AE Newsletter - April 2024

WE’RE GROWING

EXCITING NEWS TO SHARE

In February of 2024, it was officially announced that AE is joining forces with WSB, an industry leading design and consulting firm specializing in engineering, community planning, environmental and construction management services. The combination of our firms is a significant milestone for both organizations, and I believe it will bring about many opportunities for growth and success for both our staff and clients. We join WSB’s staff of over 1,100 who support the government, commercial and energy markets with their infrastructure needs and improve the way people engage with communities, transportation, energy, and our environment. The firm is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and has 36 offices located throughout the U.S.

First and foremost, I want to assure everyone that this decision was the result of careful consideration and planning. Working close with our leadership team, Cory and I have spent significant time analyzing the potential benefits and opportunities presented with this decision. We firmly believe that WSB is a great fit and that the AE/WSB combination will create a stronger and more capable professional organization. WSB and AE are an excellent match in many ways. Our cultures align significantly and so do our business aspirations. We both share a strong commitment to teamwork, excellence, innovation, and customer service. The two firms share similar values/principles, which will continue to serve as the foundation for our many future successes and growth. The decision to join WSB presents our staff with exciting opportunities to expand their capabilities to solve the challenges our clients are presented with every day! I also look forward to sharing AE lessons learned over the past decade or so with the WSB team – by combining our resources, expertise, and talents. We will continue to Achieve Excellence together! I’m excited to have access to a wider range of services, and our combined knowledge and skills will enable us to deliver exceptional value to our clients.

Cory and I are looking forward to remaining engaged in the day to day to Operations of the Southeast Region and continuing to provide the same quality and team members we have been offering our clients on current and future projects/contracts alike. By mid-year, we will fully integrate using best practices from each organization and address challenges together as we FORGE AHEAD as one team.

I truly believe that this a great thing for the AE family and I couldn’t be more excited for our future. Each of our clients and team members are appreciated for your commitment to our firm and each of our AE team members remain vital to shaping our future as we develop a full-service go to market approach in the Southeast as WSB!

Roderick Myrick, P.E. VP of Strategy and CEI Southeast

//AE NEW HIRES

WELCOME TO AE!

As we grow at AE, we are grateful to welcome many new and returning employees to our team. We are excited to watch them grow professionally with us as we continue to work alongside our amazing clients.

Thank you for choosing AE!

SEPTEMBER 2023-MARCH 2024

Steven Vereen

Tanika Johnson

Brian Miller

Yoscar Martiz Rodriguez

Jeffery Archer

Mathew Lane

Ellen Wheeler

Michael Land

Joseph Rawls

Shandra Ganious

Katherine Moore

//AE ANNIVERSARIES

OCTOBER 2023-MARCH 2024

1 YEAR

Graham Marie Atkinson

Mariana Betancur

Sheila Carter

Monica Costa

Luis Garcia

Mathew Hayes

Chad Kalins

5 YEARS

Dwayne Benitez

Steve Campbell

10+ YEARS

Micahel Latuluppe

Cory Nichols, P.E.

Sainadh Nahubadi

Jonathan White

Antonio Pinkney

Khong Lo

Ariana Gonzalez

Michael Baxter

Christine Hiehle

Chase Phillips

Richard Poole

Julian McKinley, P.E.

Dustin Packham

Ailina Dennis

Jaylen Charity

Charles Alder

Dennis Townsend

Austin Hatcher

CONGRATS

Roy Kincaid

Aurea Lara

PJ Langello

Alison Lewis

Kwando Lynch

Olga Martinez

Joshua Mays

Natasha Rynning

Wilmer Sanabria

John Calhoun

Kevin Campbell

Cynthia Phillips

Aaron Rhoden

Rolando Ruiz

Brandon Sproul

Jack West

Brandon Wolfe

Jim Newman

Wilmer Sanabria

Carlos Magno

// EMPLOYEE OF THE QUARTER

QUARTER 3 WINNER

Alan Floyd Project Administrator, North East FL

QUARTER 4 WINNER

Jo Ann Moore Project Administrator/Area Manager, North West FL

CHAMPION OF THE YEAR

Grace Granados Contract Support Specialist, Central FL

CELEBRATING OUR NOMINEES

Thank you to all of our 2023 nominees for going above and beyond! Your hard work and dedication to AE and our clients does not go unnoticed to your management and your peers!

// PHILANTHROPIES

The AE Team and fundraising efforts collectively raised over $5,000 to support these philanthropic events and organizations. Thank you to everyone for your support!

