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U.S. Green Building Council
West Michigan Chapter News
February 2010 | |
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Message from the Board of Directors
Our new Chair is Renae Hesselink
At the January 13 meeting of the Board of Directors, Renae Hesselink was elected to serve as Chair for 2010. Renae has served the Chapter in many capacities since joining, most recently as Vice-Chair of the Board and as the Chair of the LEED® for Schools Interest Circle. Renae has worked tirelessly (some say she cannot say 'no' to the Chapter) as a member, a leader, and as an officer. We look forward to the growth and enthusiasm she will foster, and know that the membership will support her efforts.
The Board congratulates and thanks our outgoing Chair, Earl Eddy, for his service to the Chapter. Earl joined the Board in 2007 and was elected as Chair in 2008. The Chapter has matured under Earls' leadership and direction, and Earl has worked hard to anticipate Chapter needs and to make sure bases were covered. He has also served with Sam Pobst as Representative to the Heartland Regional Board. Earl was elected to serve as Chapter Treasurer for 2010. We look forward to his continued support in that and other roles. (Note: Our By-Laws limit officers to serving two consecutive years.)
Message from Renae
To Our USGBC-WM Chapter:
I am very honored and excited to be serving as Chair of the USGBC West Michigan Chapter for this year. Having served on the Board of Directors for four years, I have seen our chapter grow in terms of numbers of members, events and educational opportunities, LEED-certified buildings, and LEED APs in our region.
We have many LEED-certified buildings in West Michigan. We want to identify opportunities that will help us rise to the top in green building expertise. We are well-positioned (and beginning to become well-known in the State of Michigan and beyond) to contribute to the economic health of our state.
We are offering and preparing to offer more educational opportunities for members, LEED APs, Green Associates and other building stakeholders in our region to not only learn about the benefits of constructing a LEED building but also how to design, build, and maintain them.
It will be an exciting year and I invite you to talk to us. Bring us your ideas and invest some of your time in the future of West Michigan!
Renae Hesselink, LEED AP
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(231) 799-2120 Ext 117
West Michigan Chapter Board of Directors and Staff |
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Welcome to New Members!
Tom Manikowski
Debra Watkins
Barbara Vader
Jamison Kibbe
Carrie Hull
We're excited that you've joined us ! |
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2010 Officers of the Board of Directors:
Chair - Renae Hesselink
Vice Chair - Steve Willobee
Treasurer - Earl Eddy
Secretary - Nick Carlson
Heartland Regional Chapter Representatives:
USGBC has established eight regions in the United States to respond to Chapter interests and to provide a communications conduit to/from the USGBC. Ours is the Heartland Region. Each Chapter Board elects two members to participate at the regional level. The Board has selected Sam Pobst and Heather DeKorte as our representatives for the current year. Sam is currently serving as the Chair of the Heartland Region.
look here for bios & pics |
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Opportunities to Learn and Network!
Click on an Interest Circle or Branch to view their page on the website and find information about their future meetings.(Homes, NC&CI, O&M, Schools,ND,South West Branch, Heart of West Michigan Branch).
February 10
LEED Building Showcase Tour
What: Project Team meeting
Time: 1:30-2:30pm
Location: Grand Rapids Community College, M-TEC
622 Godfrey Avenue, SW
Grand Rapids ( map)
What: The WM Chapter Communications Circle and Education Circle meet together to exchange collaborative opportunities and also meet separately for planning.
Time: 4:00-5:30pm
Location: Grand Rapids Community College, M-TEC
622 Godfrey Avenue, SW
Grand Rapids (map)
What: The WM Chapter Board of Directors meeting includes a representative from each Chapter Interest Circle in attendance.
Time: 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Location: Grand Rapids Community College, M-TEC
622 Godfrey Avenue, SW
Grand Rapids (map)
Listen to GVSU FM at 10:00 am to hear the monthly "Getting Green" article on live roofs hosted by Shelly Irwin. Trish Spaulding is coordinating this for USGBCWM so contact her with topics. You could be on the radio!
March 9
Classes for Green Associate Study Group begin at Tassell M-TEC. See the article below for details or check our website for more info.
March 25
Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) annual Expo in West Michigan. more info
April 7 - 8
Michigan Annual Energy Conference will be at Ferris State University - Big Rapids
May 19 - 21
Greening the Heartland is coming to Minneapolis - a great learning opportunity.
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M ake a tax-deductable contribution to your Chapter. Go to our website for easy instructions on donating.
- Support the Chapter with your continuing membership, so that we can support you.
- Send news articles or ideas to the editor.
