Orlando -  GAI Consultants, Inc. has named Lawrence S. Gendzier as corporate legal counsel.

In his thirty-year career, Mr. Gendzier spent more than 20 years with the Florida Department of Transportation. He will work in GAI's Orlando office.

“Larry is a well-known figure in the industry, with more than two decades of experience specific to eminent domain and transportation issues,” President and CEO Gary M. DeJidas said. “We are pleased to have him join our team and bring his rich transportation industry experience as GAI grows in 2010.”

Most recently, Mr. Gendzier served as FDOT’s statewide eminent domain attorney and chief eminent domain attorney in District Five. His project teams were responsible for critical decision-making early in the roadway design process, litigating large dollar parcels, and generating strategies to empower FDOT’s right-of-way department. Mr. Gendzier has also represented private owners in condemnation cases and since 2003, has been a certified circuit court mediator with a solid record of getting cases resolved.

Active in industry associations, including the Florida Bar Eminent Domain Committee, Mr. Gendzier is also a highly regarded speaker for FDOT, the International Right of Way Association, the Association of Eminent Domain Professionals, and CLE International.

Mr. Gendzier earned an undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of Florida and graduated from the Florida State University College of Law.

Orlando - Ustler Development has begun construction on the GAI Building, a premier downtown Orlando “green” office building that will house the Orlando Office of GAI Consultants, Inc.’s Southeast regional operations.

The $30 million project is a seven-story, 105,000 rentable-square-foot office building with an integrated parking garage for 300 spaces. Located at 618 East South Street in downtown Orlando’s South Eola District, the building is designed by Baker Barrios Architects. Brasfield & Gorrie is the general contractor.

The GAI Building is downtown Orlando’s first privately developed green office building. Upon completion, Ustler Development will apply for the U.S. Green Building Council’s silver LEED certification.

“This is one of the few bright spots of private development in a challenging market,” Ustler Development President Craig Ustler said. “It’s a great accomplishment to keep GAI downtown and add their signature building to our skyline.”

“After 25 years in downtown Orlando, GAI is proud to have its name on this significant development,” noted GAI President Gary DeJidas. GAI, which established operations in the city in 1982, will initially move 100 professionals to occupy about 62,000 rentable square feet on the building’s top two floors, and plans to grow to 200 employees there.

“Combining the hundreds of people who will work on this building’s construction with GAI’s plans to expand their workforce, this puts Central Floridians to work at a time when it is most needed,” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said.

Orlando - Jeffrey M. “Rusty” Sievers, P.E., has been elected to the Association of Eminent Domain Professionals’ 2010 board of directors.

Mr. Sievers is Southeast Regional Manager and Executive Vice President at GAI Consultants, Inc. and has over 40 years of civil engineering experience. Since 1990, he has managed and participated in eminent domain projects for GAI’s Florida offices, and frequently provides expert witness testimony for civil court cases.

The Association of Eminent Domain Professionals (AEDP), based in West Palm Beach, Fla., is a state-wide professional organization for Florida experts in the eminent domain field. Members include real estate appraisers, traffic engineers, accountants, planners, and attorneys. The 300-member group provides a source for property owners and government clients seeking the highest quality experts for condemnation proceedings.

Mr. Sievers holds a B.S. in civil engineering from Valparaiso University in Indiana. He is affiliated with the American Society of Highway Engineers, the National Society of Professional Engineers, the Florida Institute of Consulting Engineers, and the Institute of Transportation Engineers.

Orlando - Doug Kelly, AICP, has been elected president of the Orlando Metro Section of the American Planning Association’s Florida Chapter.

Mr. Kelly is Planning Department Manager at GAI Consultants, Inc. in Orlando and has over 27 years of specialized planning and project manager experience. His professional experience includes due diligence, land use entitlement, site planning, preparation of land development codes and comprehensive plans, redevelopment planning and eminent domain planning analysis, and appraisal support services.

An APA member since 1992, Mr. Kelly has previously served as the Orlando Metro Section’s secretary and director. He also recently served as state president of the Florida Planning & Zoning Association.

Mr. Kelly holds a Masters of Arts in urban and regional planning from the University of Florida. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Florida APA Award of Excellence for the Gainesville Illustrated Land Development Code and an FPZA State Board of Directors Resolution for 15 years of continuing contribution to the state. Mr. Kelly has also served as an AICP training course instructor for the past ten years.

APA Florida’s Orlando Metro Section covers Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Sumter counties and includes planners, architects, and government officials involved in the planning process. The 500-member section provides networking opportunities and monitors legislation impacting growth management.

During his two-year term as section president, Mr. Kelly will also sit on APA Florida’s executive committee.

