11 - GBA Committees === [00:00:00] Ryan: Welcome back on the 11th day of GBA. We're bringing you one of the biggest gifts. The association offers committees. [00:00:07] Tiffany: Yes, my favorite are you getting a sense that everything GBA is [00:00:14] my favorite. [00:00:14] Ryan: it. [00:00:15] I'm feeling it. [00:00:18] Tiffany: for real, GBA committees are where members can connect with peers, learn from each other, and grow their knowledge in the business or technical sides of the practice. [00:00:27] Ryan: And if you're early in your career or you have decades of experience, committees allow you to connect with people who are navigating the same challenges as you are. [00:00:36] Tiffany: So today we're giving you a quick tour of GBA's committees straight from the leaders As part of the multimedia committee, Ryan, Liz, and I interviewed someone from most all of the committees at the last Fall Leadership Summit. They were all recorded by none other than Tim Rodriguez, [00:00:56] and we're gonna We're gonna play those clips for you, then give you our [00:01:00] additional thoughts. Starting with the Joel Carson. [00:01:06] sound board: Hi, my name is Joel Carson and I'm the Executive Director of the Geoprofessional Business Association. The fuel that drives the GBA engine are committees. All the resources that we provide for our members are created by our members. We're always looking for great people to join our committees so that they can collaborate together and give back to this profession in a meaningful way. If you're considering joining a committee, please check out GBA committees. [00:01:38] Tiffany: Love it. Couldn't have said it better myself. Joel is right. Committees are awesome. I mean, Ryan, I've been involved in two different committees and I'm about to join another one tomorrow. I don't know if I told you that, but. Would you agree committees are really one of the best things that you could [00:01:57] join? [00:01:57] Doesn't matter. You could be brand new, like you could [00:02:00] recommend somebody at your firm who's totally green, or it could be somebody with 30 years. [00:02:04] Ryan: Absolutely. And I think you hear the term frequently lifeblood of GBA. Right. Committees are where things happen and things get done and uh, you get a chance to meet a lot of people that way. [00:02:15] Tiffany: Love it. Okay, next. I'm just gonna get it out of the way. We are gonna play your clip you talked about the multimedia delivery committee. [00:02:27] Let's hear it. Okay. [00:02:29] sound board: Ryan White, uh, principal Geotechnical engineer at Apex. I'm the committee chair. for the Multimedia delivery committee. And if you're interested in learning and or teaching or video or audio, there's a place for you. Even if you just wanna write scripts, or come up with ideas. We need all of that. [00:02:48] So if any of that interests you, and you wanna have some fun while also doing something productive and useful, I think this is a great committee for you. Thank you. Yeah. [00:02:58] Ryan: Wow. That was, [00:03:00] that was good. I think that was pretty good. I think I probably could have said a little more, but I was trying to stay humble. [00:03:06] Tiffany: Right. Right. Okay. So real quick, tell us like what does the multimedia committee do, or what are some deliverables. [00:03:14] Ryan: All right. Just briefly. Multimedia Delivery Committee was started by several of us that were part of emerging Leaders. We started the GBA podcast and we wanted to keep that going so. The multimedia delivery committee was an opportunity to keep the podcast rolling. So that's the biggest piece of what we do, and we've really started to modify that into other things now, including some video thanks to Tim Rodriguez and just continue to get things to members in a way that's easy for them to listen, whether they like video, whether they, they like audio. [00:03:49] Um, we try to make all that stuff available and easily accessible. [00:03:53] Tiffany: Thanks for the history lesson, buddy. Love it. All right. Next we have business [00:04:00] practices. [00:04:01] sound board: My I'm Matt Van Reser, Sanborn Head. I'm the committee chair of the uh, business practice Committee, and our committee is really focused. We have a large group who's really committed to getting quality to. Deliverables out to our, to our members. So I think we really have a long list of deliverables that our members enjoy and they really benefit from. [00:04:21] So if you wanna join a committee where you're gonna get things done, uh, our committee's the place for you. Perfect. Thank you. Sure. [00:04:29] Tiffany: Yeah, Ryan, uh, I was on this committee for a while when I first got involved with GBA and when they say they get a lot done, it, it's so true. That should not be intimidating though, because there's always little subcommittees working on different initiatives and you can provide input on some of the things they're working