Swanson Rink Co-Founder Dies/Piper to Serve on Dept. of Labor Committee/CU Names Distinguished Engineering Alumni

Fred Rink, who co-founded Swanson Rink Inc. in 1951 with his friend and colleague, Al Swanson, died in late April. He was 84.

Fred Rink, co-founder of Swanson Rink Inc., died on April 23 at the age of 84.

In 1951, Rink joined friend and colleague Al Swanson to form the firm, where he continued to work until his death.

Notable projects to which Rink contributed include the fuel farms at Stapleton and Denver International Airport, DIA's de-icing facilities, Ball Aerospace Manufacturing Facility, Colorado Springs Utilities Data Center, the NCR Fort Collins Microelectronics Facility and the Federal Express Hub Facility in Newark, N.J.

He was also involved in many projects for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Air Force Academy and the General Services Administration.

Keith Molenaar, assistant professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to lecture and conduct research at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, in Santiago, Chile during the 2006-2007 academic year.

Bob Piper, vice president of work-force development for Associated Builders and Contractors, will serve on the U.S. Department of Labor's advisory committee on apprenticeship. Piper co-owned Piper Electric Co. Inc. in Arvada for more than 20 years before joining ABC's senior management staff in 2004.

James Schmidt, PE, transferred to Kleinfelder Inc.'s Colorado Springs office as a senior geotechnical engineer. Jennifer Meyer, CIH, CHMM, was promoted to environmental group leader at the firm's office in Golden.

Steve Johann joined GE Johnson Construction as preconstruction director. Johann, who has 20-plus years of estimating experience, will be based in the contractor's Denver office.

John Uhll joined Shaffer Baucom Engineering & Consulting as director of marketing.

Uhll has experience in engineering and sales in the HVAC and controls industries, as well as strategic marketing and marketing research.

Jim Tighe, Subrata Chakrabarti, Alan Weimer and Kumiyo Nakakoji were honored in April as distinguished engineering alumni at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Hyder Construction added two new employees - Randall Butler, superintendent; and Brad Bakel, project manager.

Victor Montemayor joined Coover-Clark & Associates in Denver.

Also, Project Designer Susan Whitacre has received AP accreditation from the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED program.

Karen Jacobsen was named director of business development for Denver's Jordy and Co., which does business as Jordy Construction and Jordy Carter Furnishings.

Ross Rosenow was hired as construction project manager at Jordy Construction; Kim Bleakley, joined Jordy Carter Furnishings as account manager for its northern Colorado-Wyoming branch.

Harris Kocher Smith made the following promotions and new stockholders - Kevin Roth, Scott Weisbeck, Mark Wilson, Wes Christiansen, Janette Rourke and Elna Smith, associates and stockholders; and Josh Barrett, Rex Ohri and Will Smith, associates.

Rocky Carns, PE, was appointed chief operations officer for JR Engineering LLC, a subsidiary of Westrian Group Inc.

Carns, a Westrian principal, will continue to oversee Denver office operations while leading the company as its COO.

David Farnum, who has more than 28 years of experience, has joined the civil engineering department at Martin/Martin Inc. as business development director.

Denver-based Tower One Construction added the following people to its staff - Darrin Griffith, project manager; and Scott Walter, estimator.

Bernadette Kelly was promoted to associate at Andrews & Anderson Architects PC, and Ben Heppe was hired as an architectural intern.

Wes Jones, CIPE, was promoted to plumbing department manager at Cator, Ruma & Associates Co. in Lakewood.

Monroe & Newell Engineers Inc. added three new staff members - Will Gillis, PE; Sally Cook; and Victor Martiny.

White Construction Group added eight new staff members to its offices in Castle Rock and Brighton - Vicky Salg, project manager; Bill Clement, Art Engel, Don Semingsen and Bill Yackanicz, project superintendents; Suzie Thayer and Chris Hardies, project coordinators; and Diane Beil, marketing specialist/executive assistant.

Also, Tim White, president, was named a recipient of the Alumni of the Plains award presented by Progressive 15.

Barry Grant has left his post as president of KB Home's Colorado division to lead the company's operations in northern California. Rusty Crandall, president of KB Home's Indiana division and former executive vice president of KB Home Colorado, has replaced him.

Will Peterson joined the project engineering team at Nunn Construction Inc. in Colorado Springs. His current projects include the Navigators remodel and USA/CPS addition projects.

Also, Eric Bivens joined the estimating team. His current projects include Gold Hill Mesa Community Center and the Dwire Hall renovation project at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

Michael Longfellow, AIA, NCARB, joined M+O+A Architectural Partnership earlier this year as senior project manager.

His current projects include three new senior living projects recently awarded to M+O+A located in Shawnee, Kan.; Overland Park, Kan.; and Crestwood, Mo.

Odette Bent-Buckles was named controller at Saunders Construction Inc. in Centennial.

Bent-Buckles has been in the financial industry for more than 11 years, three of them as controller for a commercial construction company.

Ware Malcomb President Jim Williams retired from active participation at the firm. Vice President Kenneth Wink and Vice President Jay Todisco now have increased responsibilities in the overall management and direction of the firm, under the leadership of CEO Larry Armstrong.

John Heffley joined Flatiron Construction Corp. as district manager of Flatiron Intermountain. His responsibilities will include expanding the company's focus in the Rocky Mountain region.

Laurin McCracken, AIA, MCR, joined Carter & Burgess as chief marketing officer.

Meurer & Associates Inc. announced the following promotions and appointments - Chris Douglass, PE, to senior project engineer; Kari Mueller, EI, to design engineer II; Danielle Knipp to marketing manager; Clarice O'Hanlon, PE, to design engineer II; and Lisa Schwien, PE, to senior design engineer.

Adolfson & Peterson Construction now has nine LEED-accredited professionals working in Colorado.Eight of its employees passed the LEED AP exam. They are Tom Bailey, senior project manager; Alan Antolak, project manager; Ryan Anderson, project manager; Brad Dean, assistant project manager; Tim Taylor, project engineer; Mike Knack, superintendent; Fred Patterson, assistant superintendent; and Andy Humphrey, assistant superintendent.

Drew Russ, mechanical electrical manager, is head of A&P's LEED AP development.

Swinerton Builders added several staff members - Bob Stozek, senior project manager; Jared Peterson, project manager; Evan Young, intern project engineer; Jeff Godfread, senior project engineer; Bridgette Avet, project assistant; and Wayne Osbourne, senior project manager.

Analyst Chris Gibbons joined management consulting and engineering firm R.W. Beck Inc.

Riviera Electric added 10 employees to its Colorado Springs office - Dustin Marshall and Mike Halby, journeyman electricians; Brian Mattyasovsky, Juan Chavarria, Wesley Smith, Amy Edelstein, Jeff Sanchez, Mark Johnson and Jesse Escobar, apprentice electricians; and Brandon Martin, mechanic.