BCI Engineers and Scientists

Lakeland, FL – November 25, 2009
BCI Engineers & Scientists, Inc. is pleased to welcome Evelyn Siton as an administrative coordinator in their Lakeland, Florida headquarters.

Evelyn has more than 10 years experience providing customer service and office support. She is skilled in customer relations, meeting and event management, accounts receivable and payable, and Microsoft Office. Her skills were developed through her tenure of more than 10 years with Marriott Vacation Club International. During this time, Evelyn was responsible for tracking recorded documents to and from courthouses for property ownership transfers; resolving customer service concerns; facilitating department meetings and training employees in proprietary software; co-facilitating training sessions for employee development during new product rollout; and developing presentations to increase staff participation in workplace volunteer opportunities.  In addition, she has also been an administrative assistant for FloridaFirst Banc Corp assisting with the maintenance and training of the telephone and voice mail systems.  Evelyn has property and casualty insurance experience including handling homeowner and automobile claims. She is involved in Community Service and has been a team coordinator for corporate spirit to serve events such as Habitat for Humanity, Keep Lakeland Clean, and the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Lakeland, FL – November 25, 2009
BCI Engineers & Scientists, Inc. has successfully helped United Way carry forth its mission “to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities” by making a contribution of $15,092.

BCI launched their annual United Way campaign on October 19 and carried the campaign to November 13, 2009, with a goal of raising at least $15,000 for the charity.

“BCI’s 2009 United Way campaign was a fantastic success raising more than $15,000. The numerous and fun activities planned and executed by our United Way committee this year were great and everyone appeared engaged and motivated. During these difficult economic times, it’s very heartwarming to see BCI’s employees ‘digging deep’ to help their community and the work of the United Way,” said Richard Powers, President and CEO of BCI.

Powers went on to discuss his long-term involvement in United Way, having a role in the charity since the 1980s. As a result, Powers was able to see first-hand how effective and important the charity is in the community; therefore, deciding to involve BCI was an easy decision.

“The United Way concept of ‘neighbors helping neighbors’ resonates strongly with everyone at BCI. The United Way, directly or indirectly, in some way assists almost everyone in our community. It’s a great organization helping many people,” Powers said.

Lakeland, FL – November 5, 2009

BCI Engineers & Scientists, Inc. is pleased to welcome Charity McArthur as a geology assistant to the company’s forensic engineering and science department.  Before her hiring at BCI, Charity spent two years as a GIS compliance technician and administrative assistant at the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD). Her primary role was assisting professional geologists with logging in water-use permits and ensuring citizen compliance with SWFWMD regulations by comparing project activities to permitted conditions.

Her additional experience includes her ownership of the Black Brew Coffee House & Bistro in Lakeland, Florida and more than three years as a marketing manager for RE/MAX Experts, also in Lakeland. In the latter capacity, Charity was responsible for assisting the broker/owner and 10 realtors with marketing presentations and property information files.  Charity has also been employed as an amino acid analyst/protein chemist assistant for Shands Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville where her primary focus was assisting a protein chemist in determining the molecular makeup of proteins for research purposes.

Charity has a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of South Florida. She is actively involved in Habitat for Humanity and has volunteered for the after school program for underprivileged children at Prairie View Elementary in Gainesville, Florida.

Lakeland, FL – October 13, 2009

BCI Engineers & Scientists, Inc. is pleased to welcome Dana Whitaker as Senior Marketing Coordinator in the company’s Procurement department. Dana has more than five years experience in marketing. She is experienced in strategic market planning, collateral development, project management, proposal coordination, client relations, market research and analysis, team building and management, and budget preparation and administration.

Her marketing leadership experience stems from her five-year run with Birkitt Environmental Services, Inc. in Tampa, Florida, where she was employed as the firm’s Marketing & Resource Development Director.  In this capacity, Dana was responsible for planning marketing strategy, preparing operational and marketing budgets, expanding the target market, directing proposal preparation, and managing the production of marketing collateral.

Prior to transitioning into a marketing role, Dana worked for two years as an elementary school teacher at Wesley Chapel Elementary in Wesley Chapel, Florida and Denham Oaks Elementary in Land O’Lakes, Florida. She also spent two years as the office manager for Dr. Xin-Yue Jiang, Inc., a Chinese medical clinic in Tampa, Florida.  Dana holds a Bachelor of Science in elementary education from the University of South Florida. She is a member of the Tampa Chapter of the Society of Marketing Professional Services.

Lakeland, FL – October 13, 2009 – BCI Engineers & Scientists, Inc. is pleased to congratulate Doug Partington for 15 years of service to the company. Doug is currently employed as a Senior Lab & Field Technician for BCI’s Geotechnical Engineering & Mining services department. Doug Partington started with BCI on September 12, 1994 after having served in the United States Army for eight years. His on-the-job training began with laboratory soil testing and has progressed to on-site testing, sampling, and monitoring. Doug has performed soil analysis/testing on many of BCI’s geotechnical, mining, construction, and sinkhole investigation work.