on, you can jump on one of the subcommittees, but they put out all the surveys, like the Financial Business Snapshots, state of the Workplace. They also run [00:05:00] all of the round tables at the annual conference, which again, I know everything GBA is my favorite, but this really is one of my favorites. And I think you like the round tables too. What's your take on those? [00:05:12] Ryan: I don't want to give too many props to Matt, but I do have to admit I like the round tables, they're the best. [00:05:18] Tiffany: they're awesome. You come to a conference and you get to sit and pick a specific topic and talk it out with some peers, it's, it's pretty awesome. And you hear that they're often dealing with the same things, but they have some ideas and takeaways. I love it. Okay. The next one that I'm gonna play is a super secret committee and he doesn't say the name of it. I think that was by accident. So I'll tell you, it's Legal Affairs. Here it is. [00:05:49] sound board: My name's Aaron Mann. I am with Terracon. And what I would want people to know about the committee is, uh, we are actually a very fun group of people. And I know that that may come as a [00:06:00] surprise, but we have really, really good people who come together, who are all trying to help the geoprofessionals that we serve. We're trying to help them do their job better, and that is why we come together. That is our focus. That is where we, where we spend our time, and we would very much, um, welcome other people to join us in that endeavor. Thank you, Aaron. Thank you. Yep. [00:06:21] Tiffany: So I can't tell you what they do 'cause it is secret. I, I with Aaron a bit about that during the interview, but it is for attorneys only. So if you have an attorney in your firm. Highly recommend that you connect them with this committee 'cause they'll be able to talk through some of their issues with attorneys from peer firms. [00:06:43] Ryan: And, and I think there are some outside legal counsel that participate. A in that committee. In fact, I might go get my law degree just so I can be a part of that committee. It's, it's that good. [00:06:55] Tiffany: great idea. All right, next we have the clip from [00:07:00] BizTech. [00:07:01] sound board: Yeah, I'm John Norwood. I work at Terracon. I'm uh, just chair of the business Technology Committee and it is a lot of fun. It's very interesting and I always learn things. I love to learn. Perfect. Thank you. Sure. Thanks. Good. [00:07:13] Tiffany: Ryan, he gave us a snippet there about learning things, but you're pretty familiar with this committee. Can you break down what they do? [00:07:20] Ryan: I feel like he really undersold some of the excitement around it. John does a good job of drumming up the excitement, and I think a lot of what they're doing is really important and interesting to, uh different member firms especially. One of the things they mentioned, um, putting together is the Git replacement options. [00:07:40] Everyone knows what that is. LIMS documentation. They helped facilitate some articles on AI, so anything technology related, and especially with how we can implement that in our respective companies, no topic is, is off limits. [00:07:57] Tiffany: Perfect. Alright, [00:08:00] now we have. Environmental business committee. [00:08:05] sound board: I'm Dan Gradar. I'm the vice chair of the environmental committee. There's plenty of opportunities to come, to the environmental, committee. There's a wide range of different, issues that you can help out on. You can also be very involved and be on the writing side behind the scenes. [00:08:20] You can be forward facing and do presentations. There's just a variety of opportunities and you can kind of pave your own way in terms of what you want to do on the committee. We're appreciative of, anyone to come, different ideas, different experiences. That's one of the great things about our committee. so one year of experience, 30 years. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. You'll be happy to have him on your committee. Yep, absolutely. Awesome. Thank you so much. All right. Thank you. [00:08:43] Tiffany: So this one, Ryan, I haven't interacted with the environmental committee too much, but I know they, gosh, they've written case histories. They recently wrote two different sets of PFAS articles once the guidance was updated. I know they just put [00:09:00] out a big phase one guidance document, and they were huge in helping put together a presentation [00:09:06] at the, yeah, like they've done some really cool stuff. [00:09:10] Right. [00:09:11] Ryan: Actually, that presentation was really what made me realize sort of how multifaceted they were. I thought that that was really a, they did a great job of including several committees in the preparation of that. So yeah, it sounds like there's lots of options within that committee to do and kind of explore what you want. [00:09:30] Tiffany: All right. Now we