2015 Annual Report

DIVERSITY

SUSTAINABILITY BALANCE

2015

ANNUAL REPORT

Message to Our Shareholders | 3 The Path to 2020 | 4 2015 Project Highlights | 8 2015 Financial Highlights | 16 Corporate Social Responsibility | 18

Diversification Diversify the company’s business interests to achieve a balanced and sustainable consulting practice.

Employees Recognizing that our employees are our most valuable asset, develop and maintain programs focused on talent management.

Sustainability Achieve long-term sustainable success through a balance of growth and profit in response to dynamic markets.

Commitment Through a continued commitment to client services, develop a corporate environment built around the implementation of “best practices.”

Visibility Cover Photo: Knife Lake is one of the 1,175 lakes located in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness located on the US/Canada border. This wilderness area offers 1,200 miles of canoe routes and is the most heavily used wilderness in the country. RESPEC developed a watershed model of this area as part of a larger study to restore Lake of the Woods.

Page 2 Photo: Triaxial testing device used for salt research in our world-class rockmechanics laboratory located in Rapid City, SD.

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Increase the visibility of RESPEC as a respected, trusted, and sought-out major regional consulting company in the markets we serve.

MESSAGE TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS 2015 represented another year of progress for RESPEC. Focused on building a sustainable organization, we succeeded this past year in growing the company, performing profitably, investing in our future, and giving back to our employees.

Growth–We increased our gross revenues by 7 percent, producing over $39M. Over the past 4 years, our gross revenues have increased 120 percent! Our workforce also increased by 10 percent in 2015.

Performance–Critical to any company’s success is their ability to produce positive, bottom-line results. As a 100 percent employee-owned company, positive net income creates long-term benefits to all employees. This past year, we improved our net income by 15 percent over the previous year.

Investment–Without additional investment, it is difficult for an organization to grow, evolve, and sustain itself for the future benefit of its employees. In 2015, RESPEC made strategic market investments in two companies: AQUA TERRA Consultants and Flat Rock Geographics. AQUA TERRA expanded our geographic presence to California and Georgia while strengthening the breadth and depth of our water quality modeling expertise. Flat Rock elevated our GIS capabilities by adding expertise in geospatial, web-based mapping applications. In addition to AQUA TERRA and Flat Rock, RESPEC expanded existing offices in Boise, Denver, Minneapolis, and Lexington. Further equipment investments took place in our industry-leading materials laboratory, which serves the salt-, potash-, and shale-mining industries.

Rewards–Our most valuable asset is our employees. Their technical, project, and business leadership is why we continue to succeed. In 2015, RESPEC made contributions to employee discretionary income and retirement programs, representing 49 percent of pretax, prebonus earnings. We are fully committed to the present and future quality of our employee-owners’ lives.

We want to thank our employees and clients for our continued success. We appreciate the opportunity to share our 2015 accomplishments.

Todd Kenner CEO/President

RESPEC BOARD OF DIRECTORS Walter D. Jones, Lead Director* N. Douglas Fluke* Paul E. Fosdick* Todd J. Kenner Jason T. Love Alfred J. Serrano* Marvin D. Truhe*

OFFICERS Todd J. Kenner CEO/President Philip A. Welling Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Dale R. Atkinson Chief Information Officer Samantha L. Lapin Senior Vice President, Information Technologies Jason T. Love Senior Vice President, Water & Natural Resources John S. L. Morgan Senior Vice President, Mining & Energy Kerry L. DeVries Vice President Leo L. Van Sambeek Vice President Rick R. Moser Vice President Karla R. Lipp Secretary

POD, Inc.

(a wholly owned subsidiary of RESPEC)

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dale R. Atkinson Walter D. Jones* Todd J. Kenner Samantha L. Lapin Alfred J. Serrano* Marvin D. Truhe*

OFFICERS Samantha L. Lapin, CEO/President Dale R. Atkinson, Chief Technology Officer Todd J. Kenner, Vice President Philip A. Welling, Treasurer Karla R. Lipp, Secretary *External Director

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THE PATH TO 2020 REWARDS

GROWTH

PERFORMANCE

INVESTMENT

S U STAIN ABILITY

GROWTH Balance Portfolio

ro

w

th

IT

ue en ev

$15.8

R

WNR

G

M&E

40%

Our market focus centers on technical and geographic diversification to better serve our clients.

