February, 1999 Volume 11, Number II

Cool

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Middletown Marketing Coordinator Barbara Huffman presents "Choices."

by Christine Parcell

Barbara Huffman, A&A Middletown Marketing Coordinator, helped spread the message that 'choices made today will affect your life tomorrow' through a program called "Choices." Huffman served on the Winchester-Frederick County Chamber of Commerce Education Task Force last year, and volunteered to be a presenter for the program this year. "Choices" helps teach students how to make effective decisions, and has been presented to almost five million students in grades six through 12 in the U.S. and Canada in the last fifteen years. Recently, Barbara presented the program to nearly 50 students at James Wood and John Handley High Schools in Winchester, Virginia.

"From this program I wanted the students to understand that self-discipline is the number one factor in their life that they have control over, and plays a major role in helping them reach their goals," says Huffman. For more information on this program, or to obtain information on starting a program in your area, contact Barbara via email at huffmanb@andassoc.com or call (540) 869-2501.

EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP ISSUES Price.jpg (10104 bytes)

A&A Greensboro Branch Manager Keith Price has seen some success in removing a legislative roadblock to achieving 100% employee ownership in North Carolina. A draft bill will be introduced in this year’s North Carolina legislative session that will allow ESOP Trust stock to be considered held by a licensed engineer or surveyor if the trustee is licensed.

Currently, North Carolina law mandates that two-thirds of the company stock must be owned by licensed professionals, which effectively limits the growth our ESOP and the sharing of the responsibilities and benefits of ownership within our company.

The proposed legislation will allow complete participation by all eligible employees in our employee stock ownership plan, and will allow our ESOP to continue to grow while providing ownership opportunities throughout the firm. Several A&A employees in North Carolina have been working with state legislators and the NC General Statutes Committee to get the legislation introduced. We will keep Ampersand readers posted on the outcome of the vote this spring.

VIDEO: Not just a rental anymore...

by Howard Boggess

video_collage.TIF (762244 bytes) On-demand and Streaming Digital Video are two of the hottest topics on the web today. A&A is constantly evaluating the tools for video distribution, both for our clients, and for internal communication and education.

A&A has been using web-based video-conferencing for several years. Our project managers and engineers are using the video transmission functions of Microsoft’s NetMeeting software to enhance communications with co-workers and clients. Currently, we are evaluating methods for providing digital streams of video and audio to distribute our in-house training sessions to all offices in real-time, and for archiving the sessions for self-directed training for new employees.

Our video production efforts are also expanding in many other directions. A&A’s Creative Services Team recently completed a 40 minute video, with the guidance of A&A Vice President Tim Stowe, for a client involved in legal mediation. We have the ability to combine engineering expertise with communication and production skills to produce video presentations that are influential and impactful.

As importantly, A&A understands the implications of multimedia delivery, and how to format for videotape delivery, web delivery, CD-ROM delivery, and hard-copy delivery. Whether you’re selling a product, a service, or a legal argument, A&A has specialized skills to help deliver the message.

Contact Howard Boggess, Creative Services Director, at (800) 763-5596, or email boggess@andassoc.com, for more information on how we can help you.

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