I remember when Marvin first started working for us in 2002.

There were only six of us then, but we were all very optimistic and expecting big things for Capitol CREAG.

Marvin joined us to fill the role as Senior Accountant and helped us to keep our contracts all in a row.  He was in charge of:

• Receivables
• Payables
• Audits
• Dealing with the banks
• And all the roles that don’t have much to do with your title, but that you still do when you work for a small company.

Since then the company has grown by leaps and bounds and Marvin has played an important part in that.

It’s while reflecting on those fond memories that Art, Todd, and I would like to give an official congratulations on behalf of the company.

Marvin has transitioned into a new position as Team Leader of NCR Financial Analysis Support Contracts.

This opportunity will see Marvin using his strengths in leadership as he leads the Capitol CREAG team working on the Financial Analysis Support contracts.  He will be responsible for:

• Overall contract performance
• Ensuring client satisfaction
• Facilitating staff success and professional development
• Collaborating with the team and the client to contribute to Capitol CREAG’s continued growth within the Region

I’m looking forward to watching Marvin continue to provide remarkable service to Capitol CREAG’s customers.

Blogs are great.  They let you keep in touch and stay informed.

One of the down sides of Blogs, though, is that because many of the best ones aren’t updated every day (who has quality information to write about every day?), it’s easy to forget to check in with them on a regular basis.

One of the best solutions for keeping up to date on blogs is called an RSS reader.  I wanted to share the video below to explain how an RSS reader can work to help you stay on top of the Capitol CREAG blog and your other favorite blogs.

Google Reader in Plain English

If you decide to use Google Reader to follow the Capitol CREAG blog, all you have to do to subscribe is click the button to the right of this entry that looks like this:

Feel free to post links to some of your other favorite blogs in the Comments section below.

If over the next few days you run into me and I seem much more laid back, it’s because I just got back from Parsons, KS where the people are friendly and the Main Street wins awards.

This past Tuesday, Calibre sat down with Selena, Matt, Shaun, and myself for lunch and asked us to do a building assessment for a 67,000 sq ft building just southeast of Parsons at the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant (KSAAP).  The plant is closing due to BRAC.

After getting a notice to move forward on Wednesday, Shaun and I took the 5:30 AM flight out of BWI and made it to Parsons around noon on Thursday.

What we found in Parsons was all kinds of very helpful information from:

• The Local Redevelopment Planning Authority
• Parsons Economic Development Director
• Bob Wood (the commercial broker of choice for the county)
• The Army Corps of Engineers, and
• The Army personnel still on-site at the KSAAP.

This morning Shaun and I sit down to begin writing our report.  With all the helpful information from the people mentioned above, the 200 page report by the LRPA, the 700 page environmental report from the Army Corps, and a few other sources, I have to admit I’m really looking forward to giving our assessment for the building’s Highest and Best Use.

With less than 9 days left until the Anne Arundel County Executive submits the Odenton Town Center “BRAC Zoning Application” to the State of Maryland, its been really important to me to make sure we have done everything we can to rally public support for our listing at the Odenton Town Center.

We’ve received lots of interest in the Odenton Town Center from corporations, hotel and convention center prospects, and DOD contractors who want to lease space.  Our buildings, however, are dependent on getting the permits we need to start construction.

One way I see that we may be able to get our permits is to promote support for infrastructure such as roads and utilities.  The BRAC Zoning would make Arundel County government eligible for additional funding and other State resources to offset those expenses.

According to Anne Arundel County’s website:

The BRAC Revitalization and Incentive Zone benefits are comprised of state rebates related to incremental tax revenue from the increased value of qualified properties in the BRAC Zone. Rebated funds must be used for infrastructure improvements in the BRAC Zone. The designation would also provide eligibility for Anne Arundel County to leverage other available state programs.

What We’re Doing

In order to do what we can to encourage support for permits and BRAC Zoning, we’ve written letters to:

• Governor O’Malley
• Lt. Governor Brown
• Governor O’Malley’s BRAC Subcabinet
• US Senators Mikulski and Carden
• US Congressman Sarbanes
• The Ft. Meade Alliance Board of Directors
• Ft. Meade Officials
• The Baltimore Business Journal
• Business Monthly/Patuxent Publishing
• The Washington Post
• The Anne Arundel Examiner
• The Associated Press
• USA Today
• The Baltimore Sun

I’m really hopeful that we can play a large part in helping Anne Arundel County move forward.  Our goal is to exceed expectations as broker for the Halle Companies while supporting the citizens of AA County, Howard County and the brave men and women of the US military as BRAC’s effects are felt by all of us.

I’m still confident that with the county, state, millitary, and Halles working together, we are more than able to reach our 2010 occupancy date.

Leticia and Bill have been working diligently to prepare for the implementation of an Electronic Timesheet System and we’re ready to go live across the organization effective 10/01/2008.

This Thursday, we will be hosting a live training session at our headquarters at the Ronald Reagan Building during lunch.  We will also have a live Internet presentation in our Atlanta office.

Locations

• Ronald Reagan Bldg. - 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., Suite 700, Washington, DC
• Atlanta - 260 Peachtree St., Suite 900, Atlanta, GA

Time

If you cant make it into one of these locations, we will have a phone in teleconference option for personnel located at Capitol CREAG outposts.  You will need a phone line and internet connection to participate.

Phone 1-800-511-7983
Access Code 572627

If you have any questions, please contact Paul, Kendra or Matt at (202)355-1028.