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

OCTOBER 2023

GREAT CYCLE CHALLENGE

SEPTEMBER 2023

// CONFERENCES AND CAREER FAIRS

WORK HARD, PLAY HARD

SAFETY Q&A WITH CHRIS MORRIS

Q//WHAT DOES SAFETY LOOK LIKE HERE AT AE?

A// Safety here at AE looks like a seedling that was recently sewn and is now getting the water and care it needs for prominent growth. The safety program was recently developed/ implemented, and we’ve taken great strides to improve on what’s been a great start. We’ve created a Safety Committee with members from each region in Florida and for GA and NC alike. The Committee discusses topics that we consider most necessary to carry out our daily duties as safely as possible. This Committee is comprised of members that have worked in the field as contractors and consultants. Therefore, we are able to look at safety from multiple facets. Expect more safety and you’ll get it with AE.

Q//HOW DOES THE COMPANY STAY UPDATED WITH THE LATEST SAFETY REGULATIONS?

A// The Committee members research construction related topics monthly to determine what’s trending with respect to injuries, deaths, etc. and discuss concerns with other safety folks in the industry like insurance agents. We review the newest OSHA regulations, other safety programs, etc. We also implemented weekly “Toolbox Talks” to keep safety topics fresh on our staff minds.

Q//WHY IS WORKPLACE SAFETY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY IN A FIELD LIKE CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING?

A// Safety should always be considered first and is paramount to our industry with the types of projects and scopes of the work that we do. If one googles the 10 most dangerous jobs, you’ll find that construction related jobs will take at leased 5 of the ten spots. In the field, our staff works in close proximity to very large equipment that have many blind spots, are very loud, and cumbersome to operate in tight spaces. This leads to a great potential for accidents and death. Additionally, our field staff constructs and resurfaces roadways of all types and sometimes works within 2-4 feet of high-speed traffic. Again, Safety is paramount!

Q// WHAT ARE SOME SAFETY INITIATIVES THAT AE IS LOOKING TO IMPLEMENT IN THE NEAR FUTURE?

A// The Committee plans to get every applicable employee OSHA 10 certified, equip all applicable field vehicles with first aide kits, and keep discussing safety topics with our staff to avoid complacency.

Q// WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING MOST FORWARD TO (SAFETY-WISE) AS WE TRANSITION FROM AE TO WSB?

A// Simply put, we are looking most forward to strengthening our safety culture.

Q// IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO THE SAFETY INITIATIVE DISCUSSION?

A// If we all say something when we see unsafe issues, there will be less and less injuries and death in our industry. It takes everyone communicating to have a safe workplace.

AE POP-UP SH

//OVERVIEW

January Pop-Up Shop

AE started the year off strong with an official storefront pop-up. This was a perfect opportunity for AE employees to elevate their branded style! It was live from January 2nd to January 31st and featured a variety of new merchandise including short sleeve business shirts, tumblers, hats, and even cold weather apparel. Graham Marie Atkinson, both initiated and ran the storefront, working hard to make it as successful and accessible as it was. As we now transition away from the AE brand, we are excited to see what is in store for our future brand and merchandise ventures.

NOTE: Special thanks to Graham Marie for working with the production company to update logo purchases to reflect our new brand before going to print. Excited for the inaugural merchandise!

JOSE V.

“Loved the pop up! The price point and variety was great.”

MARIE J.

“Thought that the storefront was a GREAT idea all around!”

BRANDON W.

“ Everything was easy to use on the website.”

AE loves Construction Career Days!

//AE HEALTH AND WELLNESS

AE launched its newest initiative dealing with Health and Wellness. We developed an internal team that oversees all our new health initiatives. The Health and Wellness team offers employee challenges, recipes, helpful tips and tricks, and nurtition education for the benifit and wellbeing of our team! We developed an internal team that oversees all our new health initiatives. Some additional Health and Wellness Implementations are as follows:lthy Fitness Reminders

• At-Home Fitness / Gym Discounts

• Office Challenges

• Financial Wellness

• Lunch & Learns

• Health Appointment Email Reminders

• AE Philanthropic & Fitness Events

• Healthy Recipes

• Insurance Benefit Information Healthy Fitness Reminders

• At-Home Fitness / Gym Discounts

//FITNESS FEBRUARY 2024 STEPS CHALLENGE RESULTS!

//RECIPES

Smothered Greens

New Year’s Black Eyed Peas