Page 69 - 2016 FGM Annual Report

Choklek. With Ed’s departure and the need to conserve resources, our active
involvement in APPA, ILAPPA, MAPPA, and MoAPPA has been curtailed. Selective
attendance at conferences will be considered. During the past year, speaking
engagements have included:
 Illinois Chief Engineers and Facility Managers Conference (Joe Chronister and Ray
Lee)
 SCUP One-Day Symposium at Oakland University (Joe Chronister served as emcee)
 Association of College and University Housing Officers International (ACUHO-I)
Conference (Dave Yandel)
 Illinois Community College Chief Financial Officers (ICCCFO) Conference (Dave
Yandel and Carol Stolt)

FGM organizes, and is the only Architect in attendance at, one or two Higher Ed
Roundtables each year. The most recent roundtable was hosted by Northwestern
University in February 2016.

Positions of active involvement in industry organizations include:

Joe Chronister
 Chair, Professional Development Committee, North Central SCUP
Dave Yandel
 Committee Member, AIA Chicago Education Knowledge Community
Carol Stolt
 Member and Past President, ASID Illinois

Goal 6: Develop and implement processes and tools specific to the Higher Ed practice
that will improve the quality and success of marketing-related activities.
To improve the efficiency and quality of the marketing--related efforts, processes and
tools specific to the Higher Ed practice will be developed and implemented.
“Boilerplate” marketing materials and website content will be reviewed and updated.

FY 2017 UPDATE: The Higher Ed group continues to assist the firm in “refreshing” its
marketing materials and website.

Goal 7: Develop, implement, and practice processes that will improve the quality,
profitability, and client satisfaction of Higher Ed projects.
Improvements are necessary to the planning and execution of projects within the Higher
Ed practice. Core group leadership will take an active role in ensuring that FGM project
procedures are followed and specific areas of concern for the Higher Ed practice,
including document hand-off from design architects, will be addressed.

Goal 8: In concert with the FGM Board and other Practices, identify and evaluate
potential strategies for expansion of the firm, geographically and otherwise.
Acknowledging both FGM’s desire for growth and the economic challenges faced by
the State of Illinois, long term success for the firm will likely require geographic expansion.
Strategic acquisitions or mergers could also be considered, which could bring new
Higher Ed expertise into the firm.

FY 2017 UPDATE:
FGM’s ability to successfully market itself outside of Illinois and Missouri as the Design
Architect, with a local architectural associate, will be limited. There could be an
opportunity to market our public safety expertise to Higher Ed institutions, which would
require coordination with the Municipal Practice. However, in general, the Higher Ed
practice will look to follow other FGM practice areas into new geographic locations.