have RCC. [00:09:33] sound board: Chuck Gregory, I am the chair of the Resource Collaboration Committee if you wanna be on the cutting edge of what GBA is putting together. Wanna be the tip of the spear in publications, want to interact with some folks that have a lot of wisdom and you guys can mentor, we can mentor each other. It's a great place to, to kind of find your niche in GBA. [00:09:54] So, please come help us. We're looking forward to your help. [00:09:59] Tiffany: Ryan, [00:10:00] you've worked with them a lot, right? Tell me about it. [00:10:03] Ryan: Oh man, I love Chuck. He's, he's one of the multimedia delivery committee's biggest fans. And yeah, these, these guys touch, I would say. Avoid absolutes. That's what Chuck told me. But almost every document that GBA produces that goes out, they look at in terms of brand standards and consistency with, you know, language and verbiage and things like that, and they get exposed to a lot of what GBA does and they get to work with all the committees. I believe anyone producing something gets to work with these guys. And they have a lot of great experience and Chuck emphasized that they're really looking to get some younger folks involved and help out if you're interested. [00:10:44] Uh, great committee to be part of. [00:10:48] Tiffany: I love it. Well, I did think that when I first had to send something to them, I was like, oh, great. This is where our products go to die. [00:10:58] They're gonna, [00:11:00] you know, take two months to review it and then have to do all these formatting things. It's not even gonna have personality by the time it's done. But that is not the case. [00:11:08] These guys are awesome and they want more help. So join 'em if you like editing, reading, being in the know on things that are coming out, that's where you go. [00:11:18] Next we have one of my favorite people, Bryce, here he is. [00:11:24] sound board: My name is Bryce Moore with Blackburn Consulting and I'm the CoMET committee chair. Come join us 'cause we are the best committee. We work in the real world, in the field. Um, we get down and dirty with, all the different materials in construction. Perfect. Thank you. [00:11:38] Tiffany: All right. He is being a little smarty there, but I do love Bryce. So CoMET, if you don't know, is the name of the construction materials committee. I know at SME where I work, we call that Construction Materials Services. So everybody calls it something a little bit different, but yeah, they, they do a lot of, uh [00:12:00] informational things on some of the field side of it, like written publications on CoMET tales, crane pad, best practices and QA guidance. Right? [00:12:14] Ryan: Yep. And that crane pad one, I think we'll talk about it on one of our other days, but, um, that was a collaboration between them and geotech, or was there other collaboration committees in that one? [00:12:28] Tiffany: I think that was the two of them. So [00:12:30] Yeah. [00:12:31] that's a fun one to be in the loop on testing changes. Oh gosh, they're working on some big ICC provider stuff right now too, so that GBA member firms have another place to go to for certification, so they're doing some cool things. Next we have geotech. [00:12:48] sound board: I'm Blake Cotton with Freese and Nichols, I'm the chair of the geotechnical committee. We would love for you to join our committee to come and help us make a difference in the profession. Help us make an impact while also advancing your [00:13:00] career. Thank you. [00:13:03] Tiffany: Ryan, I'm gonna let you talk about this one 'cause Geo is not my area and it's yours. [00:13:09] Ryan: Yeah, I'm definitely a, a bit biased when it comes to the Geotech Business Committee, but they do a lot of great things. I actually started in the Geotech Business Committee when I joined GBA. Um, it was comforting for me to see that consultants across the country were having similar experiences to those that I was. [00:13:28] And so it was a great place to collaborate with others and develop a network of folks dealing with a lot of the same issues. And I mentioned the crane pad, best practices that they collaborate with CoMet on. Uh, but they've done guidance documents for specifications. Um, and there have been a number of case histories that were geotechnical related as well. [00:13:53] Tiffany: All right. The last recording we have, not the last committee 'cause you get to hear from Ryan [00:14:00] and myself on a couple of them. But the last recording we have is from none other than Rob Howard. [00:14:06] sound board: Rob Howard with GTA Geotechnology Associates Chair of the Inclusion Advancement Committee. You don't know till you know, come and see and come join. [00:14:19] Tiffany: I, I loved [00:14:20] Ryan: Oh. [00:14:20] Tiffany: We, we just have to laugh. He, he did have a, have a longer clip, but I asked him for his like 42nd pitch and that's what he gave us. And it is, it's a great