Pittsburgh, PA - GAI Consultants, Inc. is pleased to sponsor Design Pittsburgh 2009. On Oct. 22, the coveted Design Awards and the prestigious Gold Medal Award will be presented at the August Wilson Center in Pittsburgh’s Cultural District.

A signature program of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, Design Pittsburgh highlights excellence in architecture and design in the Pittsburgh region. AIA Pittsburgh’s film, “Pittsburgh Placemakers: Architecture and the Urban Fabric” underscores the value of good design and the role architects serve in shaping and designing Pittsburgh.

As a sponsor and supporter of AIA Pittsburgh, we recognize the value and impact of good design in our community. We are proud to partner with AIA Pittsburgh to celebrate and recognize the best architectural and design achievements of the past year.

Export, PA – GAI Consultants, Inc., a multi-discipline engineering firm, announces the opening of its Westmoreland County, Pa., office. A ribbon-cutting event Thursday, Sept. 24, at 4101 Triangle Lane in Murrysville formally marks GAI’s expanded operations, which will serve municipal and energy clients in the county 15 miles east of Pittsburgh. 

Working as an extension of GAI-Pittsburgh, the civil, geotechnical, and environmental engineering staff will specialize in power plant and power distribution engineering in one of western Pennsylvania’s fastest growing counties. The 10,000 square-foot space will house 30 engineers and technicians, with plans to eventually staff 45, and will complement the diversified services offered by GAI’s Pittsburgh office.

“GAI’s commitment to providing the best service possible to our clients drove the decision to open a second location in the region,” said COO and Senior Vice President Anthony Morrocco, P.E., P.L.S. “With an increasing amount of work in the area, we seized the opportunity to establish a larger presence. We are looking forward to growing in Westmoreland County and adding to the dynamic local business environment.”

The new location, known as GAI-Murrysville, is GAI’s thirteenth branch office and fourth new opening in 2009 alone, following openings in Charlotte, N.C., Tampa, Fla., and Boca Raton, Fla., earlier this year.

“Our plan for navigating the difficult economy has been to position ourselves in future growth areas,” said President and CEO Gary DeJidas, P.E. “Establishing GAI in one of western Pennsylvania’s fastest-growing counties goes hand-in-hand with that strategy.”

More than a dozen of GAI Consultants Inc.’s top officers and senior managers will earn MBA degrees through Point Park University’s newly launched innovative program that delivers on-site MBA coursework to GAI’s offices via Web conferencing. Fourteen employees, including President and CEO Gary DeJidas, P.E., will participate in the program’s inaugural class, which began Sept. 1 and is slated for Fall 2011 completion. Point Park faculty will lead live classes using WebEx conferencing technology to reach six office locations, a new initiative for the downtown Pittsburgh-based university.

“In today’s competitive marketplace, it’s not enough for our engineers and other professionals to have just technical expertise,” DeJidas said. “This MBA program will really make a difference in providing GAI’s current and future leaders with the broad business tools needed to succeed in today’s ever-changing global environment.”

The new initiative also fits with the president’s staff development goal of all senior executive employees holding advanced degrees. With company-subsidized tuition, GAI’s senior leaders will obtain an MBA degree for less than $8,000.

“The MBA program is the final accomplishment in GAI’s formal leadership development program and it sets us apart from many firms in the United States,” Chief Human Resources Officer David Mollish said. “Our contacts at Point Park were extremely accommodating, and understood GAI’s business demands, our on-site needs and our multi-state learning environment.”

In addition to DeJidas, the following employees have enrolled in the MBA program: COO Tony Morrocco; CFO Karl Palvisak; CHRO David Mollish; GAI-Charleston Managing Officer Elwood Penn; GAI-Cincinnati Managing Officer Tom Chaney; GAI-Philadelphia Branch Manager Harry Trout; GAI-Orlando Managing Officer Rick Cima; Engineering Manager Kevin Leadbetter; Senior Engineering Director Ray Sutherland; Environmental Manager Jennifer Broush; Senior Director of Environmental and Energy Services Steve Gould; and Director of Transmission Line and Structural Engineering Steve Miller. GAI prides itself on its comprehensive continuing education program, which works to engage employees at all levels in enhancing technical, business, leadership and management skills.

After 20 years of service, hundreds of projects and thousands of artifacts, Benjamin Resnick, M.A., RPA, has been named Assistant Vice President at GAI Consultants, Inc. As Cultural Resources Group Manager in the Pittsburgh office, Mr. Resnick has built up an extensive resume of projects, especially some culturally significant to the Pittsburgh area.

