Education » Atlanta FM Blog

IFMA Community Services Fall Lunch & Learn

The topic of the fall quarter IFMA Atlanta Lunch and Learn for Nonprofits, held on November 17 at Georgia Lions Lighthouse, was Getting Discounts Using Nonprofit Procurement Vehicles. David Kidd, Program Manager with U. S. Communities, a government purchasing alliance that assists public agencies and non-profits to save time and money in the procurement process, discussed how to access a no-cost, no-commitment contract established on behalf of all public agencies with the full buying power of all the U.S. Communities contracts behind it. Nonprofits may register on line at www.uscommunities.org or contact David Kidd at dkidd@uscommunities.org.

The Nonprofit Lunch and Learn program is held quarterly by the Community Services Committee, Rick Yarbrough (T.L. Gowin & Co., Inc.) and Emily Perry (Harris Perry), Chairs, and is open to all nonprofit organizations. Our thanks to Community Services Partner Georgia Lions Lighthouse for providing our venue and to Coordinators Renee Bonnell (Chosen Enterprises) and Debbie Wiggins (RooterPLUS). The next event will be held February 16 on on Facilities Condition Assessment and Maintenance Plans.

TrilogyFM Named One of Atlanta’s “Healthiest Employers”

On the morning of February 18th, IFMA Atlanta sustaining patron, TrilogyFM/Millicare was recognized by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of the city’s “Healthiest Employers.” A number of chapter members were there to recognize the achievement.

We congratulate Tom Haslach and the whole TrilogyFM team for a job well-done! You can see pictures of the event here.

Millicare - Atlanta's Healthiest Employers #3

Upcoming USGBC Event

There is an upcoming USGBC event being offered this Thursday, October 21, from 8:30-10:00am.

Presenters will explore renewable energy and solar photovoltaic (PV) technology. Trends and new developments in these technologies hold much promise in meeting Georgia’s energy demands. The presentation will cover an overview of PV systems, investment strategies, and market status in Georgia. A tour of Choate Construction’s state-of-the-art PV installation will also take place at the end of the presentation. This course is approved for LEED AP continuing education credit.

Check out the new Issue of OC Atlanta

Please take a few minutes to read the current issue of OC Atlanta magazine. Two of our chapter members wrote featured articles of interest:
“IFMA’s World Workplace Coming to Atlanta” by Joanne Cole and “What IFMA Atlanta has Meant to Me” by Joseph Geierman.

USGBC Educational Event

Annette Gorelick wants to remind members about the upcoming USGBC GA chapter educational event – LEED for Schools – on Thursday, 9/16. Registration is $10 for members and $20 for non-members. Here is the link for info and registration:

Two Learning Opportunities at Sister Organizations

Annette Gorelick, our chapter’s Secretary, wants to make sure you know about two opportunities for education at some of our sister organizations.

First is a USGBC Georgia chapter educational event being held on Thursday, August 19. Attendees will be able to earn LEED AP continuing education credit and elevate their understanding about projecting, tracking, & evaluating costs & returns on green building initiatives. Greg O’Brien, Principal, Sustainable Options, LLC, will address design vs. actual performance and financial returns on sustainable investments. A walking tour to Colonial Properties Atlantic Center Plaza follows as Chief Engineer Jeff Johnson will discuss the condensate reclamation system as part of this LEED Gold property. For more information, send an e-mail to Annette Gorelick. Register directly at the USGBC-GA site.

Second, Annette encourages you to join IFMA Birmingham Chapter members as they attend the Green Building Focus Conference & Expo 8/24-8/26, 2010 in Birmingham, AL. You can register on the Green Building Focus website — please note that IFMA groups receive the Host Association rate listed on the left side. If you are interested in more details, please contact Michael McHugh at Green Building Focus.

LED’s – Why Is Everybody So Excited?

President Joanne Cole points us to this article that was written for the Charlotte chapter by Rick Regan. She shares it here with their permission.

LED’s – Why Is Everybody So Excited?