- Contact Trish Spaulding with articles for our monthly radio show on GVSU (see article below)
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Green Associate Study Group
Comming to Tassell M-TEC
The U.S. Green Building Council West Michigan Chapter is offering a facilitatedstudy group to prepare individuals for the challenging LEED Green Associate (GA) Examination. These study groups differ from instructor-led courses and rely on the strength of the facilitator and the active participation of the learners. Study group sessions are a combination of facilitated peer-to-peer discussion and personal study, and will provide participants with the ability to explain green building concepts and strategies, apply test-taking strategies, navigate exam structure and prepare them to sit for the exam.
Study group participants should have the prerequisite knowledge of the subject matter covered in the LEED GA Candidate Handbook. They will also need study the content of the Green Building and LEED Core Concepts Guide, First Edition. This guide must be purchased separately through the USGBC website. A study group is not eligible towards GBCI's LEED Professional Credential Maintenance Program (CMP). After successful completion of the study group, candidates may provide their Certificate of Completion in lieu of a letter of attestation to sit for the LEED Green Associate Exam.
Classes will be held at the Tassell M-TEC located at 622 Godfrey Avenue SW, Grand Rapids..
Facilitated classes begin will meet bi-weekly from 6:30-8:00 p.m. on the following dates:
March 9, 2010
March 23, 2010
April 6, 2010
April 20, 2010
Click here for more information and to register. |
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Getting Green . . . On the Air
WGVU-FM (88.5) airs a 20-minute interview show on the fourth Monday of each month titled Getting Green. hosted by Shelly Irwin. It's an opportunity to educate and communicate all things green. The Chapter has been instrumental in getting this show on the air, and we are looking for ideas, topics and potential guests.
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Goodwill Industries goes green with $7.3 millionPATHWAYS OUT OF POVERTY GRANT
Local Goodwill Agency Awarded Two Grants
On January 13, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) awarded Goodwill Industries International a $7.3 million Pathways Out of Poverty Grant in support of theGoodwill® Goes Green (G3) initiative. Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids, Inc. is one of six Goodwill agencies participating in this initiative to help the hardest-to-place job seekers secure employment in green industry-related fields. These funds were made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
The Grand Rapids' Goodwill is also a part of the Green Pathways Job Opportunity Program - a local recipient of a $4 million Pathways Out of Poverty grant.
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Zeeland Lumber Obtains FSC Certification
"We are proud to announce our certification to the FSC standards. We are now able to meet that increasing market demand and ensure our products come from responsibly managed forests." says Zeeland's FSC Program Administrator Greg Jacques.
The FSC Certification process requires system-wide changes, including isolating the certified products, using special labels and diligently maintaining the chain of custody for each piece of wood that they purchase and sell.
To qualify for FSC Certification, Zeeland Lumber Company was independently verified by Scientific Certification Systems, an FSC-accredited certification company. SCS examined Zeeland's record-keeping and systems, certifying Zeeland to work within the FSC system and label its products with the FSC logo. For more information go to www.zeelandlumber.com
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Haworth Announces Zero Waste to Landfill
Opportunity for shared learning
Haworth recently announced that all U.S., Shanghai and Pune manufacturing facilities, as well as the company's global headquarters in Holland, achieved zero waste to landfill status. Preliminary results showed some staggering numbers ... that U.S. manufacturing facilities went from 4.6 million pounds of landfill waste in 2008 to zero in 2009.
A Haworth spokesman says, "since we made this announcement, several of our vendors, partners and clients have asked us how we did it. We are happy to share - even the non-traditional ideas that occurred along the way and contact with the partners that helped us get to zero waste to landfill status. If you are interested in a similar initiative or would like a tour of our recycling operation, contact me:"
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Green Buildings of West Michigan Research Study and Showcase Tour - Update
Our chapter recently launched a project engaging LEED building owners in West Michigan and matching them with student teams from Grand Valley State University and Kendall School of Design to showcase the buildings.
The first step is to begin the process of collecting data and proving that the more than 110 LEED Buildings we have in West Michigan are performing as intended. We have the most LEED buildings per capita in the United States; the time seems right to bring that recognition to the next level and provide the research needed to prove it.
The deliverables of this research will be the following:
- Data entered into the EERE (Department of Energy) Buildings Database
- Data entered into McGraw Hill's GreenSource database
- USGBC West Michigan Showcase on our website
- An Executive Summary of the results that can be used as a marketing piece for participants.
- Inclusion in our book "Green Buildings of West Michigan"
- Participation in a two-day Showcase Tour in the fall of 2010.