Doug’s versatility and ability to learn quickly have proven to be a tremendous asset to BCI while allowing him to be involved in a wide variety of fieldwork and many different projects. During his tenure with BCI, Doug has worked on projects such as Lakeland’s Wastewater Treatment Plant, Orlando’s Millennium Plaza, and Boone Middle School in Haines City. Doug has been involved in road construction, dam building, sinkhole remediation (pressure grouting), dredging projects, liner placement, and slurry wall construction. His duties include collecting samples in the field and laboratory testing. Doug holds an Associate of Arts degree from Polk Community College. He is certified in Radiation Safety, HAZWOPER, ACI, Army Corps of Engineers, and MSHA.

BCI Engineers & Scientists, Inc., a Lakeland-based engineering firm, announces the promotion of Carl Christmann, Director of Geotechnical Engineering & Mining to Vice President – Geotechnical Engineering & Mining.

Lakeland, FL – September 30, 2009 – BCI Engineers & Scientists, Inc. is pleased to announce the promotion of Carl W. Christmann, PE to Vice President – Geotechnical Engineering & Mining.  Carl has provided eight years of service to BCI, starting with the Lakeland-based engineering firm in December 2001. Mr. Richard Powers, President and CEO, said “Mr. Christmann has progressed within our company by providing great client service, top quality engineering and continually taking on additional responsibilities. He has a great ‘Can Do’ attitude, and we look forward to Carl’s continuing contributions to BCI’s success in his new position.”

BCI Engineers & Scientists, Inc., a Lakeland-based engineering firm, announces the addition of a new environmental scientist/GIS analyst.

Lakeland, FL – September 30, 2009 – BCI Engineers & Scientists, Inc. is pleased to announce the addition of Thomas Blush as Environmental Scientist/GIS Analyst to its St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) team in Palatka, Florida.  Tom is working full-time on BCI’s SJRWMD master technical services contract. Prior to BCI, Tom had a two-year run with Jones, Edmunds and Associates in Gainesville, Florida where he provided mapping and GIS support for water resources, solid waste, transportation, and water/wastewater engineering disciplines.  He was responsible for GPS setup and support for field personnel, including loading data, post processing, and creating custom applets, forms, and toolbars.  He also trained clients on GPS setup, usage, and post-processing of data.

Lakeland, FL – September 30, 2009 – BCI Engineers & Scientists, Inc. announces the 10-year service anniversary of two employees in Palatka, Florida.

Alicia Steinmetz and Michelle Jeansonne, both environmental scientists in Palatka, Florida, were honored with 10 years of service to BCI.  Both employees began their tenure with the company on September 1, 1999.
Alicia is working on BCI’s St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) master technical services contract supporting the District’s Lower St. Johns River Basin (LSJRB) program. Ms. Steinmetz first began working with the District in 1996 as a summer college intern and later began working full-time within the District in 1998.  She primarily works on soil and water quality projects associated with agricultural best management practices and wetland treatment projects that treat agricultural runoff. Ms. Steinmetz has had prior experience with Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) research and monitoring in the lower St. Johns River.

Ms. Jeansonne is dedicated full-time to work on BCI’s St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) master technical services contract supporting the District’s Lower St. Johns River Basin (LSJRB) program. She is primarily responsible for database management and quality assurance. Ms. Jeansonne has been working within the District performing a variety of technical and biological support since 1996.  She has expertise in contract management; water quality management and assessment; biological and water quality data assurance and control; field studies (monitoring, mapping, assessment of submerged aquatic habitats and aquatic invertebrates); evaluation of water quality and control for vegetated and non-vegetated aquatic habitats; and project design and implementation for the evaluation of specific land use categories, water quality and macroinvertebrate communities.

BCI Engineers & Scientists, Inc., a Lakeland-based engineering firm, announces the addition of a new Senior Technician.

Lakeland, FL – August 24, 2009 – Kevin joins as a senior technician, responsible for overseeing geotechnical technician operations including coordination of schedules, field investigations, and completing report data.  Kevin has more than 11 years experience in soils and materials testing and engineering. He has performed field sampling and testing for a variety of earthwork and building projects, such as schools, hotels, office buildings, airport terminals, parking structures, multi-acre, and multi-unit residential developments; and transportation projects such as interstate roadways, bridges, and earth retention structures.  His experience also includes geotechnical field sampling and laboratory classification testing, as well as report preparation for construction materials testing and geotechnical design projects.

BCI Engineers & Scientists, Inc., a Lakeland-based engineering firm, announces the five-year service anniversary of Jie Gao, PE.

Lakeland, FL – September 10, 2009 – BCI Engineers & Scientists, Inc. is pleased to congratulate Jie Gao, PE, for five years of service to the company.
Jie currently serves as a project engineer in BCI’s Lakeland office. She joined the firm in August 2004 as a water resources engineer. Her experience includes more than six years of industry experience in water resources study and research analysis in addition to ICPR and Geographic Information System (GIS) modeling.  During her latter four years at BCI, Jie acquired extensive experience working on watershed management studies and floodplain analysis.  Jie has served as a project engineer/modeler on several projects for the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Most recently, she was responsible for the entire project preparation and development of the Avon Park Watershed Management Plan; and performed the hydrological model, digital terrain mapping, floodplain analysis and mapping, and water resources assessment evaluation.