TV console, rabbit ears, aquarium, black light, TV and sound. Denver Art Museum; Funds from Judy and Ken Robins, Susan and John Madden and the Acquisition Challenge Grant. Image: © Estate of Nam June Paik; courtesy Denver Art Museum.

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3 83

» Alan Rath, Looker II, 1990. CRTs, electronic equipment, acrylic and aluminum. Denver Art Museum; purchased with funds from the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation. Image: © The artist; courtesy Denver Art Museum.

obsolescence may eventually have a big im-pact on certain works that rely on very specific types of equipment. For instance, “Looker II” by Alan Rath in the collection of the DAM is a sculptural video work with small CRT monitors that are the work’s eyes. CRT monitors are no longer made, and it is becoming harder and harder to find replacement parts and knowl-edgeable repair technicians. There may very well come a day when the CRT monitors of “Looker II” can no longer be repaired or re-placed. What happens then? Do we try to use a different type of monitor, thus changing the appearance of the work significantly, or do we let it go? These are the really tough decisions.

ICOSA: What is it like to collaborate with artists when trying to preserve their artwork?MOOMAW: Every artist and every situation is different, but to me, it is always an edifying process. Artists and conservators often look at artworks from very different perspectives. One classic case is the conservator who is trying to preserve an older work in its original state and the artist who sees a conservation treat-ment as a chance to improve or fix the work. The conservator typically looks at a work of art from a historical perspective–the point is to freeze that authentic moment in time–while the artist may see the work as a living thing, part of his or her continuing practice, perhaps something to be revisited again and again. In these situations, in order to maintain a productive relationship between the par-ties, I think it’s important to keep in mind that neither viewpoint is “wrong.” There is value in both perspectives and siding with one or the other–which ultimately may have to happen–necessitates some form of loss.

Artists and conservators also tend to have overlapping but ultimately different bodies of knowledge of materials and techniques. I have learned a lot from artistic approaches to materials, and when it comes to digital, video and other electronic media, in my case, the artists are often the true experts!

Thus, the process of collaboration in-volves quite a lot of back and forth commu-nication, trying to learn what the other per-son knows and what his or her outlook is ex-changing knowledge, and trying to come to consensus, or at least understanding, about how to best approach preservation.

In the past decade or so, there has been a great deal published in the conservation

community about techniques for interviewing artists, and for recording and interpreting such interviews. We all hope that this material will help curators and conservators in the future, who are tasked with interpreting these artworks after their makers are gone. One of the chal-lenges of interviewing variable media artists is anticipating changes to artworks that may be necessary in the future, as well as asking questions about details of artworks that may seem inherent and obvious in one state, but may not be so after a work is migrated. For instance, a film-based work may be shown with the film projector running in a gallery, producing the humming and clicking sounds that film projectors make. Should it become necessary to refor-mat the film to video, the film projector goes away as well as the sound it makes. The question is whether that sound component is actually an important part of the artwork or not. And if it is an important part of the work, should it be artificially reproduced in that scenario? Or is the work not really the work without the actual film projector in the gallery?

ICOSA: Are there any artists you particularly admire?MOOMAW: One artist I particularly admire for her intense level of dedication to her work is the performance artist Marina Abramović. In many of her works, she has tested the limits of her body

and mind through actions like prolonged immobility, cutting or whipping herself, binding herself to her former partner Ulay, or making herself totally passive and vulnerable to an audience of strangers. In recent years, she has taken an interest in reviving past performances by other artists, and in 2005, she performed seven such works over the course of seven nights at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Performance art is now being collected by museums and is perhaps the most intangible of variable media types. Abramović has been a real trailblazer for the field of per-formance art preservation through her writings, talks and performances.

A great majority of art collectors and museums will need to restore variable media. Finding opportunities in the approach and solving problems are striking when stories behind the restoration are told. When viewing variable media or any artwork, consider what has made it possible to be displayed, what materials were used and how it might relate to you, and that will illustrate in part why the artwork is at the museum. Conservation of variable media may sometimes be admonitory, but is always inspiring.