GAI is also pleased to announce several other promotions within the Pittsburgh Office: Stephen E. Gould, QEP, GISP, has been named Senior Director of the Environmental & Energy Services Group. A specialist in management and coordination of natural resource projects, Mr. Gould has been with GAI for over 16 years. Donald J. Spaeder, P.E., an expert in civil, environmental, and water resource engineering, has been appointed Senior Director of the Civil & Environmental Engineering Services Group at GAI. Raymond K. Hoffman, P.E., has been promoted to Director of GAI’s Transportation Group. An employee for over 20 years, Mr. Hoffman specializes in transportation design, traffic control and construction monitoring.

John D. Mozer, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE, a recent retiree of GAI, has been selected as the recipient of the Gene Wilhoite Innovations in Transmission Line Engineering Award and will accept this honor at the upcoming ASCE National Electric Transmission Conference. This award is given to an individual for significant contributions to the advancement of the art and science of transmission line engineering. Dr. Mozer's illustrious career in civil engineering spans more than four decades, including stints in academia and in professional practice.

After spending six years teaching in the civil and environmental engineering department at Carnegie Mellon University, Dr. Mozer left the academic world to work for GAI Consultants, Inc., a civil engineering consulting firm in the Pittsburgh area. While at GAI, he specialized in structural engineering, structural rehabilitation, and transmission line engineering. He designed, managed, and consulted on numerous transmission line projects in Indonesia, Argentina, Chile, Honduras, Canada, and the United States. Dr. Mozer retired from GAI on April 25, 2009, the 36th anniversary of his employment at the company.

Dr. Mozer has been an ASCE member since 1961 and is now a Life Member. He served as chairman of the Task Committee on Structural Loadings of the ASCE Committee on Electrical Transmission Structures from 1984 to 1991 and helped in that task committee's development of the first edition of Guidelines for Electrical Transmission Line Structural Loading, Manual of Practice No. 74, published by ASCE in 1991. Dr. Mozer received a B.S. degree in civil engineering from the University of Colorado in 1961, an M.S. degree in civil engineering from the University of Illinois in 1963, and a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Colorado in 1967.

The Pennsylvania Archaeological Council (PAC) submitted the Civil War Battlefield Burial monograph co-authored by GAI Consultants’ Cultural Resources Group Manager Benjamin Resnick, RPA. The document was submitted for a Pennsylvania Historic Museum Commission (PHMC) grant in support of PAC’s active public education program.

Originally prepared by GAI Consultants for the National Park Service (NPS) as the educational component of an emergency recovery at Gettysburg National Military Park (GNMP), the full-color monograph documents and illustrates the archaeological recovery and analysis of a Civil War soldier’s remains. The reburial ceremony at Gettysburg Soldiers’ National Cemetery, with full military honors, captured National attention.

Publication costs, funded by PAC through the PHMC grant, allowed distribution of the monograph to public schools, libraries, and historical societies throughout Pennsylvania and elsewhere, and to the Gettysburg Visitor’s Center bookstore. The permanent historical record and educational resource for students and educators of archaeology, history, and social studies supports the mutual goals of PAC and PHMC to celebrate Pennsylvania’s preservation accomplishments through recognition and outreach.  

GAI is doing its part to generate the leaders of tomorrow by awarding four $5,000 scholarships to students entering their senior year at colleges around the country. While some firms are cutting back on their internship programs, GAI has combined the scholarship with a paid internship at one of 12 offices.

“In order to maintain the outstanding reputation GAI has earned over the last 50 years, we need to hire the best University graduates now and in the future," Chief Human Resources Officer David Mollish said. "This is our way of giving promising students the chance to excel and gain real-world experience. We hope through this summer work experience, these talented students will learn that GAI is an exceptional employer and a great place to work.”

Congratulations are offered to the winners:

• Chris Egan, of the University of Florida, majoring in civil engineering
• Brad Kughn, of Point Park University, majoring in civil engineering
• Adam Larsen, of Carnegie Mellon University, majoring in civil engineering
• Emily Wicks, of the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in anthropology and history 

GAI believes in the importance of a quality education and real-life experience. The Engineering, Sciences and Business Scholarship program continues GAI’s tradition of giving back to the communities we serve.

GAI President and CEO Gary DeJidas, P.E., has been elected to Point Park University’s Board of Trustees. Although nearly 37 years have passed since Gary completed engineering classes at the Downtown Pittsburgh university, Mr. DeJidas remains passionate about his alma mater.