8

10%

Number of new states RESPEC has expanded into since 2011.

Percent increase of workforce in 2015.

$15.7

$15.6

Geographic Expansion

$12.2 $11.6

30%

$11.6

$11.9

30%

2014

2015

$9.7 $8.0

$6.6 $5.8

$5.3 $7.3

$9.8

$4.6 2011

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2012-2015 Expanded Locations 2012

2013

Revenue (Millions of Dollars)

2011 Presence

CULTURAL CONNECTION Our Environment Is Important

Our Relationships Matter

Known as a Great Place to Work:

Known for:

• Entrepreneurial • Positive, Respectful, and Open Communication • Rewarding, Engaging, and Employee-Focused Culture • Commitment to Continuous Learning and Professional Growth • Meaningful and Positive Involvement in Communities

• Investments in Transformative Services and Technologies • A Strongly Guarded Philosophy of High Business Ethics and Integrity • Reliable and Approachable Business Partner • Responsiveness • Lasting Client Relationships • Technical and Industry Expertise, Innovation, and Thought-Leadership

PERFORMANCE Positive top- and bottom-line growth.

24.8% 10-year average annual appreciation of RESPEC shares.

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Years of positive stock share price appreciation.

10.4% Pre-bonus, pre-retirement profitability.

$14.60

$12.80

$11.31 $10.90

$8.67

Company Market Value (Millions of Dollars) 2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

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INVESTMENT Our growth and profitability has allowed us to invest in new geographies and new markets while contributing to our employees success.

7 Number of companies that RESPEC has acquired since 2010.

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2015 Acquisitions

$1M

Number of companies that RESPEC acquired in 2015.

AQUA TERRA Consultants expands our geographic presence to California and Georgia while strengthening the breadth and depth of our water quality modeling expertise.

Dollars spent on continued education and employee training programs.

Flat Rock Geographics elevates our GIS capabilities by adding expertise in geospatial, webbased mapping applications.

Boise, ID Expanded office space to accommodate growing IT presence.

Rapid City, SD Finalized remodel of the corporate headquarters.

Roseville, MN Growth in the Minnesota office by acquiring Flat Rock Geographics.

Lexington, KY New office location and 9 new employees hired.

Mt. View, CA New office locations added from the acquisition of AQUA TERRA Consultants.

Ouray, CO New office locations added from the acquisition of AQUA TERRA Consultants.

Denver, CO Completed the 3rd office expansion in the past 5 years.

San Antonio, TX Hired key business development talent.

Sustainability 6

Decatur, GA New office locations added from the acquisition of AQUA TERRA Consultants.

We are continually investing in our office and corporate infrastructure to ensure generational success.

REWARDS

47 23.0%

48 23.5%

52 25.5%

As an employee-owned company, we are committed to returning positive value to our employee shareholders.

93%

Percentage of employees with ownership interest.

$4.8M

77%

Percentage of ownership that was transitioned from capital shareholders and previous employees since 2010.

35 17.2% 22 10.8%

Dollars paid to employee shareholders over the past 5 years.

20–29

30–39

40–49

50–59

60–69

Number of Employee Owners by Age Group

100% Employee Ownership Over the last 5 years, RESPEC has more than doubled the employee population. As a result, our growing employee population was under-represented as owners within the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). In 2014, the Board of Directors approved two major ownership opportunities to increase the number of employees receiving the benefits of ownership through the ESOP. Through our commitment to employee ownership, 93 percent of RESPEC employees receive ownership benefits through the ESOP.