For more information about the Denver Art Museum, visit www.denverartmuseum.org.

COLLABORATION CLOSE UP

84 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

Autism is a common label for people who have difficulties with social interaction and communication. Because of these challenges, those on the autism spectrum have difficulty finding and maintaining employment. However, a promising new model reconsiders these

people and their special abilities. Thorkil Sonne has recently become a promi-nent international advocate for autism.

A Danish information technology (IT) professional who learned his own son was autistic, Sonne created Specialisterne, an IT company that would hire intelligent, autistic workers to perform quality assurance (QA) services for client companies. In many of these QA positions, social skills are less important than are abilities of concentration and detailed recall. After proving the concept’s potential, Sonne’s Specialist People Foundation now has a goal of enabling one million jobs for people around the world with autism and similar challenges.

ICOSA’s involvement with this story began when Steve Allen reached out to our publisher, Gayle Dendinger. Within Colorado, Allen has been a leader in educating employers about the benefits of hiring persons with disabilities. The discussion led to encouraging businesses to learn from best practices. Allen contacted Sonne and his foundation to begin making connections for the state

of Colorado. Because Colorado fosters a large IT sector, and the initial interest from business community members was high, ICOSA sponsored a stakeholder gathering at the Denver Botanic Gardens where Sonne introduced himself and his ideas. The next step is working with individuals, businesses and foundations that can contribute financially to make the Colorado connection a reality.

The Specialist People Foundation is receiving attention from many companies and governments around the world. Their ideas are valuable for both the autistic individuals and larger society because they help convert previously dependent people into highly productive citizens employed in a well-paying field. During the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of New Champions, Sonne was announced as a 2012 Social Entrepreneur Awardee by the Schwab Foundation. After traveling around the world, Sonne will return to Colorado to continue implementation here in the U.S.

Named Schwab Foundation’s 2012 Social Entrepreneur Awardee

Thorkil Sonne B Y K E E N A N B R U G H

ACADEMIC | HEALTHCARE | CORPORATE | GOVERNMENT | INSTITUTIONAL | LIFE SCIENCES

pms 187c, red / pms 431c, gray

ABOVE&BEYOND

CONSIGLI CONSTRUCTION CO., INC. Construction Managers and General Contractors

www.consigli.com

MILFORD, MA | WILLIAMSTOWN, MA | HARTFORD, CT | PORTLAND, ME | PLEASANT VALLEY, NY

Consigli is, and always will be, a family-owned business. Originally founded in 1905 as a masonry contractor, Consigli has grown from its roots as a well-respected local contractor to a leading construction manager and general contractor serving clients across New England and New York.

“Our people have a passion for building above all else. We thrive on complex projects that challenge our creativity and call for innovation. We know we must compete and earn our work every day, and that leaders do that best. We know that sustaining our team requires that we recruit, train, mentor and motivate.” - Anthony Consigli

ICOSA.indd 1 7/30/2012 3:31:24 PM

86 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

COLLABORATION CLOSE UP

On August 17, 2012, ICOSA’s President and Editor-in-Chief Jan Mazotti, was recognized by the Denver Business Journal as the 2012 Communication, Media & PR Outstanding Woman in Business. Since its inception just three-and-a-half years ago the small, but committed ICOSA team has grown the magazine to one that has web presence in 28 countries and reaches almost 10,000 subscribers domestically.

Again this year, Colorado paid tribute to the brave men and women with thousands

gathering in Denver’s Civic Center Park. The lunchtime function paid tribute not only to the men and women who lost their lives on 9/11, but to the brave and heroic first responders in the wake of the recent Colorado wildfires, as well as the Aurora movie theatre massacre.

Governor John Hickenlooper, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan, John Elway and Hazel Miller spoke and/or performed during the moving yet appreciative event that was hosted by The Counterterrorism Education Learning Lab (The CELL). The CELL is dedicated to preventing terrorism through education, empowerment, and engagement ultimately enhancing public safety.

