The History of GEA

Georgia Engineering Alliance Celebrates 10 Years

For 10 years, the Georgia Engineering Alliance has represented the engineering profession in Georgia by facilitating collaboration among various engineering societies on issues of mutual interest.  GEA has also provided administrative and program management services to GEA member organizations.    

Georgia Engineering Alliance Founding Board of Directors

left – right: 1^st row:  Don Allen; John McEvoy
2^nd row:  Tom Gorman; Andy Harrison; Ed Ellis

GEA’s Background and History

GEA evolved from a cooperative arrangement between the American Council of Engineering Companies of Georgia and the Georgia Society of Professional Engineers whereby their two offices and staffs were merged over the period between 1997 and 1999.  Prior to this joint office, GSPE served as the mailing address of several associations that did not have paid staff.  The joint office, therefore, became the mailing address of these associations.  The joint ACEC/G-GSPE office initially had two locations and one Executive Director; then the physical offices were merged into a single location on November 1, 1998, known as the Georgia Engineering Center (this was the ACEC office at the INFORUM building and required an expansion of the leased space).  In this configuration, ACEC/G had three employees and GSPE had one; their association employer paid each separately.  GSPE also made monthly payments to ACEC/G for rent, other expenses, and a portion of the salary of the shared Executive Director.

During this period of shared offices, an evolution occurred in which the concept of an umbrella organization for Georgia’s engineering associations gained momentum.  The objective was to create an institutional structure that would enhance the cooperation among engineering associations on certain activities where it was agreed that cooperation would enhance the quality of the activity or deliver it more cost-effectively.  At this time there already existed some experience in this type of collaboration: legislative affairs, Engineers Week, and joint association meetings.

A group called the Georgia Engineers Legislative Coalition had been meeting to coordinate legislative affairs during sessions of the Georgia General Assembly.  Initially the Coalition was just composed of GSPE and ACEC/G, but it was clear that other engineering associations could participate with beneficial effect and were invited to the meetings.  The Georgia Professional Engineer magazine, a long time publication of GSPE but with a new third-party publisher, was changed to The Georgia Engineer and carried news of Georgia engineering as well as of GSPE and ACEC/G.  For many years a joint committee of up to a dozen engineering associations organized the Engineers Week Awards Program and annual Banquet. 

During this evolutionary period of time, there were conversations with other states to gain from their experiences.  As many as sixteen states had arrangements where the state ACEC and NSPE organizations had joint offices and/or shared staff.  In addition, one state (Kentucky) had the state Board of Registration in the same office.  In Massachusetts, an organization called The Engineering Center (TEC) was created by ACEC, ASCE and a unique state engineering/

surveying organization.  TEC also purchased a building a few blocks from the state Capitol in Boston.  In 1998, an ACEC/G group visited TEC and discussed their organization, objectives, and “lessons learned” from the experience.  The TEC model seemed promising – an association could contract with TEC for services but remain fully independent.  At the same time it offered a physical “home” for “engineering” and made it accessible to external audiences.  It had become clear that the elected officials and the general public think of the profession simply as ‘engineers’ and do not know the acronyms that represent engineering affiliation – ASCE, ACEC, GSPE, ASHE, etc. 

The outcome of this thinking was to create a separate corporation that could provide services to engineering associations on a fee for service basis – the Georgia Engineering Alliance, Inc.  Each association (including ACEC and GSPE) would contract with GEA independently for whatever services were needed by that association.  This concept led to the incorporation of GEA on September 6, 2000.  In anticipation of this incorporation, separate agreements were negotiated between GEA and ACEC and GEA and GSPE for the full fiscal year ending June 30, 2001. 

With the creation of GEA, GSPE and ACEC staff became employees of GEA.  The office was moved to a new location on January 1, 2002 under a lease in the name of GEA but guaranteed by ACEC/G and GSPE.  The office was still referred to as the Georgia Engineering Center and was located at the Equitable Building.  New equipment was purchased by GEA, although old office furniture remained on the books and was depreciated by either GSPE or ACEC but was “loaned” to GEA. During the initial year of operation in 2000 and 2001, existing financial relationships with other associations were assigned to GEA by GSPE.

During the subsequent years, GEA negotiated agreements with a variety of engineering and technical societies to provide services.  In 2006, GEA moved offices to Peachtree Center (Harris Tower, Suite 700) and executed a 6-year lease on its own account, with no lease payment guarantee required.  At this juncture all furniture/equipment on the books of ACEC/G and GSPE were fully depreciated and all exiting furnishings and equipment were owned by GEA and being depreciated on their books.  The office was named the Georgia Engineering Alliance.

On March 20, 2008, GEA created and adopted its first strategic plan effective 2008 through 2011. 

Member Services

As GEA matured as an organization, additional associations became affiliated and some expanded the level of services provided by GEA.  GEA bylaws define ACEC/G and GSPE as Sponsoring Organizations and other associations that contract with GEA as Affiliate Members.  GEA leadership defined four basic services for Affiliate Members that would help create the notion of simply being a “member” of GEA.  By June 2001, a fee structure was crafted that made it easy to contract for services and provided a sense of equity among members.  The basic services and fees remained in effect until January 2007, when an increase in fees was implemented and negotiated with GEA’s Affiliate Members.  Below are the basic standardized services: 

1. Office Administration  – The GEA office serves as the permanent mailing address/phone number for an association and as a permanent repository for files and historical records/documents.  GEA staff will respond to phone calls or refer them to the appropriate association representative.  GEA staff will hold mail to be picked up or forward it to the designated representative.

2. The Georgia Engineer Magazine – The Georgia Engineer magazine will be mailed to the associations’ members, based on a list of members provided to GEA in digital format.  The magazine is published 6 times per year with a circulation of about 10,000.  The Association may appoint two persons to the Editorial Board and is entitled to one page in the magazine for news of the association (written by the association).

3. Georgia Engineers Legislative Coalition – The Association may appoint two persons to serve on the Georgia Engineers Legislative Coalition, a group of engineering associations that serves as a clearinghouse for legislative issues affecting engineering.  The Coalition generally meets monthly throughout the year.  GEA has a registered lobbyist that advocates for engineering issues/legislation, is present at the Capitol several times per week during the session, and prepares legislative reports approximately weekly during the session for Coalition members via e-mail. 

4. Georgia Engineers Week Committee – The association may appoint two persons to serve on the Committee that coordinates the activities for Engineers Week, including an annual banquet, awards programs, outreach to K-12 students, Introduce a Girl to Engineering, Future Cities, fundraising, publicity, etc.  GEA maintains the Engineers Week web site, and provides administrative support for Engineers Week activities.  The Committee meets approximately monthly.

5. Miscellaneous – An authorized representative of the association may request the services of GEA staff for miscellaneous activities and tasks. 

6. Meeting Reservations – When requested, GEA will take reservations for an association event.  The association’s members may make reservations for a general membership meeting, seminar, annual meeting, or other association event by phone, e-mail, or FAX.   The GEA staff will provide a list of reservations electronically a few days prior to the meeting to the appropriate association officer. GEA has the capability of handling on-line credit card registrations, which is optional.  

In January, 2010, GEA hopes to be the focus of a study by the Georgia State University Executive Masters of Business Administration program (EMBA) to review its operation and help determine the next level of its strategic plan. 

 For information on how your organization may participate, please contact Gwen Brandon, President, at the GEA office 404-521-2324.

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Georgia Engineering Alliance
Harris Tower, Suite 700
233 Peachtree Street
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
404-521-2324    FAX 404-521-0283