Individual Capital Shareholders

11%

Employees Without Ownership Interest

29%

ESOP Employee Owners

60%

Employees Without Ownership Interest ESOP Employee Owners

2015 ESOP Committee Members

2011

7% 93%

2015

Trustees Todd Kenner Phil Welling

Rapid City, SD Rapid City, SD

Committee Erika Abeyta Laura Beltemacchi Julie Blackburn Amy DiRienzo Jason Love, Chair John Morgan Joel Nieland Rick Moser Mike Rotar

Albuquerque, NM Albuquerque, NM Roseville, MN Rapid City, SD Rapid City, SD Lexington, KY Rapid City, SD Denver, CO Bozeman, MT

34% INCREASE IN EMPLOYEE ESOP OWNERSHIP! 7

2015 PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS Indian Health Services Data Management Information Reporting Systems Through its three contracts with Indian Health Service (IHS), POD (a wholly owned subsidiary of RESPEC) has served more than 480 US tribal hospitals and clinics and thousands of individual IHS beneficiaries since June 2006. The longest-running contract is for database development and computer support of the National Patient Information Reporting System. POD also provides Tier 3 and Tier 4 AIX/Ensemble and High Availability Cluster administration and training support for the Resource and Patient Management System. In addition,

480+ Number of US tribal hospitals and clinics that POD has served since 2006.

POD was contracted by the Great Plains Area Office in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to provide remote systems administration and engineering support for the area’s Resource and Patient Management System computer and application systems.

POD’s IT support work for IHS has won recognition from regional and national IHS officers. The Chief Medical Officer said, “This is a great group that is dedicated to the needs of our American Indian and Alaska Native population. Thank you all!”

“This is a great group that is dedicated to the needs of our American Indian and Alaska Native population.

Thank you all!”

Chief Medical Officer, IHS

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Animas River

Emergency Support for the Environmental Protection Agency On August 5, 2015, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) excavated an old adit to the Gold King Mine in southwestern Colorado, when 3 million gallons of pressurized water leaked from the mine tunnel and flowed into Cement Creek, which is a tributary to the Animas River. RESPEC, working as a subconsultant to Weston Solutions under the Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team (START) contract, provided emergency support to the EPA in response to the mine-water release. RESPEC staff committed more than 3,700 hours over a 3-month

period to sample water quality, sediment, and soil at the mine site and throughout the affected surface waters in the Animas River Basin; sample drinking water at potentially affected homes; conduct data analysis and modeling support; and provide GIS data analysis and mapping assistance. RESPEC staff were deployed on short notice for extended periods ranging from 3 to 8 weeks and routinely worked long days—typically more than 100 hours per week. For their efforts, RESPEC staff were recognized as critical to the response, and some individuals received EPA service awards.

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CRH Block Modeling and Mine Planning for New Assets In 2015, RESPEC’s Kentucky and Colorado offices moved into their next set of projects for CRH (an Ireland-based company). In 2014, RESPEC performed due diligence for CRH’s purchase of $7.4 billion of assets that were divested as part of the merger of Lafarge and Holcim—two of the world’s largest construction and building materials firms. CRH is now the world’s third-largest building materials supplier.

RESPEC began block modeling and mine planning for CRH’s new assets, which included validating block models received during the due diligence process and building new geologic models with information obtained after the purchase.

We participated in the Purchase Price Allocation analysis, so that the value of the raw materials assets can be allocated among the 11 countries involved in the purchase, and created an opening balance sheet for the newly expanded firm.

As raw materials issues arose, RESPEC continued supporting CRH, from performing a blasting analysis in a Canadian quarry to conducting a raw material mix analysis in a United Kingdom quarry to identify sulphur sources.

RESPEC will assist CRH by integrating a GIS-based platform that can be used in all of its countries for raw materials and property tracking. RESPEC will also continue to provide technical support to both the newly acquired and legacy CRH mines and quarries.

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Geological models for integrated cement plants worldwide acquired

by CRH from Lafarge Holcim.

10 Countries visited in 2 months to evaluate the restoration provisions of the Lafarge Holcim divested assets.

4.1B

Tons of proven and probable reserves in 11 countries acquired

by CRH from Lafarge Holcim.

Idaho Transportation Department Providing Niche Services to State Transportation Departments The Idaho Transportation Department Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is in the midst of modernizing its system.