Again this year, CAP Logistics was proud to carry the World Trade Center artifacts from their secure location to the park for the remembrance. New York Fire Truck Rescue 4 was also brought in for the event. It is the single rescue truck from 9/11 that remains, yet all of its firefighters lost their lives.

For more information on The CELL visit, www.thecell.org.

It’s Olympic gold for Missy Franklin–and a new world record for the 200-meter back-

stroke. Franklin has proven to be a rising sensation both during and after the recent London 2012 Olympic Games.

Four-time Olympic gold medalist, Missy Franklin is 17-years-old and from Centennial, Colorado. Before the games started Franklin told the Los An-geles Times, “Right now, all of my races are dedicated back home to Colorado. No matter how well I do, I'm going to give my best in every single race, and every single race, I'm going to have that Colorado incident on my mind."

Franklin’s kind-hearted remarks have made her a community role model.

Franklin’s performances at the Games were inspiring. Franklin took part in several Olym-pic events, and medaled in the following events: 100-meter backstroke–Gold; 200-meter back-stroke–Gold and set a new world record; 4x100 freestyle–Bronze; 4x200 freestyle–Gold; and the 4x100 medley–Gold. She also competed in

the 100-meter freestyle where she finished fifth, and the 200-meter freestyle where she finished fourth.

Interestingly, Franklin’s swim-ming career has remained un-orthodox as she has had the same coach throughout her career and has turned down several endorse-ments to meet NCAA regulations so that she could retain college swimming eligibility.

With character, Missy Frank-lin has become the new face of U.S. swimming.

To keep up to date with Missy Franklin follow her on Twitter, @FranklinMissy.

The quarterly magazine has also expanded to include weekly TV and radio components as well. To get your free subscription to ICOSA visit, www.theicosamagazine.com. To listen to the radio show in the Denver market tune in every Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. on AM710 KNUS. And to see past interviews with ICOSA change makers, visit the ICOSA YouTube page at www.youtube.com/user/ICOSAmagazine.

B Y M A R I A E . L U N A

WHAT DOES2:04.06 MEAN?

ICOSA’s Jan Mazotti is the 2012 Commun-ication, Media and PR Outstanding Woman in Business As Recognized by the Denver Business Journal

ColoradoRemembers 9/11

Join us in Keystone, Colorado for the Western Energy Leadership Summit for a frank and decisive conversation about the key policies and investment for power generation, electricity, natural gas and energy infrastrcture. A quiet setting in Keystone will provide the backdrop for a gathering of key executives and leaders in government with a major election just weeks away that will shape the framework for the electricity and natural gas sector for the next decade.

With key energy state governors and provincial leaders from Canada, the debates and discussions will reveal new partnerships, cooperation and challenges to address the billions of investments that are needed to build the electricity and natural gas infrastructure to fuel the growing western states.

North America’s electricity sector is poised for dramatic changes in the next ten years. With increased energy demand, coal plant closings and nearly unlimited natural gas reserves, a new energy paradigm is underway to invest and build the infrastructure that will change the energy landscape for generations.

westernenergysummit.com

Keystone Resort and Convention Center

ener orum Western Energy Leadership Summit is an event produced by Ener4orum.

PARTNER SPONSORS

More POWERis Prevailing West

October 07-09, 2012 Keystone, Colorado

For Registration/Hotel Info.: For Sponsorship/Exhibit Information: Skype Handle:+1 888.995.3088 sales@ener4ourm.com condurretime

