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IN MEMORIAM AFFINIS LEADER, RICK WORREL, PASSES AT AGE 58 It is with heavy hearts that Affinis shares that its co-founder, colleague, and friend Rick Worrel passed away in August. The thoughts and prayers of the whole Affinis team are with his family, including his wife Susan, their three daughters, three grandchildren, and his mother Betty. Active in the community is an understatement of Rick’s enthusiasm for community service. Rick was a member and leader of numerous local and national organizations. Some of these included the American Council of Engineering Companies, United Community Services, the American Heart Association, Colonial Presbyterian Church, and the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce. He was also an avid KU Basketball fan and former player. He loved a good-natured rivalry and looked forward to basketball season every year. In writing this announcement, Affinis struggled with putting into words what Rick means to everyone there and the kind of person he was. Those who had the privilege of knowing him understand how monumental that task is. Rick was an engineer by degree, and he co-founded Affinis with the mission of creating a firm that was different. In doing so, he thought of every detail. His teammates were always co-workers

– never staff, and Affinis’ mission, vision, and values were displayed not only on the firm’s office wall, but more importantly, in the way he treated everyone every single day. He led by example, and his absence has been deeply felt. While the gap he leaves at Affinis is immeasurable, his leadership has prepared the team for this challenge. He built a strong foundation, choosing co-workers who are leaders and who embody Affinis’s core values. Affinis will carry out his legacy in every relationship with co-workers, clients, and colleagues, continuing to move communities forward, just as he did. In lieu of flowers, gifts in memory of Rick may be made to the American Heart Association c/o Rick’s Legacy, 6800 W. 93rd St, Overland Park, KS, 66212 or online at crowdrise.com/o/en/ campaign/ricks-legacy or to the KU Endowment to support the School of Engineering by sending checks to KU Endowment, PO Box 928, Lawrence, KS 66044; in the memo note “Civil and Environmental Engineering in memory of Richard Worrel.” Affinis offers civil engineering, surveying, and consulting services. Its dedicated team provides constructible designs with outstanding client service.

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1200 North College Ave. Fayetteville, AR 72703 Chad Clinehens | Publisher cclinehens@zweiggroup.com Richard Massey | Managing Editor rmassey@zweiggroup.com Christina Zweig | Contributing Editor christinaz@zweiggroup.com Sara Parkman | Senior Editor & Designer sparkman@zweiggroup.com Liisa Andreassen | Correspondent landreassen@zweiggroup.com

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CHRISTINA ZWEIG NIEHUES, from page 1

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gap with age also suggests that many women decide to leave the AEC industry when they decide to have a family. Much of the data does point to good news and a positive case for promoting gender equity and diversity. Zweig Group Salary Surveys found that overall, women make about 93.3 percent as much as men in architecture and 94.7 percent in engineering. These figures are much closer to equality than is seen in many other industries, where the pay gap is reportedly 80 percent or more. For firms looking for a case to become more diverse, Zweig Group’s 2019 Valuation Survey found that certified women-owned business enterprises outpaced the field in five out of the six value ratios. Generally, firms with a designation (minority, disadvantaged, women-owned, or small business enterprises) performed better than those with none. CHRISTINA ZWEIG NIEHUES is Zweig Group’s director of research and e-commerce. Contact her at czweig@zweiggroup.com.

Email: info@zweiggroup.com Online: thezweigletter.com Twitter: twitter.com/zweigletter Facebook: facebook.com/thezweigletter Published continuously since 1992 by Zweig Group, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA. ISSN 1068-1310. Issued weekly (48 issues/year) $250 for one-year print subscription; free electronic subscription at thezweigletter.com/subscribe © Copyright 2019, Zweig Group. All rights reserved.

© Copyright 2019. Zweig Group. All rights reserved.

THE ZWEIG LETTER October 28, 2019, ISSUE 1318

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