Upon discovering that the historical (noncleansable) data and archive tapebased analysis processes could not be supported by the new system, the Idaho Transportation Department contracted POD to perform a business and technical assessment, conduct requirements definition through joint application design sessions, and plan and architect the solution.

Thus was born the Collaborative Online Archival Library (COAL), based in MS SQL Server and a .NET web application. COAL not only supports reporting and analysis but also serves as a repository of the DMV’s entire current and historical data from the mainframe, DMV sources, and external sources (e.g., vehicle catalog). COAL is the source of data to migrate to the new system.

COAL is built around a Customer Centric (enterprise customer) framework to allow all information to be tied to a single person and taken out of silos. COAL, now in production, provides the state of Idaho with access to all DMV’s data as well as

data retrieved from the vehicle catalog service and the Commercial Driver’s License Information System through the web application and ad hoc reporting services.

To support the migration efforts, POD gleans rules from subject matter experts through joint application design sessions and other follow-up meetings. To have the data as complete and accurate as possible, POD uses the internally developed Subject Matter Expert Tools Analysis Toolset (STAT) and targeted SQL queries, thereby continually communicating with subject matter experts and tracking data validation errors using Microsoft’s Team Foundation Server.

To support other major aspects of the DMV Modernization Program, POD has been providing staff augmentation resources to the Idaho Transportation Department. These resources include a team of developers supporting the G2 Modernization project and ongoing database administration support of the Idaho Transportation Department’s Oracle systems.

4M+ Number of vehicles that have been tracked since 2011 using POD’s COAL system.

“COAL has been instrumental in allowing us to continue to run and operate our systems in a more efficient manner and take us to the next level in terms of systems integration. We are thrilled with our collaborative working relationship with POD.” Motor Vehicle Administrator, Idaho Transportation Department 11

Stormwater Criteria Manuals

Developing Stormwater Criteria for Governmental Agencies For over 30 years, governmental agencies have been seeking out RESPEC’s expertise in developing and implementing stormwater criteria and other water-resource manuals for their regulation and administration of stormwater and water resources. RESPEC has developed an excellent reputation in preparing these manuals for cities, counties, and state agencies.

RESPEC was selected 31 years ago to prepare the first standalone stormwater manual for Boulder County, Colorado. That manual served Boulder County very well but needed to be updated because of the extensive amount of stormwater work generated by the 2013 flood event. In 2015, Boulder County selected RESPEC because of our manual preparation reputation and how well the original manual had withstood the test of time.

The updated manual addressed new drainage issues, policies, and general changes in the state-of-the-art of stormwater management as well as innovations in flood recovery and ecological design.

Similarly, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) wanted to engage a company that had experience in both water quality and manual preparation to address pretreatment standards in the Minnesota Stormwater Manual. Again, because of our reputation in both water quality modeling and manual preparation, the MPCA selected RESPEC to prepare these pretreatment standards and regulations. This project included research, applicability guidance development, and design and analysis standards for implementing pretreatment facilities.

“You guys have exceeded our expectations on this project and it really speaks highly of your firm and your capabilities. Well done, and hopefully, for both of us, this is the start of more to come in our working together.”

Project Manager, Boulder County

300

Stormwater-related projects RESPEC has completed in the past 10 years.

26 Number of criteria manuals that RESPEC has prepared for cities, counties, and state agencies.

Department of Energy Nuclear Waste Disposal Research

RESPEC is currently researching and testing a prototype heater for a Department of Energy project that explores the feasibility of deep disposal of nuclear waste. The concept is to drill a large borehole several miles into the earth’s crust; deposit nuclear waste at the bottom; and then lower a heater that will melt the granite above the waste, thereby sealing the waste in its final resting tomb.

The heater is placed inside a steel tube and buried in sand and concrete blocks for insulation.

Thus far, the team has performed several tests where they melted sand, approaching 1,450°C (2,640°F), which is hot enough to melt the steel containment vessel used to house the heater and turn concrete blocks into dust! The team also plans to test a heater in situ in the Sanford Underground Research Facility located in Lead, South Dakota.