WESTERN ENERGY LEADERSHIP SUMMITSpring 2013 Keystone, Colorado

4120 Jackson Street | Denver Colorado 80216 | www.icosamag.com

88 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3

Would Like To Thank The Following Friends For Their Inspiration

Polina Hryn

Integrated international Security Solutions

Diane Irvin

Larry Johnson

Yasuhiro Kanbe

Ashley Kellogg

Kevin Kersting

Rebecca Kersting

Kobe University

Dr. Keiko Krahnke

Dr. Gina Kunz

Vladimir Kush

Valerie Lefler

LifeQuest Transitions

Massachusetts Business Roundtable

Tatianna Massaro

Metro Volunteers School Service Program

Steve McMillan

Mike Michalowicz

Mid-America Transportation Center

Barry Moltz

Kate Moomaw

Bob Mulverhill

Nebraska Department of Economic Development

North American Electric Reliability Corporation

Helen Novak

Laura Pebbles

Power Marketing Administration

Ashley Pritchard

Roads, Rails, and Race Cars

Candace Ruiz

Rebecca Saltman

Stan Sellner

Brandon Shaffer

Thorkil Sonne

Cristin Tarr

Judith Taylor

The CELL

Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association

University of Northern Colorado

Eric Van Orden

Isaac Wanasika

Darryl Watson

Jennifer Watson

Whittier Elementary School

911 Fund

Kate Agathon

Ken Anderson

Cynthia Baker

Gary Black

Andy Boian

John Boner

JD Chesloff

Anthony Consigli

Matthew Consigli

Culler Middle School

Bruce DeBoskey

Kelly de la Torre

Denver Art Museum

Rob Dietrich

Dovetail Solutions

Eric Drummond

Energy Efficiency Business Coalition

Faegre Baker Daniels LLP

Gail Frances

Missy Franklin

Josh Gerdes

Rick Gordon

Emily Haggstrom

Dr. Stephan Hittmann

Kim Howard

CONTINUITYCONTINUOUS SUCCESS OVER TIMEVOLUME 4 NUMBER 3

THANK YOU

Stay Connected to Colorado.Breaking News • Energy • Politics • Technology • Arts • Education • Sports

With a weekly print and online audience of 3.5 million,we are Colorado’s media leader.

Mark JaffeEnergy

Karen AugeEducation

Lynn BartelsPolitics

Woody PaigeSports

Ray RinaldiThe Arts

Andy VuongTechnology

Voice of the Rocky

Mountain Empire

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012isolated

storms E98° F66° »20A B

© the denver post B

$1 price may vary

outsidemetro denver

6

Rock on: Get information on Denver Post Underground Music Showcase, which starts at 8 p.m. »denverpost.com/ums

dp

DENVER & THE WEST

A HIGH DEMAND

FOR HIGHLY SKILLE

D

IMMIGRANTWORKERS

Denver-area employers s

ought

special visas called

H-1Bs to bring

in foreignworkers for 2,100 jobs

over the past two years. »5

A

INSIDEBusiness

» 11-14A| Comics » 5-7C | Lottery » 2A | Markets »

12A | Movies » 4C | Obituaries » 17A | Puzzles »

5-6C

SOLAR FIRM

BLAMES CHINA

FOR FAILURE

»business, 11A

Colorado State Patrol criticized

for anti-gay culture. »3A

ARCHBISHOP OF DENVER SAMUEL AQUILA

ARETURNTOHIS

SPIRITUALHOME

“Never did I imagine 36

years agothat I would be standi

ng here.”

SYRIA

Violence

escalates

in bombing

aftermathThree cr

ucial military

leaders are killed

during

a securitymeeting.

By TheWashington

Post

beirut»Widespread

violence

erupted on the streets ofDamascus on

Wednesdayas Syrian security

forces

and pro-government militias lashed

out in revengefor a bombing that

killed at least three of the

most crucial

figures inthe nation’s m

ilitary estab-

lishment, calling into question

Presi-

dent Bashar al-Assad’s control even

over his capital.

The blast targeted a meeting of the

top security chiefs charged with over-

seeing a crackdown against th

e coun-

try’s 16-month-old

revolt. The bomb-

ing suggesting that the rebels have

managed to penetratethe most loyal

core ofAssad’s inn

er circle of advisers

.