A Point Park 1972 graduate, Mr. DeJidas was raised in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Greenfield and attended Taylor Allderdice High School. After he graduated from Point Park with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering technology, he landed his first job as a construction inspector at GAI. Within 10 years, Gary was appointed branch manager for the firm’s expansion to Orlando, Fla. An office in Jacksonville soon followed as GAI built upon its growing business in the Sunshine State. In 2003, after celebrating more than three decades of service with GAI, Mr. DeJidas was named president and CEO. Today, guided by his vision, GAI has steadily grown to over 650 people in 12 offices throughout the United States. A true local success story, Mr. DeJidas credits Point Park for providing a superior educational experience.

“I am delighted to have received this honor and am humbled by the responsibility as a trustee to help guide my alma mater as it takes its place among Pittsburgh’s prestigious universities,” he said.

As part of the project team on the university's premier Academic Village project, GAI is providing roadway and streetscape enhancement services. The project is expected to infuse the Pittsburgh economy with $280 million in design and construction spending and create 3,700 new jobs.

GAI has once again placed in the Engineering News-Record’s (ENR’s) Top 500 Design Firms, ranking in at #177. This year’s placement is an impressive 27 marks higher than 2008’s rank of 204th and signifies over a decade of consistent rising within the top 50% of the ENR’s highly-valued list of design firms. The annual list compares the top 500 design and engineering firms across the United States, ranking them by revenue and other factors. Overall, the ENR publishes nine yearly “Top Lists” for a multitude of diversified firms in the construction, consulting, engineering, environmental, and design industries. GAI is proud to have received such high acclaim this year, and we recognize our clients and employees for helping us in this achievement.

The Orlando Chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) invited GAI President and CEO Gary DeJidas, P.E., to speak at its March 18th meeting. The topic of discussion was: The Stimulus Bill: Fuel to Jumpstart the Commercial Real Estate Industry? With opinions still being formed on this influential bill, Mr. DeJidas was asked to share his insights on the possible effect, not only on CREW members, but on the real estate industry as a whole. President Obama’s $787.2 billion economic stimulus package has the goal of creating 3.5 million jobs and will dedicate a huge portion of the funds to infrastructure, energy, health care and education.

CREW is a professional women's commercial real estate organization of more than 6000 members located in 57 cities in the U.S. and Canada, focused on professional community, excellence, and advancing women in commercial real estate.

Despite gloomy economic conditions, a bright spot is emerging in engineering. GAI Consultants, Inc., a multi-discipline engineering firm, announces the expansion of our Cincinnati office when economic conditions are forcing many companies to lay off workers. GAI recently acquired JMP & Associates, Inc. (JMP), a Cincinnati-based electrical engineering and systems design firm.

“Bringing together two companies with strong local roots in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh is a welcomed event for everyone involved,” said President and CEO Gary DeJidas, P.E.. “GAI and JMP are both companies built on hard work and innovation. It’s exciting to join two firms that complement each other so well.”

Founded in 1988 by John E. Priester, P.E., JMP has partnered with GAI on many occasions, providing expertise on electrical engineering aspects of projects. Mr. Priester now serves as the Director of Electrical Engineering in GAI-Cincinnati. His expertise lies in electrical engineering and analysis for civil infrastructure projects, food processing plants, industrial facilities, mining and mineral projects, commercial technology facilities, and industrial and public utility installations.

GAI Consultants, Inc. is pleased to announce the change of three key leadership positions within its organization effective Jan. 1, 2009. Former GAI-Pittsburgh Managing Officer, Anthony F. Morrocco, P.E., P.L.S., has moved into the corporate position of Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO), and will now oversee the technical operations for all GAI offices.

To support GAI's new regionally-structured business approach, former COO, Jeffrey M. “Rusty” Sievers, P.E., will move into the position of Executive Vice President and will become the Southeast Regional Managing Officer. Additionally, former Environmental and Energy Services Group Manager, Precha Yodnane, PhD, P.E., of GAI-Pittsburgh has been named GAI's Northeast/Midwest Regional Manager. Dr. Yodnane will also be assuming the position of Managing Officer for GAI-Pittsburgh. 

These changes represent a commitment by GAI to prepare for an ever-changing business climate with an increasing demand for highly-technical professional services in an expanding, energy-efficient, and sustainability-conscious market.

In November 2008, GAI Consultants, Inc. and Ustler Development, Inc. celebrated the unveiling and announcement of the GAI Building in downtown Orlando. A crowd of more than 200, including the project team, GAI President and CEO Gary DeJidas, local officials and clients, enjoyed an open-air gathering at the site of the new building.

The seven-story professional office building, designed by Baker Barrios Architects and being built by Brasfield & Gorrie, will contain 105,000 rentable square feet of office and commercial space, as well as an integrated parking garage containing more than 300 spaces.

The new home of GAI-Orlando is scheduled for a spring 2010 opening.