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ACEC National Recognition Award

3,600

Number of square-miles that were modeled and analyzed for SARA.

8

Software tools developed

by RESPEC for SARA watershed needs.

San Antonio River Authority Water Quality Modeling Tool Development Model Development and Analysis Services

In support of the San Antonio River Authority’s (SARA) holistic watershed master planning, AQUA TERRA/RESPEC helped develop a set of water quality modeling tools.

The SARA Load Reduction Tool automatically determines load reduction needed for each subbasin and constituent to meet user-specified screening levels using flow-weighted average concentrations. The SARA Best Management Practice (BMP) Processor compiles individual BMP/Low Impact Development (LID) unit cost and effectiveness information to assess potential incentives for implementing BMPs/LIDs. The SARA Enhanced BMP Tool determines the optimal combinations that would minimize the BMP/LID costs while achieving the needed load reduction. This tool combines robust land-surface representation from HSPF with the EPA’s SUSTAIN model BMP capabilities but uses only the non-GIS engine (SUSTAINOPT) to run in a stand-alone mode. The development of the BMP Tool also included a compilation of available BMP/LID data and applied engineering economic analyses to convert the collected data to annual costs for equal-footing comparison and optimization. The data were stored in a comprehensive BMP Tool Database used by the BMP Tool when optimizing BMP/LID types and numbers. The results from SUSTAINOPT were then fed back into the HSPF model to verify that the preferred load reductions were met. The project earned an American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) National Recognition Award in the 2016 Engineering Excellence Awards competition—the “Academy Awards of the engineering industry.” The National Recognition Award is a prestigious distinction honoring projects that demonstrate exceptional achievement in engineering.

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57,183 Number of farmland acres served by the Belle Fourche Irrigation District.

Belle Fourche Irrigation District Upgrading Aging Delivery Infrastructure The Belle Fourche Irrigation District (BFID) is a Bureau of Reclamation project located below the Belle Fourche Reservoir in western South Dakota that delivers water to 57,183 acres of farmland through 94 miles of open main canals and 450 miles of open lateral ditches. Since 2005, RESPEC has been working with the BFID on a variety of projects to improve water delivery efficiency.

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Most recently, RESPEC has been performing design and construction administration for several infrastructure improvement projects funded through the state of South Dakota. The first project involved upgrading aging delivery infrastructure. The Indian and Horse Creek siphons, installed as aboveground 96-inch steel pipe in 1929, began to deteriorate and leak significantly in recent years. RESPEC worked with the Bureau of Reclamation and the BFID to design and replace the existing on-grade siphons with buried 96-inch reinforced concrete pipe.

The second project involved dredging the supply reservoir. Over time, sediment accumulated in the reservoir, which caused the intake pipes to become blocked, thereby inhibiting BFID’s ability to deliver water, especially in times of drought. RESPEC is working with a dredging contractor to remove the sediment from the reservoir and transfer it to a nearby sediment-detention pond.

The final project involved replacing the gatehouse structures on the crest of the dam that house the gate actuators used to release water from the reservoir. The original design made it difficult to extract a victim if an accident were to occur in the shaft connecting the gatehouse house to the gates below. RESPEC coordinated the redesign of the gatehouses with structural, electrical, and mechanical engineers and is currently involved in managing their construction.

Sandia National Laboratories Small Apps Team Receives Awards

On the Small Apps Team through POD’s Extended Enterprise contract at Sandia National Laboratories, POD supports the design and development of numerous new web applications by contributing to the primary analysis for customer solution specifications and overseeing significant quality assurance testing. In addition to providing key design and business analysis input, POD supports efforts to standardize processes for the entire Center 2700 (Manufacturing) and individual development teams. In 2015, POD contributed eight employees or professional associates putting in various percentages of their time to the Small Apps team, which is considered the go-to IT resource organization within the center. In the fall of 2015, Sandia National Laboratories recognized two POD employees and their smaller production teams.

