WSE Annual Meeting

The Hyatt University Village Hotel was the setting for the annual meeting and awards banquet of the Western Society of Engineers on September 6, 2001. Following a reception sponsored and hosted by CTE Engineers, Inc., 2000�2001 President Margaret H. Vignocchi, president of Prinmar Corporation, welcomed members and the guests to the Society�s 132nd Annual Meeting and Year in Review.

Vignocchi called the meeting to order and introduced the officers and trustees for the 2001�2002 membership year.

• President
  James E. Lindell, Ph.D.A
  Managing Partner and Director
  MWH Global, Incl
• First Vice President
  Stephen H. Palac
  Partner
  Greeley and Hansen
• Second Vice President
  Stephen J. Susina
  Senior Business Manager/Digital Systems Division
  Tellabs, Inc.
• Treasurer
  Myra E. Burgess
  Director of Supply Management
  Exelon Corporation

Trustees 2001�2004 Term

• Christopher B. Burke
  President
  Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd.
• Dennis DeMoss
  Partner
  Sargent & Lundy
• Dennis W. Lamont
  President
  Weldy-Lamont Associates
• Donald G. Wittmer
  Project Engineer
  HNTB Corporation

Dinner and a keynote speech by Paul O�Connor, Executive Director of World Business Chicago, preceded the presentation of honors and awards to selected members of the Society.

Keynote Address

In his remarks Paul O�Connor revealed many of the complex issues, decisions, and operations that went into the plan that the city followed during its campaign to bring Boeing Corporation to Chicago as well as the assets that World Business Chicago (WBC) contributed to the process. In doing so, he provided detailed information both from Boeing itself as well as a behind the scenes look at activities that took place within Chicago.

Boeing first made a public announcement of its fast-track intention to relocate from Seattle last March, stating that its new corporate headquarters would move to one of three metropolitan areas by early summer 2001 and be fully operational by fall. The cities under consideration were Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, and Denver.

Boeing restructures

Relocation was part of Boeing�s broader announcement of several major changes to its corporate architecture, which included elevation of three senior business unit executives to chief executive level and setting plans for a new, leaner corporate center focused on shareholder value. In a press conference in Washington DC, Phillip M. Condit, Boeing chairman and chief executive officer, had named new presidents and CEOs of what he described as multibillion businesses and stated that each leader would be bring extensive involvement by Boeing to each of the communities in which the company does business: Commercial Airplanes (Seattle); Military Aircraft and Missile Systems (St. Louis); and Space and Communications (Seal Beach CA).

�We are continuing the transformation of this company to focus on creating value for our shareholders,� Condit said. �A key element of this transformation is establishing a corporate architecture that continues the attention on operational performance improvements and invests capital wisely in new growth opportunities. Simply put, we intend to run Boeing as a business that has the flexibility to move capital and talent to the opportunities that maximize shareholder value.

�We intend to take a more global view of opportunities to increase shareholder value,� Condit added. �Our lean corporate staff will focus on new business opportunities for Boeing while our business unit leaders focus on continuing operational improvements. Boeing has a wealth of opportunities in our new definition of the aerospace industry. Our new corporate architecture will help us capture them.�

Boeing redefines its business

Boeing�s redefinition of its role in the aerospace industry includes establishing a communications business, Connexion by Boeing^SM; acquiring Jeppesen as the hub of an information services business; putting increased emphasis on its financial services, Boeing Capital Corporation; and setting up a business to transform the world�s air traffic management and control systems to improve safety, convenience, and capacity.

Condit, in his public comments, had stated that the company had decided it was essential that it establish an entirely new corporate center at a location other than Seattle. �As we�ve grown, we have determined that our headquarters need to be in a location central to all our operating units, customers, and the financial community�but separate from our existing operations,� he said. �The role of the new, leaner corporate center will be to seek new growth opportunities around the globe. Our newly promoted business unit leaders will have greater freedom to serve their customers, develop partnerships, grow, and create additional value for our shareholders and growth opportunities for our employees.�

The city qualifies

Emphasizing Boeing�s aggressive, short-time schedule for the move from Washington, Senior Vice President & Chief Administrative Officer John D. Warner, who acted as the company�s point person for relocation arrangements, announced April fact-finding visits to all three potential sites and hoped for a mid-May decision. Boeing worked through local consultants in each city.

The Chicago team, with WBC playing a leading role, set to work planning how to demonstrate the city�s ability to best meet Boeing�s four criteria for its new corporate headquarters:

1. Ease of access to global markets and Boeing operations through available national and international air connections
2. A trained, ready workforce, particularly in telecom industries
3. A strongly pro-business environment
4. A culturally diverse, cosmopolitan environment with an outstanding quality of life.

