Page 13 - 2022 Annual Report 2022 FINAL

CHAIRMAN’S WELCOME / CEO’S REPORT

On behalf of the Board of Directors, welcome to the 47th Annual Shareholders Meeting of FGM
Architects Inc. We have had a very good year and I would like to personally thank everyone for their hard
work through a challenging and, at the same time, rewarding year.

Our year in review begins with remembrances of lingering Covid-19 concerns and the uncertainty
brought about with the potential of issuing mandatory Vaccination and Testing Policies for all our offices,
and the confusing direction given by Federal agencies and courts. Happily, that confusion sorted itself
out – just in time for Russia to
invade Ukraine. The chaos
Vladimir Putin plunged much of
the world into will have lasting
effects on us for the next
several years. And we do not
know what those effects may
mean for FGMA, our people
and our clients. We do know
the global and domestic supply
chain issues have been
exacerbated. Additionally, the
infusion of cash into the
economy by Federal
policymakers has had a large
influence on inflation here and abroad. While we do not know how many businesses would have failed
without PPP loans and propped up demand, or if homeowners would have defaulted on their mortgages
without stimulus checks and expanded unemployment insurance, we can say that we have been a
recipient of both the PPP loans and propped up demand. This influx of cash into the economy has greatly
affected our Education, Public Safety and Multifamily practices. And this trend looks to continue
throughout next year.

With the unemployment rate
close to an all-time low,
retirement age folks leaving the
workforce and slowing
population growth we are
finding it challenging to find the
best candidates to help us get
our work done. And we are
being selective to hire only the
best available candidates. This
has resulted in FGMA becoming
more discriminatory in selecting
our clients, and our projects.
Yes, we are still winning new
work, and yes, we are still taking
on more work from existing clients. We are striving to straddle a delicate balance between too much work

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