The deadincluded

DefenseMinister

Dawoud Rajha; Hassan Turkmani, a

former minister ofdefense w

ho head-

ed the regime’s crisis management

cell; andAsef Shaw

kat, Assad’s broth

-

er-in-lawand deputy chief of s

taff of

the Syrian military.

The government denied news re-

ports that other to

p figures were also

killed in the late-morning bombing at

the National Security Building

in the

heart of one of the capital’s

most up-

scale and closely guardedneighbor

-

hoods. But the sign

ificance of the iden

-

tities of those confi

rmed deadwas not

lost on Syrians or the wider interna-

tional community. SYRIA» 8A

Generals killed. A closer look

at the top security chiefs. »8A

Samuel Aquila acknowledges Ed

die Gonzales,9, and Amelia Rock

ers, 6, before a sta

nding-room-only crowd

inside ofthe Cath

edral Basilica of th

e Immaculate Conceptio

n after arriving for his in

stallationas the fif

th

Catholicarchbish

op of Denver onWednesday

afternoon. Andy Cross, Th

e Denver Post

By Electa Draper

The Denver Post

Under vaulted ceiling and soaring

choir voices at the

Cathedral Basilica

of the Immaculate Conception on

Wednesday, the Vati

can gave Denver

its eighthbishop an

d fifth archbishop,

Samuel Aquila.

At the close of inst

allation ceremo-

nies andHighMass that la

sted nearly

three hours, Aquila

dedicatedhimself

and his church toMary, them

other of

Jesus andfirst among his d

isciples.

“Shewill always lead us close to the

heart of her son,” Aquila said, in a

voice chokedwith emotion. She

teaches us, he said

, that “withGod, all

things are possibl

e.”

With trumpet fanfare, amid the pag

-

eantry ofthe plum

ed hats andswords

of Knights of Colu

mbus— in a cathe-

dral half-filled with the long robes,

crimson, gold or white, of bishop,

priest andcardinal—

the papalrepre-

sentative, Archbish

opCarloMariaVi-

ganò, made official the Vatican’s

ap-

pointment of Aquila.

And the new archbishop promised

he will speakto the issues of

the day,

as his predecessor, Archbish

op

CharlesChaput,

did, though some

may try, he said, to silence voices of

faith in the public square.

“AChristianmust never

think of his

faith as a private path,”

Aquila said in

AQUILA» 10A

Who is Catholic

in Colorado?

B Catholics accoun

t for about

19 percent of peopl

e in Colorado,

comparedwith 24 perc

ent of the

nationalpopulatio

n, according

to the Pew Forum on Religion

in

Public Life.

B There are about

549,325regis-

tered Catholics in

the Archdio-

cese of Denver, or

about 16.4

percent of the pop

ulation, ac-

cording to archdio

cese figures.

B About 52 percent

of the Catholics

in the 25northern

Colorado

countiesthat make up th

e arch-

diocese are Latino.

The general

population in the s

ame region is

70 percent Anglo, 2

1 percent

Latino and 9 perce

nt other races.

DENVER PROPERTY TAXES

Mayor’s “de-Brucing”

proposal

may anger business co

mmunity

By Ryan Parker The Denver Post

MayorMichaelHancock’splan toask

voters if thecity ca

nkeepproperty tax

-

es that should be paid back under the

Taxpayer’s Bill of R

ights comes with a

sales-taxbreak for

businesses.

But somebusiness owners say t

hat’s

not enough of a carrot to

justify sup-

porting the ballot p

roposal thatwould

allow Denver tokeep about $68

mil-

lion in revenue each year.

