Engineering Inc. - Spring 2020 - 51

"Assessment of future legislative trends allows ACEC to
better formulate strategy around supporting the engineering
industry's agenda."
GARY RABA
VICE CHAIR
ACEC/PAC
PRESIDENT
RABA-KISTNER

ACEC
ranked
first in the
country in
receipts among
design and
construction
industry PACs;
and in the top
2 percent of all
federal PACs

include PAC events at regular board meetings and
other activities, continually raise awareness among
board members, and assist chapters with ideas for
their own events. All of these efforts are aimed at
helping to increase participation.
One of the more unique fundraising events in
2019 was an ax-throwing competition held by the
ACEC Nebraska PAC organization.
"Nebraska has been successful in meeting
our PAC goals for several years," says Terry
Atkins, senior vice president and COO at Lamp
Rynearson and Associates.
The organization asked each board member and
committee member to participate in fundraising.
Atkins personally reached out to and visited firms
in the state to request money. 
"I find this very helpful; I usually see a bump
in contributions because of these in-person
meetings," he says.
Such in-person get-togethers provide Atkins the opportunity to
educate future leaders and donors. 
"As I explain to them, if we are not willing to support our
industry, who will?" he asks. "We make our living as engineers.
We need to be willing to give something back to advance our
causes."
The ACEC Nebraska PAC is starting to involve its early career
professionals in the fundraising efforts. 
"If we do not get the next generation prepared to support our PAC, we are in trouble,"
Atkins says. "Education and financial support
need to be the responsibility of everyone, not
just a few people at the top."
Another state organization, ACEC-New
Hampshire (ACEC-NH), has aimed to create
innovative fundraising initiatives that attract
young engineers.
"In 2019, our Emerging Leaders Committee took the reins of our PAC fundraising
and spearheaded a bowling tournament," says
Chris Mulleavey, ACEC/PAC Champion for
New Hampshire and president and CEO at
ACEC North Carolina
Hoyle, Tanner & Associates.
members held a
The bowling event was attended by almost
casino night to
boost their PAC
100 ACEC-NH Member Firm representafundraising efforts.
tives and included a raffle with prizes and
sponsorships donated by Member Firms,

according to Mulleavey. The event raised nearly
$6,000, which was close to the state's PAC goal.
ACEC-NH intends to host a second bowling
tournament in May.
"We hope it's an even bigger success this year,"
Mulleavey says.
FUTURE GOALS

Looking ahead, ACEC/PAC will aim to continue its past success in steering good public
policy and assisting lawmakers in their analysis
of complex policies as they relate to business
laws, rules, and regulations, according to Raba.
"We must also increase awareness of our
profession's willingness to serve as an expert
professional/trusted adviser for challenges
regarding investment in maintaining and
building of our nation's infrastructure, to
support continual prosperity," Raba says.
Because of the efforts of ACEC/PAC and its state champions,
engineering firms nationwide should feel confident that they
have a political organization that is looking out for their
legislative interests. ■

Bob Violino is a business and technology writer based in Massapequa
Park, New York.

SPRING 2020

ENGINEERING INC.

51
Engineering Inc. - Spring 2020

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