committee. They've done some mentoring best practices, documents, um, you know, on how to update your mentoring program inside your companies. They've put out some inclusive speech, best practices, documents. They work on a lot of awesome things and they have fun while doing it. So if anybody comes to mind for that one, have 'em join that committee. [00:14:52] Okay. So we're down to only two committees, and these ones we weren't able to get [00:15:00] clips in time. But first is the peer review committee. This is the one that I'm super excited about and I am joining, and my first meeting is tomorrow. Peer review to me is one of the best things that GBA does. They have member firms sign up to be peer reviewed and very highly trained people from the industry will come in and interview employees, and there there's a whole lot of secret sauce behind it. But that's what the Peer Review Committee does. They administer and oversee that peer review program. They make sure people are trained and then they work with companies on getting in the system and getting their peer reviews set up. [00:15:47] So, I am super, super excited to join that committee 'cause we at SME have been pre reviewed probably three times in my 18 years. And every time we learn a, a [00:16:00] few more things as a firm that we could do to be even better. And so I, I think this one's awesome. [00:16:06] Ryan: I was gonna ask you about that. If you could just briefly explain what a peer review looks like if, if a company decides to be peer reviewed. I, I think of peer reviewing someone else's report or something like that. What does a peer review of the company look like? [00:16:19] Tiffany: Yeah, so I am not on the committee yet. I've only experienced it from the other side, and the last one we did was several years ago. So I was a part of getting the report out information. I wasn't super involved in the process other than being interviewed, but they do interview, um, employees at all levels. They ask 'em things about how the company functions. I think a lot more of them nowadays are virtual. And then some components are in person, but, um, I don't know. That's about all I can give you. [00:16:53] Ryan: Ultimately, they're, they want to help you find ways to make your company run better, whether it's reducing risk or improving [00:17:00] efficiency or, you know, making you more profitable. Ultimately, that's, that's. They're looking to do, they're, this is not some sort of Gotcha. Try and find fault with what you're doing. [00:17:09] It's trying to help you find ways to be better. [00:17:12] Tiffany: For sure. It's a peer review to help you, and it was, started when GBA first got started. I believe peer review was one of the mandatory things in order to be insured by Tera, but I, I don't think that's a requirement anymore, but the whole intent was to help you be less liable and be a better company. [00:17:36] Ryan: Great. [00:17:37] Tiffany: So the last committee, Ryan, that we're gonna talk about, tell us about emerging issues and trends. [00:17:46] Ryan: I think it really is as cool as it sounds, they've really morphed this committee over the years to become something super valuable. Right now they're doing a great job of treating it sort [00:18:00] of like a think tank. So it's not sort of a traditional committee like, like we've described for these other committees. [00:18:05] So they're really about looking at ideas related to issues that affect all companies. And they're looking more into the future, not just right now. So they've had some great speakers come and talk. Um, these are like, you know, half hour to one hour presentations and that's ultimately become their committee meeting. [00:18:25] Is these presentations with sort of these future thinking, forward thinking folks on topics like ai, sustainable human workforce, climate change are some of the topics that they've, uh, recently addressed. So it's a great place if you're looking to the future, um, if you're looking for future things that may impact your company, ways to take advantage or avoid problems. [00:18:50] I think all those are great reasons to join the the committee. [00:18:53] Tiffany: Yeah, and they're typically working on like figuring out what's up and coming and then recommending [00:19:00] what other committees might work on. Also making recommendations for the focus of the Crystal Ball workshop. [00:19:06] So this is a great one. And I've heard that they rebranded it over the last year and those. Think tank style discussions I've heard are awesome. It makes me really jealous that the timing doesn't align for me to be able to join, but I, I've heard really good things. [00:19:21] Ryan: Same. [00:19:23] Tiffany: Well, there you have it. Those are our committees, and thank you for joining us on day 11, which is day two, because we like confusing you of the 12 days of GBA. [00:19:38] Ryan: It's a countdown. We're going backwards. We're keeping that in there.