In October, the ACePTS Rel 10 Project Team was recognized in the Sandia Organization 2700 Employee Recognition Program. This team was honored for demonstrating the Center 2700’s core values and/or strategic objectives. Its accomplishments included data migration to a common database platform and improved system performance.

In November, members of the Leverage Benefit Team were awarded for achieving first place in Operation Excellence Leverage during Fiscal Year 2015. The award in the Operational Excellent Recognition Program was for the Center 2700 Customer Feedback Tool that the team developed.

Air Force Research Laboratory Cloud-Based Modeling and Simulation as a Service

“We are very pleased with the system! Even after a major power outage, the system selfstarted and came right back up to the point it was when the power went out.”

Project Manager, AFRL

POD’s C-MASS (Cloud-Based Modeling and Simulation as a Service) contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) ran from September 30, 2010, through July 31, 2015. The C-MASS cloud-computing system built by POD gave AFR the unique capability to perform simulation and modeling runs in a private-cloud architecture with a single mechanism for easily registering and deploying new simulation and modeling codes into the cloud. A metadata search mechanism allows users to easily identify available models and submit and initiate runs. The POD team designed and built the architecture and developed

and documented the software to run the environment. POD also helped the AFRL move its simulation and modeling codes into the cloud and assisted the engineers and scientists in understanding how and when to use the cloud. The project went through several phases, including the original architecture design, acquiring and building the computer cluster, and hosting the private cloud at POD’s office for more than 3 years before it was moved to the present location at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The AFRL is currently working to add a new parallelized finite element model into the system.

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Source: Howl Arts Collective

Underground Storage and Waste-Disposal Caverns

Geomechanical Investigations of Waste-Disposal Facilities

10

Number of geomechanical investigations of wastedisposal facilities that RESPEC has performed in the past 5 years.

15

Pounds of waste sand that is generated for each barrel of oil produced.

16

Oil companies in the Canadian Tar Sands region produce large amounts of waste when they recover oil from sandstone.

Strict environmental regulations make surface disposal of the waste extremely expensive. Because salt caverns provide nearly impermeable permanent containers for waste at a much lower cost, many oil producers and waste-management companies develop salt caverns specifically to dispose of the sand byproduct.

Caverns are created by developing a cavern sump in the lower portion of the salt formation using fresh water. Waste sand is then slurried with fresh water and injected into the cavern. The sand settles to the bottom and the fresh water dissolves more salt to create more cavern space. The waste

brine removed from the cavern is injected into disposal wells that are developed in porous formations below potable water.

When the cavern reaches its maximum size, the sand is slurried with saturated brine to prevent further salt dissolution. After the caverns are full of waste, they are plugged and abandoned.

In accordance with Canadian standards, cavern developers must show that caverns will remain mechanically stable and maintain containment of the waste sand.

In the past 5 years, RESPEC has performed ten geomechanical investigations of wastedisposal facilities. The geomechanical investigations include core logging, laboratory testing, and numerical modeling.

Alpha Natural Resources

Bond Restructuring for Major Coal Producer

36%

RESPEC reduced ANR’s reclamation bond estimate by 36% ($410 million to $264 million)

35M

ANR’s Belle Ayr and Eagle Butte Mines have a combined annual production of over 35 million tons

As part of its bankruptcy restructuring, Alpha Natural Resources (ANR) retained RESPEC to provide technical services in its reclamation bond filing for its Belle Ayr and Eagle Butte Mines at Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. Both operations have a combined annual production of over 35 million tons. The state of Wyoming requires all mining operations to submit an annual reclamation bond estimate. RESPEC evaluated and revised ANR’s reclamation bond estimate for both operations from $410 million to $264 million— a 36 percent reduction. ANR, a major mining company based in Bristol, Virginia, is currently under Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring and RESPEC has played an integral role throughout the process.

RESPEC evaluated all mining-affected areas by using aerial photography and projected mine plans to determine the maximum affected areas for reclaiming both mine operations.