Owners of LEED-Certified buildings who have committed to this project are the following:
- GRPS - Burton Elementary (4 buildings)
- Spectrum Health - Lemmen Holton Cancer Pavilion
- Grand Rapids Art Museum
- Davenport University (4 buildings)
- Dwelling Place of Grand Rapids (4 buildings)
- Bazzani Headquarters
- Steelcase Work Lab Showroom
- Steelcase Wood Plant
- Herman Miller
- Aquinas College (3 buildings)
- Grand Valley State University (11 buildings)
- Metro Health Systems (main hospital campus)
- Haworth Corporation - Corporate Headquarters
- Forest Hills Public Schools (4 buildings)
- Grand Rapids YMCA - Hunting Branch
- CityFlats Hotel - Holland
- Plaza East Office Building - Holland
We are currently matching student teams with building owners, and held a training session in mid-January so both can learn about the expectations of collecting the data. This research will be completed by May, 2010. If you are a LEED building owner who is intereted in participating and have not been contacted, please let us know. We will also be putting together a sponsorship package.
If you are interested in participating on this team, our next meeting is on February 10, 2010 at 1:30 p.m. at GRCC M-TEC, 622 Godfrey Avenue SW, Grand Rapids.
To learn more about this project, or to find out about the volunteer andsponsorship opportunities, please contact :
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Maintaining Your LEED Credentials
... a huge success !
Much of January was spent planning our recent event: Experience the U.S. Green Building Council of West Michigan, which was held on Friday, January 22. More than 130 people attended this open house. The key message was to all LEED APs in our area to not wait until the last minute to try to understand what it takes to keep credentials current, or to transition to the specialty track with LEED AP. Get organized now, visit the GBCI website and declare your intent, and start pursuing the credentialing process.
For those of you considering the Green Associate and LEED AP designations, there are plenty of opportunities to help you pass those exams. We have more than 740 LEED APs in west Michigan, and declaring a specialty and maintaining the credential will help differentiate you from others. Be a marketing tool for yourself and for your organization!
Thank you to our planning committee who helped organize the program! A special thanks to our friends from the Southwest Michigan Branch who made presentations.
We also need to thank our three sponsors for the event. We were not able to publicize their contributions, so we are including their logos with links to their websites:
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What were U thinking?
Reader Essays and such.
We're trying something new this month. We'd like to end each newsletter with a short essay or rambling from one of our readers (that would be you). If we get enough interest we might even try having a competition with a prize for the best writting at the end of the year...hmmmm - interested yet?
This month's sharing comes from Liz Wirgau of Kiva, a division of Byrne Electrical Specialists.
Walk the Green Walk
So I don't do the whole New Year's resolution thing. I have a list of life goals that I continue to work at during my lifetime. Sometimes I start in March. Or months that end in 'r'. And even on Tuesdays. It just so happens that I started a new life goal just last week - to live a greener existence.
A trip that requires wearing a swimsuit, receiving a guitar as a gift or having my fees paid in order to pursue LEED credentialing have all been little pushes that have led to life goals. The little life push this time around? A note on blue paper included with my monthly student loan bill stating that I will now be receiving billing coupons every six months rather than monthly. Obviously, that's a cost save on their part but, wow, think about how much less paper will be consumed! And so it begins.
Here I am, studying like mad with the goal of passing the LEED GA exam and I still receive monthly bills via snail mail. Gees, a carrier on horse would be more environmentally friendly. Now just so you know, I don't only aim to have a green professional life. I recycle and combine my errands so that I make multiple stops in one trip. I live in the country and ride my bike to the bank, weather permitting. Packaging plays a role in which products I purchase. I shop local. But I know I can still be a brighter green.
What does this greener existence entail? Well, for starters, I now get e-statements for all bills and statements. I do recycle even though curbside isn't available in the country. But oh how I despise the almost empty peanut butter jars that stay greasy and how the peanut butter turns white when touched by water. Or the ketchup clots that splatter the sink. Now, a few less will be making their way into the trash and a few more into the recycle bag. And then there is my vegetable garden. The first year my garden yielded carrots, potatoes, squash, beans and more potatoes. However last year, excuses got in the way of gardening and weeds grew in place of veggies. Not this year, I will be expanding my garden area, weeding and with a bit of luck, eating fresh veggies. No more excuses this year.
Maybe that's how this can all be summed up.
No more excuses. Both personal and professional lives can benefit from expanding our boundaries and being a bit brighter green. Just as we constantly challenge our traditional methods of designing and constructing the built environment, we also need to challenge our daily lives and walk the green talk.
If you have something green you would like to share please send it to
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with a small picture of you. Make sure it is exactly how you want it to be printed since we won't be editing. |
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