Monthly Archives: June 2011
Posted in Client Service | Leadership | Professional Development by Keith Kuzio (CEO) on June 28, 2011
Employees of our office on Penn Street in Williamsport take a break for a photo.
Circa 1987.
Recently, LDG marked a significant milestone that has given me a reason to pause and share the following reflections.
At a May 12th Chamber of Commerce PM Exchange hosted in our Williamsport office, we had the opportunity to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of LDG’s founding. In 1986, through the acquisition of Robert Ferrell Engineering and Surveying, LDG originated as a six-person, branch office of Hunt Engineers and Architects, PC, a consulting firm based in Corning, NY.
At the Chamber event, we were very pleased to have on hand Bob Hunt, (he served as President of Hunt Engineers and Architects at the time), whom we credit with the vision and foresight to see that a full service design office could be very successful in Northcentral PA. Also joining us were Bob’s hand-picked talent – Ken Larson (he eventually became President of Larson Design Group and is whom our firm is named after), and Fred LaVancher (serving in Business Development and Marketing Hunt and LDG, and as Chairman of the Board), – who together quickly grew the Williamsport branch office of Hunt, prior to orchestrating the 1993 employee buyout that set LDG on its present course as a local, employee-owned company. And as some may say, the rest is history.
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Posted in Client Service | Communities | Current Events | Employees | Initiatives | Professional Development by Steve Muller (Manager of Client Development) on June 23, 2011
When is change good for an organization? When it offers more and better opportunities to those it seeks to serve. With that goal in mind, right now the LDG Ephrata office is in the midst of office-move turmoil. Packed, labeled boxes are everywhere, and there is the appropriate anxiety and anticipation of getting into a new office space.
The Ephrata office of LDG has solidified since the 2008 acquisition of Fisher Engineering, which brought the LDG name and brand to south-central PA. Jim Fisher, PE, founder of Fisher Engineering, continues on with LDG today as a Senior Project Manager, still serving many of the municipal clients that he’s worked with, some for over two decades. Our bridge structural and transportation design services have really taken off in the Ephrata office, and that team has grown, and our site design & land development services continue to serve clients in the Lancaster County area and beyond.
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Posted in Accounting | Client Service | Communication | Employees | Initiatives | Leadership by Brenda Nichols (Accounting) on June 8, 2011
Image © Elvis Santana
As we continue to transition our accounting department into a more integrated model that mirrors our organization, I realize how important full documentation of procedures and processes can be. Larson Design Group has always had good step-by-step accounting documentation such as how to record a vendor’s invoice in our accounting software, etc. However, we have learned that we were weak on system documentation; the things that really matter in making a company run efficiently, effectively and without risk of errors in the big picture.
For example, since LDG conducts approximately 20% of its business with State agencies, their audit standards require thorough review of our systems. In the last few weeks, various co-workers and I have taken the time to document our internal controls in all areas. Yes, it has been a lot of work that came with struggles in finding the right words and preparing numerous documents that ensure everyone understands these procedures. But in the big picture, it shows that in all situations, we can improve. We have looked even closer at segregation of duties within the accounting department and our approval processes. And accordingly we are making changes. The first change we made is that all electronic payments for vendor invoices will now go through an additional review and approval process to ensure more “eyes” see these.
In the end, I am even more confident with the integrity of our data and proud to be part of making these changes happen.
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