A recent International Trade Show and Conference devoted to Architectural and Commercial Lighting held this year in Las Vegas, raised the question: Why is everybody getting so excited about LEDs? The LED products that most of us have seen have been too dim for serious commercial use, and kind of a blue-ish light to boot. Not ready for Prime Time!

Here’s the thing, LEDs have been steadily getting brighter and more powerful, year after year. And this year marks the first time that LED products will be able to challenge the performance of every kind of light: Incandescent, High Pressure Sodium, Metal-Halide and Fluorescent, to name a few.

The magic number is 100. That is: 100 lumens-per-Watt of electricity. The very latest T8 & T5 products hover around this 100 lu/W level, and HPS and M-H are in the 100 lu/W range too. After 40 years of development and improvements, 100 lu/W is about the best you can get out of conventional lighting. (source: IESNA Lighting Handbook)
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FM Job Club – Networking Group for Facility Managers in Career Transition

Are you a Facility Manager who is currently out of work? Would you like a chance to network with your peers – to share contacts and strategies for finding that next job?

If the above statements describe you, then you should join us for IFMA Atlanta’s new FM Job Club – a monthly networking event for facility managers in career transition. Led by HR guru, Joe Carroll, this group will attempt to support you during these tough economic times.

Come to the inaugural meeting of the group on Tuesday, June 16 from 11 – 1pm. We will be meeting at Corporate Environments, located at 1636 Northeast Expy, Atlanta, GA 30329. The job club is FREE to attend. There is plenty of parking at Corporate Environments, and bring your lunch, because we will take a short break to eat and chat. Please reserve your place today on the IFMA Atlanta website:

IFMA FM Networking Breakfast: Newell Rubbermaid HQ and the Green Globes Sustainability Rating System

Early on the morning of May 12, a group of facility managers converged on the Newell Rubbermaid headquarters for a tour of the facility and a lecture about the Green Globes rating system for sustainable buildings. This was one of our series of “FM Breakfasts” that are open for free to professional members – great opportunities for both networking AND education.

Calvin Lower, Newell Rubbermaid’s Sr. Manager of Property and Construction and Bobby Johnson, its Facility Manager, led us on the tour of the 355,000-square-foot, 14-story facility – and it was fantastic! The relatively new space, features an open floor-plan and lots of natural daylight. Employees are provided with free coke products, an on-site cafeteria and gym and even a small Starbucks! Mr. Lower and Mr. Johnson are doing a great job at a facility manager’s dream-gig. We are very happy they generously opened their building up to us!

The second part of the tour – the explanation of the Green Globes rating system – was equally fascinating. We’ve all heard about LEED in its various forms (New Construction, Existing Building, Commercial Interiors, etc), but Green Globes is still fairly new to those of us in the USA. Kevin Stover, Commercial Programs Consultant at Green Building Initiative, led the presentation and explained the system to us. While not yet as established in the US as it is in Canada, Green Globes is a flexible alternative to LEED which offers many of the same benefits (the two systems have 80-85% overlap) at a potentially more affordable price (the architects for Newell Rubbermaid estimate that using Green Globes certification cost the company about ¼ of the fees and documentation costs compared to what going for LEED certification would have).

It was a compelling presentation- definite food for thought for any facility manager interested in green building. Be sure to join us for our next FM Networking breakfast in June (day/location to be announced), when we look at day-cleaning.

IFMA Educational Event (Report): Design for the Other 90%

design_for_the_other_90_413_image2 On a recent Thursday evening, a group of Facility Managers converged upon the Centers for Disease Control to check out a very interesting exhibit called “Design for the Other 90%.” The show features design innovations that are meant to provide affordable solutions for the health, energy, water, housing, education and transportation challenges faced by people in the developing world. For facility managers, who are charged with providing safe and productive environments for the employee populations of their companies, Design for the Other 90% provided some interesting perspective. Special thanks go out to Joanne Cole, who scheduled the private, led by the exhibit’s curator. Louise Shaw.

A group photo of the Facility Managers who toured the CDC's "Design for the Other 90%" exhibit.