According to O�Connor, Warner was very specific in his description of what Boeing was seeking for its headquarters city, listing 19 factors key to its decision making:

• Travel
  • Availability and frequency of nonstop commercial flights to major cities within the United States and around the globe
  • Basing options for Boeing�s corporate airplane fleet (the company will base its fleet in Gary IN)
  • Reasonable distance between corporate headquarters and the fleet airport
• Ground transportation
  • Close proximity of major hotels and restaurants to the headquarters site
  • Reasonable proximity of quality housing to headquarters site (the company�s site selection team showed interest both in the Naperville and North Shore areas)
  • General traffic congestion within the headquarters area
  • Convenient transportation systems for employees
• Business climate
  • Global trade activity
  • Presence of other major business headquarters within the area
  • State-of-the-art communications infrastructure
  • Reasonable business taxes
  • Incentives and mitigation costs
  • Availability of an educated workforce
• Personal life factors
  • Continuing education opportunities for employees
  • Broad cultural life and recreation amenities
  • High quality K�12 schools
  • Acceptable safety, crime, and health factors
  • Ethnic and cultural diversity
  • Affordable personal taxes and cost of living.

Chicago woos Boeing

O�Connor described the all-out campaign that Chicago undertook to woo Boeing to relocate here rather than to either of the other possible cities the company was considering. He said that Denver was out of the running fairly early on because it lacked the worldwide air connections that Boeing deemed essential. The choice, then, came down to Chicago or Dallas/Ft. Worth.

Chicago�s team, fearful that Dallas would be the choice, developed a multifaceted approach that addressed every one of Warner�s crucial factors. They explored each item of the 19 items that Warner listed and developed comprehensive responses for them. They kept in close e-mail contact with all concerned parties at Boeing. They put together background and �sell� packets. In short, they did everything they could to convince Boeing that Chicago was the best headquarters city in the nation for the company�s needs.

Boeing had originally planned to relocate temporarily to available space while the company built new corporate offices. Fortunately, the Morton Building on Wacker Drive became available at precisely the right time to accommodate all of the company�s requirements. O�Connor told of one tenant�the lone holdout in the building who did not want to move from the otherwise empty space. The situation was a deal breaker. At the very last moment�one o�clock in the morning of the day when Boeing was to announce its decision�the city agreed to buy out the tenant�s lease. That did it. Boeing announced just a few hours later that Chicago was its choice.

Was it all worth it? O�Connor says there�s no question at all about whether the considerable effort and expense that Chicago put into its campaign to being Boeing to the city was a wise investment. Boeing presence here enhances the city�s growing reputation as a global player and one of the most important corporate headquarters locations in the nation and the world.

Paul O�Connor joined World Business Chicago from McConnaughy Stein Schmidt Brown advertising agency; he held other advertising positions with Young & Rubicam and Arlington International Race Course. He lived in Seattle while on staff at the Post Intelligencer newspaper, later becoming press secretary and speech writer for Washington Governor John D. Spellman. He returned to Chicago as assistant director of the Illinois Department of Public Health and later served as deputy director of the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, where he the directed economic development, film, tourism, and international business divisions.

Awards and Recognitions

Outgoing 2000�2001 WSE President Margaret H. Vignocchi delivered a brief recap of the Society�s activities during the past year and then honored a number of members for their commitment to Western Society of Engineers.

Vignocchi thanked and presented certificates to outgoing Board of Direction members Joseph J. Anichini, CTE Engineers, Inc.; Delfo Bianchini, Sargent & Lundy; Ronald E. Havel, Patrick Engineering, Inc.; and Past President W. Robert Ivarson, Jr., Teng & Associates.

Incoming 2001�2002 WSE President Dr. James E. Lindell accepted the gavel from Vignocchi and introduced the new year�s officers and trustees (right top).

Other honors and awards presented at the meeting were as follows.

Life Member.

Warren C. Gerler. WSE members who have maintained continuous membership for 30 years have the opportunity to become Life members. Life members are a rock of support for the Society and have helped turn WSE into a 133-year-old institution. Gerler joined Western Society in 1971.

Charles Ellet Cup Recipient.

Thomas T. Burke, Jr. The Charles Ellet Award recognizes a younger professional who has achieved great professional development early in his or her career. To be eligible for the award a person must be a WSE member and be under 35 years of age. The award was established in 1929 as a memorial to Charles Ellet, a Civil War hero and an engineer who was considered to be the father of the modern suspension bridge. The recipient of this prestigious award receives a certificate, an honorarium of $100.00, and possession of a silver loving cup for one year. The cup is engraved with the names of each winner dating back to 1930.

Thomas T. Burke, Jr., received a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Northwestern University and a master�s in civil engineering from Purdue University. He completed his Ph.D. at Purdue. Burke is Head of Water Resources Section III at Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd., where he supervises a team of engineers in performing water resources studies, evaluations, and designs. His projects include large watershed studies; writing storm water ordinances; obtaining permits from state, county, and local agencies; and permit reviews.

This marked the second time the Ellet Cup was presented to a member of the Burke family. It was previously held by Tom�s cousin Christopher Burke, who received the award in 1986.

Certificates of Appreciation.

Lawrence I. Feder, Ronald E. Havel, and Robert Hennehan. This year�s recipients of Certificates of appreciation were members of the Golf Committee. Henehan�s certificate was accepted by his son Martin.