RESPEC’s engineering team then calculated the associated costs relative to all reclamation activities, including pit backfilling, topsoil replacement, stream and lake reconstruction, facilities demolition, revegetation, and project management. RESPEC utilized cast blasting when determining pit backfilling costs, which is considered a novel application of a proven technology. Instead of using the conventional drill, blast, and haul process to reclaim highwall and backfill pits, RESPEC proposed to use cast blasting to deliver material directly into the pit area below, to significantly reduce material handling and backfilling costs. An article discussing this cast blasting application will be published in the World Coal magazine.

The revised bond estimates have been approved by the State of Wyoming, and the bankruptcy court has recently approved the ANR reorganization plan. In addition to providing reclamation bond estimates for ANR in the future, RESPEC will also expand its services to other facets of ANR post-bankruptcy operation, such mine engineering-, environmental-, and reclamation-related services.

Below: Production at Alpha Natural Resources Powder River Basin, Wyoming operations.

Above: Post Reclamation at Belle Ayr and Eagle Butte Mines, Wyoming.

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CORPORATE SOCIAL

RESPONSIBILITY Spring Up the Creek Denver, Colorado

This past summer, alongside 300 other volunteers, the RESPEC Denver staff collected over 14 bags of trash and debris from the nearby streams during the annual “Spring Up the Creek” event, which is promoted to educate the public on the importance of clean water and protecting the environment. In 2015, RESPEC sponsored the event for the second time. Our booth was designed to educate the public with a focus on the younger participants by providing coloring stations for the youth.

United Way Day of Caring Rapid City, South Dakota

RESPEC employees and families joined 1,350 other volunteers to work at various community sites or individual homes where help was needed. The RESPEC crew assisted with work at Storybook Island, which is an admission-free childrens’ theme park in Rapid City. The group hauled and spread mulch for the play and climbing areas, and some volunteers helped stain some of the playhouses.

Muckgrass Cup Lexington, Kentucky

In November, RESPEC Kentucky staff coordinated and judged a regional intercollegiate mining competition hosted by the University of Kentucky (UK) that included teams from Virginia Tech and the Missouri University of Science and Technology. The Muckgrass Cup included six-person teams that competed in five different old-time mining events: Swede sawing, gold panning, hand steeling, track stand, and mucking.

RESPEC, which also sponsors the UK team, will host the 2016 Muckgrass Cup in Lexington.

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We have a responsibility to our society, community, and environment.

ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

ECONOMIC GROWTH

Eagle Scout Workshop Lexington, Kentucky

In August, James Brown hosted a workshop for Eagle Scout Troop 1789 to help them earn their Insect Study Merit Badge.

The Scouts identified, examined, and collected species from a variety of habitats, including manicured grasses, forest, riparian, stream, and grassy meadows. They learned about the food webs, predator-prey relationships, habitats, and species life cycles. The Scouts identified over 40 species and found fish, amphibians, and reptile species. The workshop also taught the Troop how insects fit into the food chain along with these other species of animals. The day concluded with capturing dragonflies along the bank of the large pond in the park.

Staying Healthy Denver, Colorado

RESPEC participated in the 10th annual Cherrry Creek Run for the Watershed Relay Race, taking 2nd place in our inaugural showing. The course is approximately 50 miles long, starting at the top of the watershed and ending at the Cherry Creek Reservoir. Participants ran, walked, and biked through Douglas and Arapahoe Counties. The purpose of the relay is to celebrate the splendor and diversity of the watershed, encourage appreciation of the watershed’s natural wonders, and provide a race experience in a rally format.

International Sustainability Uganda, Africa

For the past 2 years, Lee Rosen has worked with the University of Minnesota Engineers Without Borders chapter and mentored 20+ students on engineering projects in Uganda. This year, Lee and five students traveled to Kalisizo, Uganda, for 2 weeks to construct a coffee nursery structure and a rainwater harvesting system that they designed. As a result of the project, the community was able to be certified by the Uganda Coffee District Authority, double their coffee production, and increase revenues to provide school fees and study materials for school.

The construction used all local materials and the community participated in the construction of the structure so that they would be able to maintain, and possibly expand it, in the future.

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