TZL 1448 (web)

TRANSACTIONS SEPI ACQUIRES CLEARWATER, FLORIDA MULTI-DISCIPLINED LAND DEVELOPMENT CONSULTING FIRM TO EXPAND SOUTHEAST FOOTPRINT SEPI announced its third Florida location through the acquisition of Deuel & Associates of Clearwater, Florida. The acquisition of Deuel & Associates is aligned with SEPI’s long-range strategy of: ■ ■ Southeastern U.S. expansion ■ ■ Geographic expansion in the growth market of Florida ■ ■ Diversifying into non-DOT markets ■ ■ Adding growing, complementary services

■ ■ Building and expanding existing land development and landscape architecture services Deuel & Associates’ broad base of expertise will provide an enhanced client experience benefiting both our public and private sector clients. “The opportunity to add such an amazing firm to SEPI and continue to expand our footprint in the Southeast is one we couldn’t pass up,” said Sepi Saidi, CEO of SEPI. “This acquisition positions us as a powerhouse firm across a variety of service offerings pertaining to land development, and across the AEC industry as a whole. We look forward to welcoming Deuel & Associates to the SEPI team.”

Deuel & Associates is a multi-disciplined land development consulting firm first established in 1954 by C. Fred Deuel, where he served as president of the company until his retirement in January 2007. Notable Deuel projects include developments such as the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Calvary Baptist Church Athletic Field Complex, various City of Pinellas Park projects, Alexander Orthopedic Centers, and various projects for the Philadelphia Phillies spring training facility. The firm is led by Al Carrier, PE, PSM, Brian Barker, PE, MSEM and Chris Chin, PE and is well-regarded within the West Coast Florida marketplace.

performance, will allow for steady linear career growth, advancement, and compensation. Not only does time allow for advancement, but it also builds relationships. 3. Building connections and relationships. Nothing should be more treasured than loyal friends and collaborators! Psychological studies show that gratitude is intrinsically connected to loyalty. Many of us in the AEC world already know this applies in the sales world. The more connected you are with a person and the more they get to know you, the more they are likely to work with you. The same applies in the workplace, especially with coworkers. When you change jobs, it takes time for your colleagues to get to know your personality, expertise, and abilities. Sometimes building these relationships can take years! If you change jobs frequently you are less likely to build roots and long- lasting connections. Developed relationships allow us to be true to ourselves and our values. Every employer, not just those in the environmental, health, and safety industry, will always need to deal with employee recruitment and retention. But instead of managing employees knowing they may leave every three to four years (or less), why don’t we manage employees to stay more than 20 years? Or maybe for an entire career? To keep our employees, we need to educate and mentor them on the value of loyalty. As employers and managers, however, we need to ensure that we are giving our loyal employees additional trust, consistent increases in compensation, and ways to build and develop relationships. As the EHS practice leader for Pennoni, I have found that vision and grit by a leader sets the course of a group of people, but it requires shared goals and values from everyone. The shared vision set by the leader propels a team down the path toward a single goal, while loyalty is the glue that keeps everyone together when things get tough. Alan Lloyd, CIH, CSP, ENV SP, is vice president and EHS practice leader at Pennoni, a multi-disciplined engineering firm based in Philadelphia. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

ALAN LLOYD, from page 3

valuable because it allows us (employees and employers) to take risks with people we trust. Earning trust of an employer will often allow you to be loyal to your own dreams and aspirations. Employers are more likely to allow long-term employees to chase career goals that sometimes may not fully align with existing business plans. Every time you change jobs, you must “re-prove” yourself to an employer. My tenure at Pennoni has earned me the trust of our president and COO to take risks like expanding our service line into industrial hygiene – something very different for a traditional engineering company. Taking risks can then lead to more success and, hopefully, more compensation. “As employers and managers, however, we need to ensure that we are giving our loyal employees additional trust, consistent increases in compensation, and ways to build and develop relationships.” 2. Getting promoted and recognized. Everyone wants to make more money, get promoted, and be recognized. The lure of a promotion or raise by a new company is difficult to ignore because it is immediate gratification. It is hard to be loyal when it feels like it comes at a cost. Patience can be hard, but it can also be more rewarding. Being loyal means being devoted and, yes, can also mean being vulnerable, but that never means being naive. Employers don’t want blind trust. Loyalty must be a two-way street and compensation and growth is part of that trust. You must know your value and fight for it. If the employer doesn’t recognize your worth, it is time to move on, but when did patience become such a negative trait? Over my tenure at Pennoni, I have been promoted nine times and I don’t think I’ve hit my ceiling yet. Loyalty, combined with quality

THE ZWEIG LETTER JULY 11, 2022, ISSUE 1448

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