In ameetingwith theCityCounc

il’s

Government and Finance Committee

on Wednesday, Hancock said he’s

confident voters w

ill support the so-

called “de-Brucing” prop

osal because

TAXES»9A

The independent

boutiques along B

roadway in the Bakerneighbor

hood

offer merchandise you can’t get

at anymall store.» colorad

o style, 1C

JEERINGFANS

Sure theycontinue

to pack Coors Field,

but it doesn’t mean they are h

appy

with the Rockies’ play »sports

, 1B

NATION & WORLD

ISRAELI LEADER:

“THIS ISAN IRANIAN

TERROR ATTACK”

Israel vows to strike bac

k at Iran,

blaming the Islamic Repub

lic

for a brazen daylight b

ombing

that targeted a bus full

of Israeli

tourists in Bulgaria

and killed

at least seven people. »

15A

Money andpolitics.

In the fuzzylabels and

loose speech

of this political sea

son, “middle class”

seems to cover just about ev

eryone.

What does the term reallymean?»16A

Wide OpenAdventure

White WaterRafting Pack

ages

for up to 8 People

starting at $194

(up to $629 value)

50% offPlease regist

er at

www.DenverDailyDeals.c

om

to get deals emailed to you

every morning.

WWiiddee OOppeenn

Jesus andfirst among his d

isciples.

“Shewill always lead us close to the

heart of her son,” Aquila said, in a

price may vary

outsidemetro denver

Get information on Denver Post Underground Music Showcase, which starts at 8 p.m.

ARETURNTOHIS

SPIRITUALHOME

“Never did I imagine 36

years agothat I would be standi

ng here.”

Wide OpenAdventureWide OpenWWide OpenWWide OpenWWide OpenWWWiiidddeeeWide OpenOWide OpenOWide OpenOWide OpenOOOpppWide OpeneWide OpeneWide OpeneWide OpeneeeWide OpennWide OpennWide OpennWide Opennnn

price may vary

outsidemetro denver

6

Get information on Denver Post Underground Music Showcase, which starts at 8 p.m. »denverpost.com/ums

ARETURNTOHIS

SPIRITUALHOME

“Never did I imagine 36

years agothat I would be standi

ng here.”

By Electa Draper

The Denver Post

Under vaulted ceiling and soaring

choir voices at the

Cathedral Basilica

of the Immaculate Conception on

Wednesday, the Vati

can gave Denver

its eighthbishop an

d fifth archbishop,

Samuel Aquila.

At the close of inst

allation ceremo-

nies andHighMass that la

sted nearly

three hours, Aquila

dedicatedhimsel

and his church toMary, them

other o

Jesus andfirst among his d

isciples.

“Shewill always lead us close to the

heart of her son,” Aquila said, in a

Wide OpenAdventure

White WaterRafting Pack

ages

for up to 8 People

starting at $194

(up to $629 value)

50% offPlease regist

er at

www.DenverDailyDeals.c

om

to get deals emailed to you

every morning.

Wide OpenWWide OpenWWide OpenWWide OpenWWW

Under vaulted ceiling and soaring

choir voices at the

Cathedral Basilica

of the Immaculate Conception on

Wednesday, the Vati

can gave Denver

its eighthbishop an

d fifth archbishop,

At the close of inst

allation ceremo-

nies andHighMass that la

sted nearly

heart of her son,” Aquila said, in a

nies andHighMass that la

sted nearly

three hours, Aquila

dedicatedhimsel

and his church toMary, them

other o

Jesus andfirst among his d

isciples.

“Shewill always lead us close to the

heart of her son,” Aquila said, in a

heart of her son,” Aquila said, in a

Wednesday, the Vati

can gave Denver

its eighthbishop an

d fifth archbishop,

At the close of inst

allation ceremo-

nies andHighMass that la

sted nearly

three hours, Aquila

dedicatedhimself

and his church toMary, them

other of

Jesus andfirst among his d

isciples.

“Shewill always lead us close to the

heart of her son,” Aquila said, in a

Download FREE Denver Post Apps at DenverPost.com/mobile

Patton Boggs’ Energy and Natural Resources Group

A proud supporter of ICOSA

CAPITAL INTELLIGENCE.CAPITOL INSIGHTS.

Eric Drummond1801 California SteetSuite 4900 Denver, CO 80202303.894.6131edrummond@pattonboggs.com